Enerlex, Inc. v. Amerada Hess, Inc.

302 S.W.3d 351, 2009 WL 3212554
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 5, 2009
Docket11-08-00305-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 302 S.W.3d 351 (Enerlex, Inc. v. Amerada Hess, Inc.) 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
Enerlex, Inc. v. Amerada Hess, Inc., 302 S.W.3d 351, 2009 WL 3212554 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

RICK STRANGE, Justice.

This dispute involves competing claims to mineral interests. Enerlex, Inc. sued Amerada Hess, Inc. and Lynn Eisner claiming superior title to the disputed interests. The parties filed competing motions for summary judgment, and the trial court granted Amerada Hess’s and Els- *353 ner’s motions finding that Eisner owned the disputed interests. We affirm.

I.Background Facts

In 1974, Frank Meier deeded to his wife, Helen Meier, mineral interests in seven Gaines County tracts. 1 These interests form the basis of this dispute, and the conveyance to Helen is the common source of title for the competing claims. Frank passed away in 1985. Helen married Gerald Losey in 1988. Eisner claims that in 1991 Helen conveyed the Gaines County interests to her with five unrecorded gift deeds. Enerlex contends that Helen bequeathed the interests to Gerald when she died in 1995. Helen’s will was probated in Florida in 1996, and copies of her probate documents were recorded in Gaines County that year. Also in 1996, Gerald married Grace W. Losey. In 1999, Eisner filed an affidavit of heirship in Gaines County. That affidavit contended that Helen’s will and its probate were invalid and that Eisner was Helen’s only surviving heir. In 2003, Gerald died and left his estate to Grace. In 2005, Grace executed a mineral deed conveying to Enerlex all of her mineral interests in seventy-one sections in Gaines County. Enerlex recorded its deed in 2005, and Eisner filed her gift deeds in 2006.

II.Issues

Enerlex challenges the trial court’s judgment with two issues, contending that it had superior title as a matter of law or, alternatively, that there were questions of fact concerning its status as a bona fide, good-faith purchaser.

III.Standard of Review

The parties filed no-evidence and traditional motions for summary judgment. The trial court ruled on the traditional motions. 2 We will, therefore, apply the standard of review for traditional summary judgment motions. Questions of law are reviewed de novo. St. Paul Ins. Co. v. Tex. Dep’t of Transp., 999 S.W.2d 881, 884 (Tex.App.-Austin 1999, pet. denied). To determine if a fact question exists, we must consider whether reasonable and fair-minded jurors could differ in their conclusions in light of all the evidence presented. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Mayes, 236 S.W.3d 754, 755 (Tex.2007). We must consider all the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, indulging all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmovant, and determine whether *354 the movant proved that there were no genuine issues of material fact and that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Nixon v. Mr. Prop. Mgmt. Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985).

IV. Discussion

Enerlex contends that because it filed the mineral deed before Eisner filed her gift deeds and because it was a bona fide, good-faith purchaser for value, its title is superior to hers. Eisner responds that Enerlex cannot be a bona fide purchaser because the mineral deed is a quitclaim deed and because it had prior notice of her claim. Enerlex acknowledges that it cannot be a bona fide purchaser if the mineral deed is a quitclaim deed but contends that, when the mineral deed is viewed in its entirety, it is not a quitclaim deed because it conveyed property and not just Grace’s interest in property.

A. Is Enerlex’s Mineral Deed a Quitclaim Deed?

A warranty deed to land conveys property. A quitclaim deed conveys the grantor’s right in that property, if any. Geodyne Energy Income Prod. P’ship I-E v. Newton Corp., 161 S.W.3d 482, 486 n. 12 (Tex.2005) (a quitclaim deed conveys a grantor’s complete interest or claim in certain real property without warranting or professing that the title is valid). In deciding whether an instrument is a quitclaim deed, courts look to the parties’ intent as it appears from the language of the instrument itself. Winningham v. Dyo, 48 S.W.2d 600, 603 (Tex.Comm’n App.1932, judgm’t adopted).

Enerlex’s deed is labeled “MINERAL DEED.” Grace conveyed to Enerlex:

[A]ll right, title and interest in and to all of the Oil, Gas, and any other classification of valuable substance, including any mineral leasehold and royalty interests, including any future or reversionary interest, in and under and that may be produced from the following described lands situated in Gaines County, State of Texas, to wit: WTTR Survey, Block G, Sections 160-230 inclusive.

In a subsequent paragraph, the deed provided: “It is the intent of Grantor to convey all interest in the said county whether or not the sections or surveys are specifically described herein.” The deed also provided:

Grantor does hereby warrant said title to Grantee it’s [sic] heirs successors, personal representatives, administrators, executors, and assigns forever and does hereby agree to defend all and singular the said property unto the said Grantee herein it’s [sic] heirs, successors, personal representatives, administrators, executors, and assigns against every person whomsoever claiming or to claim the same or any part thereof.

Helen’s and Gerald’s last wills and the orders probating those wills were attached as exhibits.

Enerlex argues that the deed is not a quitclaim deed because it was not restricted to any interest that Grace may have had and, therefore, the deed conveyed an interest in property. Enerlex notes that Grace conveyed “all right, title and interest” in the seventy-one sections rather than “my right, title, and interest” or “all right, title, and interest that I may own.” Enerlex is correct that the deed does not contain this type of qualifying language, but it reads too much into this distinction. It is more significant that at no point in the deed did Grace warrant or represent that she actually owned any mineral interest. Unlike the 1974 deed to Helen, neither the mineral deed nor any of its attachments quantified her interest. Cf. Rogers v. Ricane Enters., Inc., 884 S.W.2d 763, 769 (Tex.1994) (a quitclaim deed is a *355 deed of conveyance intending to pass the grantor’s title, interest, or claim, but not professing that such title is valid, nor containing any warranty or covenants for title); see also Geodyne Energy,

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
302 S.W.3d 351, 2009 WL 3212554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/enerlex-inc-v-amerada-hess-inc-texapp-2009.