A judge in Oklahoma dismissed a lawsuit that sought to claim Texas land along the Red River, a ruling Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said protects the state’s sovereignty and property rights.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2025 in Bryan County District Court, attempted to “quiet title” to property along the Texas–Oklahoma border by arguing that changes in the riverbank had shifted the state line and expanded the Oklahoma property owner’s land into Texas.
The case named several Texas landowners as defendants, including the State of Texas.
Paxton’s office worked with the Texas Department of Transportation and outside counsel to challenge the lawsuit in Oklahoma court. Attorneys argued that Oklahoma courts lack jurisdiction over the State of Texas and that the lawsuit relied on outdated legal authority for determining the border between the states.
District Judge Mark R. Campbell agreed, ruling that the Oklahoma court lacks jurisdiction over the State of Texas and granting the state’s motion to dismiss.
“This Court has no jurisdiction over the State of Texas, or any of its entities,” the court wrote while granting the motion to dismiss.
Judge Campbell signed the order on March 8 after a hearing held February 17 in Bryan County District Court.
Paxton said the ruling blocks an attempt to claim Texas land based on an incorrect interpretation of the law.
“The full force of the law will come crashing down on anyone trying to seize Texas land. I will always defend our state’s sovereignty and will not allow erroneous theories to undermine Texas’s land ownership,” Paxton said.
“The Red River Rivalry may be famous on the football field, but I won’t allow that term to extend to Oklahoma property owners unlawfully seizing Texas land in the courtroom,” he added.
Texas officials argued the lawsuit relied on a 1923 U.S. Supreme Court decision identifying the border as the lower bank of the Red River. However, the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma is governed by the Red River Boundary Compact adopted by Texas and Oklahoma in 1999 and approved by Congress in 2000.
The compact establishes that the political boundary between the states along the Red River follows the vegetation line along the south bank of the river.
The court’s ruling removes the State of Texas from the lawsuit and prevents the Oklahoma property owner from pursuing the claim against the state in Oklahoma court.