Buttram v. Gray County

62 F.2d 44, 1932 U.S. App. LEXIS 3068
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedDecember 8, 1932
DocketNo. 6660
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 62 F.2d 44 (Buttram v. Gray County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buttram v. Gray County, 62 F.2d 44, 1932 U.S. App. LEXIS 3068 (5th Cir. 1932).

Opinion

WALKER, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from a decree dismissing a bill in equity filed by the appellant against appellees, Gray county, Tex., and officials of that county, which sought an injunction restraining and enjoining the enforcement of the collection of taxes for the years 1929 and 1930 assessed by that county against the appellant as the owner of the mineral interest described in an instrument dated February 7, 1928, whereby J. B. Bowers and his wife, Lizzie Bowers, “subject to the exceptions and reservations hereinafter contained,” granted, bargained, sold, conveyed, sot over, assigned, and delivered unto appellant “an undivided one-eighth (%) interest in and. to all the oil, gas, and other minerals in, under and that may be produced from” described lands in said Gray county, containing 3,320 acres, “together with the right of ingress and egress at all times, to, from and upon said lands for the purpose of mining, drilling, exploring and developing said lands for oil, gas and other minerals and removing tho same therefrom.” That instrument contained tho following provisions:

“Said lands being now under oil and gas lease, or leases, as the same may have been originally executed by the grantors herein, and as the same may be shown of record in the Deed Records of Gray County, Texas.

“It is understood and agreed that this sale is made subject to any and all of such leases as the same may be shown of record, but covers and includes the equal undivided one-eighth of all of the oil and gas royalty, gas rental, or royalty of any kind due and to become due under the terns of said leases;

“It is agreed and understood that the equal one-eighth part of the money rentals which may bo paid to extend the term, within which a well may be begun under the terms of any of said, leases is to be paid to the said Frank Buttram, and in the event that the above described leases, or any one or more of them for any reason becomes cancelled or forfeited, then and in that event the said Frank Buttram shall own the same undivided one-eighth interest in any down or bonus money that may bo paid for a new oil and gas lease on said lands described in such canceled or forfeited lease, and same undivided one-eighth interest in all future rentals that may be paid on any of said lands for oil, gas and mineral privileges.

“This sale is made for and in consideration of the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) cash in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, and of the other considerations, payments and reservations as hereinafter set out. In addition to the cash consideration above stipulated, and paid to the grantors heroin, the said grantors here now expressly except and reserve to themselves from such conveyance all of the oil, gas and casinghead gas produced, saved and marketed from the interest in the foregoing lands above described, until the grantors heroin shall have been paid and shall have received from such source the sum of Three Hundred Fifty Thousand [46]*46($350,000.00) .Dollars, and all of sueh oil, gas and minerals in,-under and that may be produced from the interest in the lands above particularly described shall belong to and be the absolute property of the grantors herein until they shall have received sueh total sum of $350,000.00 from sueh oil, gas and casing-head gas and other minerals when, as and if the same are so produced, saved and marketed.

“It is understood that the grantors herein shall likewise receive any rentals that may be paid under the terms of any existing leases or any future leases that may be made on and covering any part of said lands that would otherwise be the property of the grantee herein, and shall likewise receive any and all down or bonus monies that may be paid for any future leases that may be granted on and covering said lands, or any part thereof to which the grantee herein would othererwise be entitled, and that any such money shall be applied as a credit to the total sum of $350,000.00 herein provided to be paid to the grantors herein and that when such total sum of $350,000.00 shall so be paid to the grantors herein from either of the above sources, then this conveyance shall become absolute and any and all other interests in said lands herein conveyed shall become absolutely the property of the grantee herein, free and clear of any liens, incumbrances or reservations, by reason of the exceptions and reservations-herein contained.

“To have and to hold the above described property, together with all and singular the' rights and appurtenances thereto in anywise .'belonging, unto the said Frank But-train,' his heirs and assigns forever, and. we do hereby bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators to warrant and forever defend..all and singular the property and property;'mghts herein conveyed unto the said Frank Butt'ram, his heirs and assigns forever, against every 'person whomsoever lawfully claiming' or to claim the same or any part thereof, but subject to the provisions and reservations of .this contract, as herein set out.” ,

It was stipulated by the parties that of the $350,000 to be paid under an above set out provision approximately $153,000 had been paid. The terms of the above-mentioned instrument do not indicate that the transaction it evidenced was connected with a sale by the grantors in that instrument of any other interest in the land described; but evidence disclosed that by a written contract 'dated February 6, 1928, those grantors contracted to sell and convey to appellant and others an undivided one-half interest in all the oil, gas, minerals, and mineral rights in the same lands, it being provided that one-half of sueh interest, being an undivided one-fourth interest in sueh oil, etc., was to be sold and conveyed for the consideration of $250,000 in cash, and $25,000 in cash payable on or before February 1, 1929; and evidence also showed that by a deed of the same date as that of the first above-mentioned instrument the grantors therein conveyed to the appellant an undivided one-eighth interest in all oil, g’as, and oilier minerals in the above-described lands, that deed containing an acknowledgment by the grantors of their receipt of the consideration for the interest thereby conveyed. It appeared that one-half of the mineral interest disposed of by those grantors was paid for, mostly in cash. It also appeared that under the terms of the sale evidenced by the first above-mentioned instrument, in the event of the mineral interest which was the subject of that sale producing or yielding the amount stipulated to be paid to the vendors from that source, they would get for that interest substantially more than the price for which they sold to the appellant another like mineral interest in the same lands. It was stipulated by the parties that for the fiscal tax years of 1929i and 1930 Gray county levied and assessed taxes against all the mineral interests mentioned in said contract, and that no controversy exists with respect to the taxes against sueh mineral interests except as to the interest described in the first above-mentioned instrument. The instrument hereinafter referred to is the one first above mentioned.

For the appellant it was contended that the interest in the described land acquired by him under the instrument referred to was not such a one as was subject to be taxed.

Under the Constitution and statutes of Texas all property, real, personal, or mixed, except such as is expressly exempted, is subject to taxation. Constitution of Texas, .Art. 8, § 11; Revised Civil Statutes of Texas (1925) art. 7145. “Real propei’ty for the purpose of taxation, shall be (Jonstrued to include the land itself, * * *.

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Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Texas Attorney General Reports, 1962

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62 F.2d 44, 1932 U.S. App. LEXIS 3068, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buttram-v-gray-county-ca5-1932.