Citizens First National Bank v. United States

254 F. Supp. 766, 24 Oil & Gas Rep. 642, 17 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1055, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9992
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedApril 27, 1966
DocketCiv. Nos. 4447-4450
StatusPublished

This text of 254 F. Supp. 766 (Citizens First National Bank v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Citizens First National Bank v. United States, 254 F. Supp. 766, 24 Oil & Gas Rep. 642, 17 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1055, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9992 (E.D. Tex. 1966).

Opinion

OPINION

SHEEHY, Chief Judge.

Each of the above cases is an action to recover income taxes and interest paid by the Plaintiff to Defendant. Since the cases present common .questions of fact and of law, they were tried jointly before the Court without a jury. Most of the pertinent facts were stipulated by the parties by written stipulations filed as a part of the record in the cases. The pertinent facts, including many covered by the stipulations and those as found from the evidence offered at the trial, are as hereinafter stated.

On March 15, 1956, L. A. Grelling and wife, Mae Kyle Grelling died in an airplane crash. Both left wills with substantially similar dispositive provisions, under each of which the residue was left in trust for their two children, Mary John Spence and Louis Alden Grelling, Jr. Under each will the trust for Mary John Spence provides that she is to recover all income for her life and at her death the corpus is to pass free of trust to her descendants. As to the trust for Louis Alden Grelling, Jr., each will provides that the income, in the discretion of the trustee, may be accumulated until he is 21, and thereafter the income must be paid to him until age 30. At age 30 his trust is to terminate and he is to receive the corpus free of trust.

The trust established for Mary John Spence under the will of Mr. Grelling is termed the Mary John Spence Trust No. 1, and the trust established for her pursuant to the will of Mrs. Grelling is termed the Mary John Spence Trust No. 2. The trust established for Louis Alden Grelling, Jr. under the will of Mr. Grelling is termed the Alden Grelling Trust No. 1 and the trust established for him under the will of Mrs. Grelling is termed the Alden Grelling Trust No. 2. The Citizens First National Bank of Tyler is the sole executor and sole trustee under the wills of Mr. and Mrs. Grelling. In such capacity the Bank is the Plaintiff in each of these actions and for con[768]*768venience it, in such capacity, will be referred to hereinafter as the “Bank.”

. ,, , , Substantially all of the property of the estates was community property and m-eluded producing oil and gas properties some of which were located m the Good Omen Field situated m Smith County, m n i.' . , ,, . . Texas. The Grellmgs acquired their interest in the Good Omen properties a sub- , ... . , . f . ,, . stantial period of time before their deaths. At the time of acquisition the properties were not developed. In the development of the properties the Grellings expended substantial sums and before their deaths collected substantial amounts of income from said properties. The Grelling estates acquired the working interest in the Good Omen Field owned by Mr. and Mrs. Grelling at the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Grelling. The production in the Good Omen Field was from two formations, namely, the Pettit and the Woodbine formations.

t. . ,, , „ During the administration of the es- . * ,, i j; xT. j, . • tates the Bank for the purpose of raising , „ , , f . jcu.4 money to pay Federal estate and State inheritance taxes levied upon the two es- , , .. ., , .. , , , . tates, solicited offers to purchase certain ’ . .. ,. , producing oil and gas properties owned f ,, ,, . .. , , by the estates including those situated • J.T, n j /-v rr i .1 mi. .. m the Good Omen Field. The offer was . , , , ,, made to approximately 85 persons and/or ». „ n / firms, one of which was American Petrom fina Company of Texas, hereinafter referred to as “FINA.” By letter dated April 3, 1959, FINA submitted a proposal to the Bank to purchase the interest of the estates m the Good Omen (Pettit), ~ „ .... .... TT . Good Omen (Woodbine), Hainesville, _ , TT . , TT . ... East Hainesville and West Hainesville ~ , rm. . .... . ,, . Fields. The offer stated m effect that .. . . „ ,, ,. , . the purchase price for the entire working , , ... ,. interest of the estates m those properties , , . ... .. . , was to be $800,000.00 m cash with the es- . , ... ’ , ,. , . tates retaining a production payment m the amount of $1,200,000.00. This re- , . ... ’ , , , tamed oil payment, which was to be payable from 35% of the gross production, was to commence after FINA had received $1,300,000.00 from the combined properties and was to cease prior to the estates receiving the $1,200,000.00 if the total recoverable reserves were reduced to 109,000 barrels. Negotiations between the Bank and FINA continued and consummated on the morning of mh as evideneed b a letter agTee. ^ dated 1959> which was Mr_ Barnett President of the . ' ... ,, ™Ta Bank, and which was approved by FINA ’ , ^ nertinent nro- . . P . P visions of said letter agreement are:

“This will confirm our telephone conversation this morning in which we advised you of our acceptance of your proposal to buy the Grelling Estates interest in the Good Omen Field, both Woodbine and Pettit formations and developed and undeveloped leases, Smith County, Texas, for $820,000.00 cash, and a production payment of $1,-200,000.00 from 35% of the gross produced by the properties purchased by you after you have received $1,200,-000.00 gross revenue from the same properties, both production payments f , ,. ,. , , less severance taxes, applicable to each, , , , The Estates are to receive gross reveinterest until the . . , . ..... OAn nnn .. , principal amount of $1,200,000.00 has f ., .J ’ , , been paid or until the estimated re- . . ,, ,, maming recoverable reserves m the . , ,. reservoirs contnbutable to the prop- ,. , ... nnn , , erties conveyed are 109,000 barrels, . . whichever event occurs first and such . , ... . , , determination of 109,000 barrels re- . . , ’ , , , , naming reserves to be determined by t COnSuItmg nff and ge°°f.1Cal „ ’ „ , , , , . , . , , ’ ’ subject to your approval of titles to the ,. . , A n, . .. , properties involved, Petrofina to re- ^ . , , ceive proceeds of oil and gas produced . . . . f. „ beginning April 1, 1959, and if pur- , . . * ,ncn chase is not completed by May 1, 1959, „ , „. , ... Petrofina will deposit m escrow $820,-nn . ... ,, «... , 000.00 cash with the Citizens First National Bank of Tvlpr the . ^ f?. i.yIe ’ P®dag th final closing of this transaction.”

By its letter to the Bank dated April 30, 1959, FINA stated that the April 17 letter contained certain minor differenees from FINA’s original offer but that later conferences between FINA and [769]*769the Bank verified that there was no misunderstanding with respect to the offer.1 There was transmitted with said letter FINA’s check in the amount of $820,000.-00 payable to the Bank to be held in escrow until such time as the transfer of the properties from the estates to FINA had been completed. The letter further stated in effect that some portion of the $820,000.00 cash payment, at the option of FINA, might be provided through the sale of a primary production payment from the property but that the terms of the sale of such production payment, the amount thereof and the purchaser were to be designated by FINA. As to the possible sale of a primary production payment, it was further stated in said letter:

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Bluebook (online)
254 F. Supp. 766, 24 Oil & Gas Rep. 642, 17 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1055, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9992, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/citizens-first-national-bank-v-united-states-txed-1966.