Strips and Gores, oh my

The arcane but still vital “strips and gores” doctrine of Texas property law appeared in Legacy Housing Corp. v. City of Horseshoe Bay, in which the Fifth Circuit held that doctrine did not award the developer ownership of a five-foot “greenbelt” strip, because the original grantor conveyed lots by express reference to a recorded plat that mapped each lot’s boundary and the contiguous greenbelt as separate. “Texas’s strips and gores doctrine does not apply to unambiguous conveyances unless the case involves a road or right of way,” and the greenbelt here was neither. No. 24-50462; Oct. 31, 2025.