De Lange v. Ogden

106 S.W.2d 385, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 569
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 12, 1937
DocketNo. 10009.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 106 S.W.2d 385 (De Lange v. Ogden) 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
De Lange v. Ogden, 106 S.W.2d 385, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 569 (Tex. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

SLATTON, Justice.

Appellees, Ogden, Hamill, and Smith, sued appellant, Rodney DeLange, in the district court of Duval county, Tex., for title to and possession of an undivided one-half interest in two oil leases, commonly designated as the Bishop Cattle Company and Moody leases. Said leases covered valuable producing oil lands situated in said county. The value of one-half interest in and to said leases was alleged to be $300,000.

Appellees alleged that they were entitled to the one-half undivided interest in and to said leases in virtue of an oral contract alleged to have been made by Ogden, on behalf of appellees, and the appellant, on or about March 25, 1935. It was alleged that by the terms of said oral agreement appellant agreed that, in consideration of appellees’ agreement to drill a well in the southwest corner of section 77, in Duval county, Tex., and to pay one-half of the expenses of acquiring leases, appellant would undertake to acquire oil leases in the vicinity of said location, and that appellees would own a one-half interest in such leases which appellant might thereafter acquire.

Appellees further alleged that the Bishop and Moody leases were procured by appellant subsequent to the date of said oral agreement, and that they were situated within the vicinity of the southwest corner of section 77, and that appellees had complied with their obligation to drill, and had drilled a producing oil well in the southwest corner of section 77.

Appellees also alleged that appellant fraudulently induced one of appellees to sign a letter, dated April 9, 1935, whereby appellees agreed to drill said well in the southwest corner of section 77, and in consideration of the same appellant would assign to appellees an oil lease on 33 acres in the name of C. W. Hahl, in section 78, and an oil lease on a 40-acre tract out of a portion of section 76; and further that appellant would endeavor to procure an oil lease on the 7 acres known as the Eckdahl tract.

Appellees further alleged that before and at the time said letter was obtained, on April 9, 1935, appellant fraudulently represented to appellees that said two leases, together with two others kept by the appellant, were all of the leases which appellant had been able to obtain in the vicinity of the southwest corner of section 77, and further frauduently concealed from appellees the fact that the Bishop lease had been procured, and that the Moody lease was intended to be procured. Further, that at the time said letter was procured and obtained by appellant, there existed a relation of trust and confidence between the appellees and appellant, and that appellant was appellees’ trustee and was under a legal duty to disclose all material facts in regard to the subject-matter involved.

Appellant answered by demurrers and general and special denials, specifically denying that the oral agreement as aforesaid was ever entered into, and specially alleged that by the written contract, dated April 9, 1935, appellees obligated themselves to drill a well 330 feet each way, out of the southwest corner of section 77, drilling to begin just as soon as a certain rig could be moved on the location, and the drilling to proceed with due diligence to a depth of 3,000 feet, unless oil be found at a lesser depth. That in consideration for the drilling of a well, appellees were to receive the two oil leases mentioned, that is, the 33-acre Hahl' lease, and the 40 acre lease out of section 76; and that appellant would endeavor to obtain a lease on the 7-acre Eckdahl tract, and, if successful, thereafter would assign the same to appellees.

Appellant further alleged that the written contract had been fully performed by all parties and denied any fraud in connection with the procuring of the same, and alleged the disclosure to appellees of all material facts in regard to the Bishop and Moody leases.

Appellant also pleaded the statute of frauds (Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. art. 3995) as *387 against the alleged oral contract of March 25, 1935.

Appellant further alleged the expenditure of large sums of money in the development of the Bishop and Moody leases and alleged knowledge thereof on the part of appellees, and that appellees made no demand for any interest therein until long after the expenditure of such money.

By supplemental petition and trial amendment, appellees renewed their allegations of the oral agreement and their allegations of fraud relative to said written agreement .dated April 9, 1935.

The case was tried and submitted to a jury upon special issues. The jury found, in effect, that an oral agreement was made on or about the 25th day of March, 1935; that it was made prior to appellant’s acquisition of title to the B.ishop lease; that appellant agreed that appellees should own a one-half interest in the Bishop and Moody leases; that at 'the time of the signing of the written contract of April 9, 1935, appellant concealed from appellees Hamill and Smith the fact that appellant had a contract to acquire the Bishop lease and intended to acquire the Moody lease; that appellees made demand on defendant for an interest in the Bishop and Moody leases, within a reasonable time after they received notice that appellant owned them; that appellees Hamill and Smith would not have given appellant the contract of April 9th had appellant disclosed to them that he had a contract for the Bishop lease and intended to acquire the Moody lease; that a reasonable man, under the circumstances, would not have inquired of appellant, at the time the written contract was signed, on April 9th, what leases appellant had in the vicinity of the southwest corner of section 77; that appellees were materially injured as a result of the fraudulent concealment; that appellees did not intend by any delay in making demand to waive any of their rights; and that the parties to the written contract of April 9th did not intend that said written contract should take place of the oral agreement on or about the 25th of March, 1935.

Upon these findings by the jury, the trial court rendered judgment that appellees have and recover the title to and possession of a one-half interest in and to the Bishop and Moody leases, valued at $300,000, and also made allowance to appellant for valuable improvements.

Appellant, being dissatisfied with this judgment, brings the case here, claiming as his right for reversal thirty-one propositions of law.

We are met at the threshold of this case with appellees’ motion to dismiss this appeal. The motion of appellees to dismiss this appeal was filed in this court on March 10, 1937; the statement of facts and the transcript in this case were filed in this court on March 28, 1936. The substance of appellees’ motion to dimiss is, that appellant, DeLange, by filing suit and prosecuting the same to judgment in the Seventy-third district court in and for Bexar county, Tex., with reference to the oil runs involved in the Bishop and Moody leases, involved in this suit, thereby accepted a benefit provided for by the judgment appealed here.

Rule 8 of the Court of Civil Appeals requires that motions relating to informal-ities in the manner of bringing a case into court shall be filed within thirty days after the filing of the transcript, otherwise it is waived.

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

Related

Bloom v. Bloom
935 S.W.2d 942 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Aycock v. Pannill
853 S.W.2d 161 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1993)
Trevino v. Trevino
555 S.W.2d 792 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1977)
Staley v. Harvey
226 S.W.2d 897 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1949)
Davis v. Hawn Lumber Co.
193 S.W.2d 263 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1946)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
106 S.W.2d 385, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 569, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-lange-v-ogden-texapp-1937.