Bright v. Johnson

302 S.W.3d 483, 174 Oil & Gas Rep. 392, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 9400, 2009 WL 4688548
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 10, 2009
Docket11-07-00379-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 302 S.W.3d 483 (Bright v. Johnson) 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
Bright v. Johnson, 302 S.W.3d 483, 174 Oil & Gas Rep. 392, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 9400, 2009 WL 4688548 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

OPINION

TERRY McCALL, Justice.

Floy Hubert Johnson and Shirley A. Johnson filed this suit against Clarence 0. Bright to reform a deed dated May 2, 2002, by which they conveyed thirty-three acres to Clarence O. Bright. They alleged that the sales contract between the parties [485]*485called for all minerals to be reserved or retained by the Johnsons; but, through a scrivener’s error, the warranty deed failed to reserve or retain the minerals. Clarence 0. Bright acknowledged that he had agreed that the Johnsons would keep all the minerals and that, even at closing, he still believed they had.

Clarence 0. Bright’s son, Clarence Dwaine Bright, intervened in the suit. He testified that he purchased one-half of what his father had purchased from the Johnsons. Clarence Bright had paid $59,400 to the Johnsons for the thirty-three acres, and Dwaine Bright paid $30,000 for the undivided one-half interest. Clarence Bright and Dwaine Bright executed a document, which was not recorded, but which was dated June 13, 2003, to reflect Dwaine Bright’s acquisition from Clarence. After the Johnsons filed this suit and a notice of lis pendens, Clarence Bright executed and caused to be recorded two “corrected” deeds without warranty conveying to Dwaine Bright one-half of Clarence Bright’s interest in the thirty-three acres. In an amended petition, the Johnsons also sought a declaratory judgment that Dwaine Bright was not a bona fide purchaser of that interest.

The trial court granted summary judgment to the Johnsons on their reformation claims and reformed their deed to show that they retained all of the minerals that they owned at the time of the conveyance. The trial court also granted summary judgment to the Johnsons on Dwaine Bright’s claim that he was a bona fide purchaser. Additionally, the trial court denied Clarence and Dwaine Bright’s motion for summary judgment. In the Brights’ first two issues, they argue that the trial court should have denied the Johnsons’ motion for summary judgment and should have granted their own motion. In their third issue, they contend that the trial court erred in denying Dwaine Bright’s recovery of his attorney’s fees. In the alternative fourth and fifth issues, they contend that there were fact issues that precluded summary judgment and that the trial court erred in its reformation of the May 2002 deed. Overruling all of the Brights’ issues, we modify and affirm.

Standard of Review

We review the trial court’s summary judgment de novo. Valence Operating Co. v. Dorsett, 164 S.W.3d 656, 661 (Tex.2005); Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 215 (Tex.2003). The parties filed traditional motions for summary judgment. A trial court must grant a traditional motion for summary judgment if the moving party establishes

that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c); Lear Siegler, Inc. v. Perez, 819 S.W.2d 470, 471 (Tex.1991). When reviewing a traditional summary judgment, the

appellate court considers all the evidence and takes as true evidence favorable to the nonmovant. Am. Tobacco Co. v. Grinnell, 951 S.W.2d 420, 425 (Tex.1997). The appellate court “must consider whether reasonable and fair-minded jurors could differ in their conclusions in light of all of the

evidence presented” and may not ignore “undisputed evidence in the record that cannot be disregarded.” Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Mayes, 236 SW.3d 754, 755, 757 (Tex.2007). When competing motions are filed and one is granted and the other is denied, the reviewing court must review the summary judgment evidence presented

by both sides and determine all questions presented. The reviewing court should then render such judgment as the trial court should have rendered. Comm’rs Court of Titus County v. Agan, 940 S.W.2d 77, 81 (Tex.1997).

[486]*486 The Farm and Ranch Contract of Sale

In their motion for summary judgment, the Johnsons argued that in their Farm and Ranch Contract of Sale (the Sales Contract), the parties agreed that the Johnsons would reserve all of the minerals. Therefore, a mutual mistake occurred when the person preparing the deed to Clarence Bright did not reserve or retain the minerals on behalf of the John-sons. Thus, a scrivener’s error occurred and the deed should be reformed.

The Brights argued below, and argue here, that the Sales Contract did not reserve the minerals to the Johnsons; the Sales Contract “only excepted from the Johnsons’ conveyance those minerals ‘of record.’” They interpret the Sales Contract to mean that the Johnsons were only excepting from their conveyance two prior conveyances or reservations of mineral interests that appeared of record in the chain of title. The Brights refer to two outstanding mineral and/or royalty interests owned by third parties at the time: an interest reflected in an instrument dated March 25, 1949, executed by N.M. Colwick and wife to Stanley Giesecke and Nettie Giesecke and an interest described in an instrument dated January 21,1947, executed by A.P. McCrite and wife to Stanley Giesecke. The Brights take the position that these two interests were the only recorded interests properly excepted from the conveyance and warranty by the John-sons in the Sales Contract.

The parties made written additions to fill in the blanks of the printed Sales Contract. In paragraph 2, they described the property as being thirty-three acres out of the H.S. Stauffer Survey in Erath County. The relevant part of paragraph 2 then stated the following:

All property sold by this contract is called the “Property.” The Property will be conveyed subject to the following exceptions, reservations, conditions and restrictions (if none, insert “none”):
A. Minerals, Royalties, and Timber Interests:
(1) Presently outstanding in third parties: None [“None” written in]
(2) To be additionally retained by Seller: All of Record [“All of Record” written in] (emphasis added)

The parties followed the instructions and wrote “None” in paragraph 2(A)(1) and wrote “All of Record” in paragraph 2(A)(2). Had they meant for the Johnsons not to retain any minerals, royalties, and timber interests, they would have written “None” in paragraph 2(A)(2). Apparently, they did not know of the third-party Gie-secke interests when they wrote “None” in paragraph 2(A)(1). Floy Johnson testified by deposition that the title company’s attorney prepared the deed. That attorney did list the Giesecke interests as exceptions in the deed.

We agree with the Johnsons’ reading of the Sales Contract. As we have said, the Sales Contract contains the following language: “The Property will be conveyed subject to the following exceptions, reservations, conditions and restrictions (if none, insert “none”).” That language is followed by these terms: “A.

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Bluebook (online)
302 S.W.3d 483, 174 Oil & Gas Rep. 392, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 9400, 2009 WL 4688548, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bright-v-johnson-texapp-2009.