Blankenburg v. Humble Oil & Refining Co.

233 S.W.2d 180, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1598
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 19, 1950
DocketNo. 4730
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 233 S.W.2d 180 (Blankenburg v. Humble Oil & Refining Co.) 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
Blankenburg v. Humble Oil & Refining Co., 233 S.W.2d 180, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1598 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

PRICE, Chief Justice.

Humble Oil & Refining -Company, hereinafter referred to as “Humble”, and E. R. Wyatt, hereinafter referred to as “Wyatt”, as coplaintiffs sued Otis Blankenburg, Cleo F. Blankenburg, J. S. Atkins, Virgil Milli-gan, David Kane and the City of Charlotte, Texas, as defendants. Plaintiffs asserted that they were the owners in fee simple subject only to an easement in the [182]*182public for street, alley or park purposes of the following described tract of land, to-wit: “All parks, plazas, streets and alleys in the City of Charlotte, Atascosa County, Texas, according to the map or plat of said city of Charlotte on file in the office of the county Clerk of Atascosa County, Texas, reference to which is made for a more accurate description.” That on or about the 15th day of January, 1949, the defendants unlawfully entered upon and dispossessed plaintiffs of such premises and are withholding same from the possession of plaintiff; further that on or about the 15th day of July 1911, by plat and dedication recorded in Vol. 34, page 16 of the Plat Records of Atascosa County, Texas, the Charlotte Townsite 'Company dedicated to the public the above described property; that purporting to act under and by virtue of said dedication the city of Charlotte purported to execute an oil and gas lease to the defendant J. S. Atkins. Atkins purported to assign various interests in said oil and gas lease to the other defendants; said oil and gas lease is alleged to be void for the reason at the time of said lease the 'City of Charlotte did not have and does not now have title to the minerals in or under any of the aforesaid property; the lease was executed in violation of Article 1267, R.C.S.; the lease is further void and invalid for the reason that prior to and at the time of execution the City of Charlotte failed to comply with the provisions of Art. 5400a, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. Plaintiffs sought title and possession of the property in question under this count. Alternatively, the said joint plaintiffs set up that in the event it 'be held by the court that they do not own the fee simple title, that as owners of the property in the city limits of the City of Charlotte, which property had been duly rendered for taxes and upon which they have paid taxes; they set up the invalidity of the said lease and sought an injunction against the defendants preventing them from drilling for oil or gas thereunder. Defendants Otis and Cleo F. Blankenburg answered by numerous exceptions and a plea of not guilty, and plead the Statute of Limitations. Defendant Atkins answered by a plea of not guilty. The City of Charlotte plead not guilty.

The trial was to the court with a jury, the case submitted upon one special issue, which was as follows: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that J. E. Franklin died intestate?” The jury answered same in the affirmative.

In substance the decretal part of the judgment was as follows: “The oil and gas lease executed by the City of Charlotte to J. S. Atkins on July 9, 1948, and the subsequent assignments and transfers thereof by and between the other defendants herein were void and defendants and each of them are permanently enjoined from commencing or conducting any drilling or mining operation for oil, gas, or any other minerals upon any part of the parks or plazas in the City of Charlotte.”

It was further decreed that Humble recover of defendants the title to and possession of the following described property: “The original dedicator’s reversionary interest, which reversionary interest is the fee simple, subject to an easement in the public to use the property for park, plaza, street and alley purposes in and to all of the parks and plazas and the one-half of the streets and/or alleys which are adjacent to or abut on said parks and/or plazas in the City of Charlotte, Atascosa County,, Texas, as same are shown by that plat of said city recorded in Volume 34, page 12 of the Plat Records of Atascosa County, Texas.”

The costs were decreed one-half against Humble and the other half against defendants Otis Blankenburg and David Kane. The judgment further recites: “No finding is made or judgment entered as to any other relief prayed for by any of the parties.”

The judgment recites that before the entry thereof it was called to the court's attention that a contract of settlement by and between the plaintiff Humble Oil & Refining Company and defendant City of Charlotte had been entered into and filed among the papers of the cause, by which agreement it was stipulated among other things that plaintiff Humble Oil & Refin[183]*183ing Company should recover title from and against the City of Charlotte to the original dedicatory and reversionary interest, which reversionary interest is the fee simple, subject to an easement in the public to the use of the property for parks, plazas, streets and alley purposes in and to all parks and plazas and one-half of the streets and/or alleys which are adjacent to or abutting on said parks and/or plazas in said city as same are shown in that plat on file in Volume 34, page 12 of the Plat Records of Atascosa County, Texas; that Humble should forego its right to appeal and should execute to the city royalty deed to a ⅛ royalty in and to the minerals under a portion of the land in controversy, and it -appearing to the Court after hearing thereon that such agreement was entered into by virtue of -a newly passed ordinance of said city, by said city’s regularly elected Mayor and City Council, and a certified copy of which is on file in the papers of the cause and further that the agreement is a fair and equitable settlement of the matters in controversy; and it further appearing to the court that such agreement does not prejudice the rights of the other plaintiffs and the. other defendants, the said agreement is in all things approved. It is further recited that as a result of the lease of Atkins being void, the only parties who have -a right to title or interest in or to the land in controversy are the plaintiff, Humble Oil & Refining Company, and the defendant City of Charlotte; that by virtue of their agreement title to the original dedicator’s reversionary interest fee simple subject to easement to the public of the property for public street and alley purposes should be vested in the Humble Oil & Refining Company. It is recited that this finding is made without prejudice to any rights of the defendants other than the City of -Charlotte as a final determination of this cause on appeal.

It seems too elementary to require notice that the agreed judgment between Humble and the city of Charlotte can in no way have a bearing or influence as to the judgment entered against the other defendants. This agreement was not made until after the trial of the case had been completed. As against the appealing defendants Humble could not rely upon a right or title acquired after the trial as to them had been completed. It is no doublt true that in another and subsequent action Humble might rely upon this subsequently acquired title, but not in this action. Any agreement between Humble and the city of Charlotte is entitled to no weight in the determination of the decretal portions of the judgment against the other defendants. State v. Regan County Purchasing Company, Tex.Civ.App., 186 S.W.2d 128 (Wr. Ref. W. M.). In entering same on the agreement the judge acted ministerially.

Humble’s recovery of title to the property in controversy can only be justified on the strength of its title and not upon the defects of the title of defendants.

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Related

Humble Oil & Refining Co. v. Blankenburg
235 S.W.2d 891 (Texas Supreme Court, 1951)

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Bluebook (online)
233 S.W.2d 180, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1598, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blankenburg-v-humble-oil-refining-co-texapp-1950.