Armour v. Smith

170 So. 2d 347, 247 La. 122, 22 Oil & Gas Rep. 551, 1964 La. LEXIS 2850
Supreme Court of Louisiana·Decided December 14, 1964·No. No. 47047·Published

Opinions

FOURNET, Chief Justice.

This proceeding was instituted by the plaintiff, Mrs. Cortez Burns Armour, in which she was joined by her husband, Olon G. Armour, as owner of the Northwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (NWj4 of NWJ4) of Section Sixteen (16), Township Twenty-three (23), North, Range Nine (9) West, Webster Parish, Louisiana, to have decree prescribed because of nonusage for a period extending beyond ten years certain mineral rights affecting her property in favor of R. O. Smith and J. I. Roberts, defendants herein, and to have same cancelled from the records of Webster Parish; and is now before us on a writ of certiorari granted on the application of the plaintiff to review the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, reversing the judgment of the district court in her favor. See, La.App., 158 So.2d 446.

The facts are not in dispute and according to the stipulation of counsel, plaintiff acquired the above described property by deed dated December 6, 1939, from Andrew C. Burns, in which he reserved all of the oil, gas and other minerals although in acquiring this same property by deed from Drew Burns dated December 18, 1936, vendor reserved unto himself a one-fourth interest of the minerals.1 By instrument dated May 29, 1946, plaintiff, her husband, Andrew C. Burns and his wife, as lessors, executed an oil, gas and other mineral lease in favor of Hunt Oil Company using a printed Bath-Gram form. The lease was for a primary term of ten years, and as long thereafter as there was production of oil, gas and other minerals; it contained the usual annual renewal clause with the specific typewritten' agreement: “ * * * among lessors that all the delay rentals payable under • this lease if paid, [126] are to be paid to Cortez Bums Armour; It is further agreed between and among lessors that 50% of the royalty, if production occurs, is to be paid to Cortez Burns Armour and 50% of the royalty is to be paid to Andrew C. Burns.” Andrew C. Burns sold a one-fourth interest in all the minerals in and under this property to R. O. Smith by deed dated March 1, 1948, with the understanding: “ * * * between the parties hereto that this sale is made subject to any valid and duly recorded oil and gas lease, but covers and includes one fourth (1/4) of all the oil royalties and gas rentals or royalties due and to become due under the terms of any such lease." Smith, in turn, on September 3, 1948, conveyed by deed an undivided one-eighth interest in the minerals to J. I. Roberts, which contained a similar provision. (Emphasis ours)

On April 8, 1948, plaintiff, her husband, her vendor Burns and his wife joined in an instrument declaring that in the deed of December 6, 1939, by which she had acquired the property, an error was committed in that Burns reserved unto himself all of the mineral rights, and in order to correct this error, they (the Burns) specifically conveyed an undivided one-half interest in and to all oil, gas and other minerals to the plaintiff with the further stipulation: “ * * * this deed of correction is and shall be effective from the date of this deed so that * * * Andrew C. Burns and Mrs. Florence M. Newsome Burns shall be the owners of the minerals jointly with her (plaintiff), subject to prior mineral sales.” (Emphasis and brackets ours)

These same parties, i.e., Mr. and Mrs. Burns and Mr. and Mrs. Armour, in an instrument dated March 20, 1953, acknowledged the deed whereby plaintiff had acquired the property on December 6, 1939, and its modification or correction by the instrument of April 8, 1948, observing: “Whereas, some question has been raised as to whether or not prescription was interrupted on the one-half (1/2) interest in the oil, gas and other minerals so reserved, by the execution of the act of correction dated April 8, 1948;” and in resolving the matter stated: “ * * * in order to remove any doubt as to the effect of the instrument dated April 8, 1948, of record * * * SECOND PARTIES HERETO (the landozvners, the Armours) do hereby expressly acknowledge and declare that it was the intention of all parties to said instmment to interrupt the ntnning of the liberative prescription on the mineral servitude resulting from the reservation of one-half (1/2) of the oil, gas and other minerals by FIRST PARTIES (the Burns) in the above mentioned deed, the said interruption to be effective as of April 8, 1948.” (Emphasis and brackets ours)

The original lease executed on May 29, 1946, was amended (by instruments dated [128] January 23, 1951, March 20, 1951, September 20, 1954 and February 18, 1955) whereby the lessee, Hunt Oil Company, was joined by the plaintiffs, Mr. and Mrs. Armour, the defendants Smith and Roberts and Andrew C. Burns, as LESSOR, authorizing the LESSEE to “ * * * pool, combine, and unitize the lands covered thereby, * * * with any other land or lease of land adjacent thereto “ * * * so as to ■create by such combination one or more operating unit or units * * * ” not to exceed 160 acres each, and wherein it was specifically provided: “ * * * In lieu of the royalties, overriding royalties or other production payments provided for in the above mentioned lease, or other contract to which they are parties, each of the parties constituting LESSOR shall receive on the production from any unit formed hereunder ■only such proportion of such royalties, overriding royalties or other production payments as the amount of the acreage to ■which such royalties, overriding royalties or other production payments pertain and which is placed m the unit hears to the total acreage so pooled in the particular unit involved. * * * ” The lease, as amended, also contained the statement that: “The foregoing provisions shall have the same effect as though they had been incorporated in said lease at the time it was originally written and executed,” which was on May 29, 1946. (Emphasis ours)

The discovery of oil led to production on February 1, 1955, and on February 18, 1955, in conformity with the contract of lease, as amended, Hunt Oil Company joined with Carter Oil Company in forming a unit for the production thereof.

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Armour v. Smith, 170 So. 2d 347, 247 La. 122, 22 Oil & Gas Rep. 551, 1964 La. LEXIS 2850 (La. 1964).

170 So. 2d 347 (Armour v. Smith) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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