Byrom v. Pendley

717 S.W.2d 602
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 8, 1986
DocketC-5154
StatusPublished
Cited by58 cases

This text of 717 S.W.2d 602 (Byrom v. Pendley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Byrom v. Pendley, 717 S.W.2d 602 (Tex. 1986).

Opinion

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

HILL, Chief Justice.

We grant the respondent’s motion for rehearing, withdraw the opinion and judgment of June 18, 1986, and substitute this opinion.

The question presented for review is whether C.W. Byrom, a cotenant who drilled a producing well while denying, in a pending lawsuit, the validity of cotenant Paul Pendley’s interest, is a bad-faith trespasser as a matter of law. In a bench trial, the district court answered this question negatively, and awarded Byrom recovery against Pendley for his necessary and reasonable costs of production. 1

The court of appeals reversed that judgment, holding that Byrom was a trespasser as to Pendley’s interest as a matter of law, because he claimed to own Pendley’s interest. The court of appeals further held that Byrom trespassed in bad faith because he drilled the well in question while asserting, in pending litigation, that Pendley’s leasehold interest was invalid. 703 S.W.2d 405. We hold that Byrom was not a trespasser as to Pendley’s leasehold interest, and accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the cause to that court for consideration of the factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting the amount of the trial court’s judgment.

C.W. Byrom owned an undisputed n/24ths leasehold working interest in a tract of land in Eastland County, Texas. Another V24th working interest was not leased and was also not in dispute. In November 1976, Paul Pendley acquired an oil and gas lease covering the remaining 12/24ths interest. Approximately six months later, By-rom obtained a lease from Pendley’s lessors covering this same remaining 12/24ths mineral interest.

Because of an insufficient property description in the Pendley lease, Pendley filed suit in June 1977 to reform the lease to correctly describe the covered property. Byrom intervened in that suit, seeking to have the Pendley lease declared void and removed as a cloud from Byrom’s title. While that suit was pending, Byrom drilled the Byrom-Everett No. 1 Well on the property in dispute. The well was completed as an oil well and began operating, with the proceeds attributable to Pendley’s alleged 12/24ths leasehold interest placed in escrow. Pendley ultimately prevailed in his June 1977 property title suit, thereby validating his 12/24ths leasehold interest and invalidating Byrom’s lease covering that interest.

Mr. Byrom then filed this lawsuit against Paul Pendley, seeking a declaration that he was entitled to recover from the funds held in escrow one-half of the costs of drilling and operating the Byrom-Everett No. 1 Well. 2 After a nonjury trial, the district court rendered judgment for Byrom, holding that “by virtue of their n/24ths working interest, [Byrom] had the right to drill the Byrom-Everett No. 1 Well and to produce oil and gas from the property.” It further concluded that Byrom was not a trespasser against Pendley. Additionally, the trial court’s findings of fact included a finding that “[Byrom] acted in good faith in drilling and operating the Byrom-Everett No. 1 well.” The court of appeals reversed and rendered judgment for Pendley, holding that Byrom was a bad-faith trespasser as a matter of law. Its decision hinged on the undisputed fact that Byrom drilled the well in question while asserting in then pending *605 litigation that Pendley’s one-half leasehold interest was invalid.

Byrom contends that although he lost his claim to the '%4ths mineral interest described in the Pendley lease, he nevertheless had the right to drill and produce a well on the strength of his undisputed n/24 ths leasehold interest. We agree.

It has long been the rule in Texas that a cotenant has the right to extract minerals from common property without first obtaining the consent of his cotenants; however, he must account to them on the basis of the value of any minerals taken, less the necessary and reasonable costs of production and marketing. Cox v. Davison, 397 S.W.2d 200, 201 (Tex.1965); Bum-ham v. Hardy Oil Co., 147 S.W. 330, 334-35 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio), affd on other grounds, 108 Tex. 555,195 S.W. 1139 (1917). The rule announced in Burnham and reaffirmed in Cox is founded on the distinctive legal relationship existing between cotenants; that is, each cotenant has a right to enter upon the common estate and a corollary right to possession. Bumham v. Hardy Oil Co., 147 S.W. at 335. In establishing this rule, the Burnham court was guided by strong policy considerations:

[T]he peculiar circumstances of a coten-ancy in land upon which oil is discovered warrant one cotenant to proceed and utilize the oil, without the necessity of the other cotenants concurring. Oil is a fugitive substance and may be drained from the land by well on adjoining property. It must be promptly taken from the land for it to be secured to the owners.

Id. With this stated policy in mind, we can perceive no reason to treat a cotenant who drills without his cotenant’s consent, such as was the case in Burnham and Cox, differently from a cotenant like Byrom who drills while asserting that his cotenant’s lease was defectively described. In either case, the operating cotenant is seeking to protect his undisputed interest in the minerals.

It is here asserted, however, that Byrom became a trespasser as to Pend-ley’s 12/a4ths leasehold interest solely by denying the validity of the Pendley lease. Pendley relies upon Humble Oil & Refining Co. v. Kishi, 276 S.W. 190 (Tex. Comm’n App.1925, judgmt adopted), rehearing granted, 291 S.W. 538 (Tex. Comm’n App.1927, holding approved) in support of this contention. We disagree with Pendley’s attempt to extend Kishi to cases involving entry by a cotenant while denying the validity of his cotenant’s interest. Rather, we construe the Kishi decision as holding that a lessee of mineral interests who enters the land after termination of the lease and termination of the right to enter is liable to his nonconsenting lessor for injury resulting from such unlawful entry. See Jarrett v. Ross, 139 Tex. 560, 164 S.W.2d 550 (1942); Shell Oil v. Howtk, 138 Tex. 357, 368, 159 S.W.2d 483, 491 (1942). Because the present case does not involve a wrongful claim by a lessee against his lessor after termination of the right to enter, the doctrine involved in Ki-shi is not applicable.

We hold that Byrom had the legal right, as a cotenant of Pendley, to proceed to drill and produce oil and gas from the land, subject only to his duty to account to Pendley for Pendley’s proportionate part of the value of the oil and gas produced, less Pendley’s proportionate part of the drilling and operating expenses. Cox v. Davison, 397 S.W.2d at 201; Burnham v. Hardy Oil Co., 147 S.W. at 335.

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

Related

Tommy Parker, Jr. v. Mary Martha Parrack
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2025
MTE Holdings LLC v.
Third Circuit, 2025
in Re Eagleridge Operating, Llc
Texas Supreme Court, 2022
Devon Energy Prod. Co. v. Apache Corp.
550 S.W.3d 259 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018)
Lee Ann Bolinger v. Judy Beth Williams
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
in Re Rowland Martin
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Neal Frazier Jr. v. Richard Donovan
420 S.W.3d 463 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014)
in the Interest of W.H., a Child
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
BP America Production Co. v. Marshall
342 S.W.3d 59 (Texas Supreme Court, 2011)
Prize Energy Resources, L.P. v. Cliff Hoskins, Inc.
345 S.W.3d 537 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
717 S.W.2d 602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/byrom-v-pendley-tex-1986.