3-C Oil Co. v. Modesta Partnership

668 S.W.2d 741, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 4863
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 11, 1984
Docket13655
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 668 S.W.2d 741 (3-C Oil Co. v. Modesta Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
3-C Oil Co. v. Modesta Partnership, 668 S.W.2d 741, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 4863 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinions

EARL W. SMITH, Justice.

This appeal involves complex and competing claims to oil field equipment located on three oil and gas leases known as the E.B. White, G.C. Walker and P.L. Walker leases in Caldwell County. The cause originated on October 18, 1978, when E. Dale Hartley (Hartley) sued 3-C Oil Company, a partnership composed of William A. Cox, Woodson Cox and John Cox (3-C). Hartley claimed title to equipment on the E.B. White and P.L. Walker leases.

3-C, by a series of pleadings and counter-claims, joined, as third-party defendants; Modesta Partnership (Modesta), Palo Pinto Limited Partnership (Palo Pinto), [743]*743Judgment Oil and Gas Company, a partnership (JOG) and Jim Burden, Lionel Aiken and Jeffrey Munsuy, as trustees (Trustees). All third-party plaintiffs filed answers and counter-claims against 3-C, claiming title in various ways to the equipment on the three leases and alleging that 3-C converted such equipment to the damage of third-party plaintiffs. Hartley took a nonsuit as to 3-C and the parties were realigned at trial, with Modesta, Palo Pinto, JOG, and Trustees as plaintiffs and 3-C and its three partners as defendants. Based partially on the jury’s verdict and partially on the trial court’s own findings of fact and conclusions of law, the court rendered judgment in which it, inter alia:

1. Ordered, adjudged and decreed that ... plaintiffs’ title to and ownership of the equipment identified in the inventory attached to the judgment [the equipment on the three leases] “is hereby in all things ratified and confirmed”; and
2. Awarded Modesta, Palo Pinto, JOG, and Trustees judgment in the total sum of $289,299.40 with interest against 3-C (the partnership), John Cox, Woodson Cox and William Cox, and 3-C Oil Company, Inc., jointly and severally.

Appellants, 3-C (3-C Oil Company, Inc.— John Cox, Woodson Cox and William Cox), assign twenty-one points of error. In points six and seven 3-C contends that the trial court erred in awarding damages to Modesta, et al. because there is no evidence or insufficient evidence of the fair market rental value of the equipment in question and that there is insufficient evidence linking any rental values of the equipment to the dates or time period of the alleged conversions. In point fifteen, 3-C contends that the court erred in entering judgment that JOG owns the equipment in question because JOG had never appeared in this cause. In this connection, 3-C argues that JOG did not plead that it acquired title and right to any of the property in question. In point fourteen 3-C avers that the trial court erred in adjudging that Palo Pinto owns the equipment in question because there is no evidence to support that aspect of the judgment. Point sixteen raises the argument that the trial court erred in adjudging that Modesta owns all of the equipment in question because Modesta did not claim the equipment on the P.L. Walker lease and there are no pleadings to support that aspect of the judgment. In points seventeen and eighteen 3-C contends that the trial court erred in holding that Modes-ta owned all of the equipment in question, and in particular the E.B. White lease. As to the E.B. White lease, 3-C argues that the evidence is insufficient to show that Oil, Gas and Mineral Developments, Corp. (OGMD) owned the equipment on such leases at the time of a United States Marshal’s sale under which Modesta claims. It is contended in point nineteen that the trial court erred in holding that the Trustees owned all the equipment in question because the Trustees did not claim the equipment on the G.C. Walker lease, and there are no pleadings or evidence to support that aspect of the judgment. In their final point, number twenty-one, 3-C says that the trial court erred in computing the damages from the verdict and in awarding all plaintiffs money damages. We sustain these points of error, reverse the judgment and remand this cause. In view of our disposition of the case we need not discuss the remaining points of error of 3-C.

CONFLICTING CLAIMS OF TITLE TO THE EQUIPMENT ON THE THREE LEASES

The three oil and gas leases and all equipment thereon were owned by OGMD in the early 1970’s. Numerous California investors, clients of Trustees, had entered into agreements with OGMD to make certain investments in oil and gas properties in Caldwell County. As stated, this case involves conflicting claims as to ownership of equipment on the E.B. White, G.C. Walker and P.L. Walker leases. As to the equipment on the leases, the common source of title originated in OGMD. An agreement was reached with the California investors whereby OGMD would sell the equipment [744]*744to one of the JOG partners (T-VESTCO) for cash. T-VESTCO would then sell the equipment to an equipment leasing firm known as IDS; then, IDS would lease the equipment back to T-VESTCO, as one of the partners of JOG. A firm known as Equico became the successor in interest to IDS and the lease contracts held by IDS. JOG defaulted on its lease payments on the IDS lease contracts and worked out an agreement with OGMD whereby the latter agreed to “assume the position of JOG”— i.e. OGMD became the lessee and was obligated on the lease to IDS and its successor Equico. This agreement whereby OGMD, as transferee of the leases became obligated to IDS and/or Equico, occurred May 14, 1973.

On August 28,1978, Equico conveyed the equipment on the P.L. Walker and E.B. White leases to E. Dale Hartley. Apparently, this left title in the equipment on the G.C. Walker lease in Equico.

On February 16, 1980, Hartley Associates, a partnership, conveyed title to the equipment on the P.L. Walker and E.B. White leases to Trustees.

OGMD did not perform its obligations under the lease contracts or its investment contracts with the California investors and the Trustees were employed as attorneys for the various investors. They filed ten separate lawsuits against OGMD in California and judgments in the total sum of $4,200,000.00 were obtained. The agreement between the investors and the trustees was an “all for one—one for all” arrangement whereby all investors would share pro-rata in any sums recovered by any one of them from OGMD.

In 1978 all of the investors became a partnership known as JOG, represented by the attorneys as Trustees. On April 21, 1976, judgments were obtained by Modesta and Palo Pinto (in their separate suits) against OGMD. Palo Pinto and Modesta became partners in JOG under the “all for one—one for all” arrangement. Abstracts of judgment were filed in Caldwell County on such judgments. In an attempt to realize something from their judgments, an agreement was reached whereby JOG, Inc. operated OGMD leases (including the three in question) for a short period of time. This agreement came to an end when a foreclosure sale was conducted on September 5, 1978 under a THC Financial Corporation judgment, execution, levy and notice of sale. 3-C, the partnership, purchased the three oil and gas leases in question and received a sheriffs deed dated September 6, 1978. The deed from the sheriff to 3-C contained the following recitation:

“There is excluded from this conveyance all personal property located on the three above described leases.”

A United States Marshal, pursuant to writ of execution issued under Modesta’s judgment, on December 20, and 27, 1978, levied upon the equipment on the E.B. White and G.C. Walker leases. Notice of sale was posted and on January 17, 1979, the Marshal conducted the sale of the equipment on such leases.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Aaron Wiese v. Pro Am Services, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010
Wiese v. Pro Am Services, Inc.
317 S.W.3d 857 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Goodin v. Jolliff
257 S.W.3d 341 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2008)
Bank One, Texas, N.A. v. Federal Deposit Insurance
16 F. Supp. 2d 698 (N.D. Texas, 1998)
Clint Independent School District v. Cash Investments, Inc.
970 S.W.2d 535 (Texas Supreme Court, 1998)
Cash Investments, Inc. v. Clint Independent School District
940 S.W.2d 693 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Vaughn v. Reagan
784 S.W.2d 88 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989)
Caulley v. Caulley
777 S.W.2d 147 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989)
Bordwine v. Texas Employers' Insurance Ass'n
761 S.W.2d 117 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1988)
3-C Oil Co. v. Modesta Partnership
668 S.W.2d 741 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
668 S.W.2d 741, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 4863, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/3-c-oil-co-v-modesta-partnership-texapp-1984.