Crews v. Bird

1929 OK 279, 285 P. 132, 141 Okla. 143, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 15
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 9, 1929
Docket20205
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 1929 OK 279 (Crews v. Bird) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crews v. Bird, 1929 OK 279, 285 P. 132, 141 Okla. 143, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 15 (Okla. 1929).

Opinions

ANDREWS, J.

This is an original action in this court for a writ of prohibition, brought by Everett Crews, Mary Crews, and Amie Crews, wlm will be hereinafter referred to as petitioners, against J. W. Bird, district judge of the Twentieth judicial district, who will be hereinafter referred to as Judge Bird, praying that a writ of prohibition issue, directed to him, commanding him to desist and refrain from further proceeding as a judge of the district court of Garfield county in cause No. 5464, and to desist and refrain from certifying an appeal from that court to the Supreme Court.

The allegations of the petition are, in substance, as follows: That the petitioners, together with their brothers, Ralph Crews, Charlie Crews, and Robert Crews, obtained a judgment in the district court of Garfield county in cause No. 5464 against certain oil companies (hereinafter referred to as defendants) canceling an oil and gas mining lease on certain land in Garfield county and for various sums of money representing the oil and gas taken from, the premises by the defendants; that the defendants superseded the judgments and appealed to the Supreme Court, there being- two cases on appeal; that the Supreme Court, on appeal, affirmed the judgments as to the petitioners and directed the district court of Garfield county to enter judgment for the petitioners in the amounts therein named, and to dismiss the cause as to Ralph Crews, Charlie Crews, and Robert Crews; that mandates were issued, filed in the district court of Garfield county and spread of record; that on E’ebruary 14, 1929, the district court of Garfield county rendered its judgment in accordance with the opinii.n and mandates of the Supreme Court; that prior to entering said judgment the defendants filed a motion to vacate and set aside the judgments and for leave to file a supplemental answer and cross-petition, and therein asked the district court io set aside the judgments of July 26, 1924, and alleged that the petitioners had obtained their majority since the rendition of the judgment of the district court of Garfield county in 1924, and had accepted royalties under and by virtue of the lease which had theretofore been canceled by the district court of Garfield comity; that the district court of Garfield county overruled the motion ; that defendants filed a motion to stay proceedings until the motion to vacate the judgment could be heard and a hearing could be had upon their supplemental answer and cross-petition; that this motion was overruled ; that after judgment was rendered in conformity with the opinion of the Supreme Court the defendants filed a motion to set aside the judgments of July 26, 1924, and February 14, 1929, and for a new trial, which was overruled; that all the matters and things sought to be litigated in said motions were litigated in the original cause in the district court and in the Supreme Court; that notice of appeal to the Supreme Court from the rulings of the district court was given, and time was given to perfect the appeal, and that the district court of Garfield county was without jurisdiction to certify the purported appeal. To the petition is attached copies of the motions and of the judgment of February 14, 1929.

Judge Bird and the defendants filed answers which in substance alleged that prior to the original trial the Sinclair Oil &; Gas Company filed a cross-petition setting out certain claims against the Crews heirs and which issues were not passed upon by the trial court for the reason that the trial court erroneously determined the cause upon a theory that was thereafter rejected by the Supreme Court in this, to wit:

Tile trial court held that the oil and gas mining lease was void and for that reason the Sinclair Oil & Gas Company was not entitled to an accounting for the oil and gas taken therefrom by the Crews heirs; that upon the Supreme Court holding that the oil and gas mining lease was valid as to a one-half interest in the land, it became necessary that the issues presented by the cross- *146 petition of the Sinclair Oil & Gas Company should be determined and that the proceedings in the trial court, after the receipt of the mandate, were to procure a determination of the rights of the defendants as set nut in the cross-petition; that the petitioners herein, after the trial of the cause in the district court, adopted the lease under the rule stated by this court on the appeal; that the record- thereof was not before the trial court or the Supreme Court for the reason that the acts constituting the adoption occurred subsequent to the trial of the cause; that the defendants were entitled to have a trial on the issues made by the acts of the petitioners which occurred after the trial of the cause in the district court; that the defendants were entitled to an accounting for the oil and gas taken by the Crews heirs from the land to the amount of the one-half interest owned by the defendants, and for other reasons.

The allegations of the answers were denied by the petitioners.

In order to determine the issues presented here, it is necessary to determine, first, what the original judgment provided; second, what the mandate provided; and third, what Judge Bird’s judgment provided. In doing ■so we will consider the issues as made by the pleadings in the trial court and the evidence in support thereof, but will consider these only in so far as it. is necessary to determine the issues presented here.

The three petitioners, with Ralph Crews, Charlie Crews, and Robert .Crews (being the six Crews heirs, and who were the joint owners of the land in question), instituted a suit to cancel an oil and gas mining lease held by the defendants by assignment from the original lessee, and for the oil and gas wrongfully taken therefrom. The suit was prosecuted on two theories, one being that the lease was void for failure to comply with rule 9 of the probate rules of this court, and the other being if it was not void for that reason, it had been forfeited by failure to develop the same in accordance with the implied covenants thereof. The defendants contended that the lease was valid, or if it was not valid at the date of its execution, it became so by reason of the acts and conduct of the lessors, which acts constituted an adaption thereof.

The six Crews heirs, prior to the time the issues in the case were made up, took possession of the portion of the leased premises which they contended had not been developed in accordance with the provisions of the lease, drilled wells thereon, produced oil and gas therefrom, marketed and sold the same, collected the proceeds thereof, and remained in possession thereof throughout the litigation. Defendants contend that they are yet in possession thereof.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1929 OK 279, 285 P. 132, 141 Okla. 143, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 15, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crews-v-bird-okla-1929.