Garrett v. Lion Oil & Refining Co.

292 S.W. 405, 173 Ark. 429, 1927 Ark. LEXIS 179
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 28, 1927
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 292 S.W. 405 (Garrett v. Lion Oil & Refining Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garrett v. Lion Oil & Refining Co., 292 S.W. 405, 173 Ark. 429, 1927 Ark. LEXIS 179 (Ark. 1927).

Opinion

Mehafuy, J.

In 1908, and for some time prior thereto, Jesse T. Murphy was the owner of a 65-acre tract of land in Union County, Arkansas, described as all of the NE14 of the NE44 of section 8, except 5 acres in a square in the NW corner of said 40-acre tract, and the W% of the SEI4 of the SEÜ of section 8, all in township 16 south, range 15 west, Union County, Ax-kansas, containing 65 acres.

On January 27, J. T. Murphy and his wife, Mattie Mnrphv, conveyed one acre out of the 65-acre tract to Louis Hicks. The one acre conveyed to,Hicks was described in the deed to Hicks as follows: “Begin at NE corner of the SE% of SEÍ4 section 8, Twp. 16 S. range 15 W. run west one hundred and seventy (170) yards, thence run south (22) twenty-two yards to the place of beginning, thence run south 70 yards, thence west 70 yards, thence north 70 yds., thence east 70 yds. to place of‘.beginning, containing one acre.” The deed stated “do hereby grant,, bargain, sell and convey unto the said Louis Hicks and unto his assigns forever.” It did not contain the word heirs. The habendum clause also omitted the word heirs, and stated “mito his assigns forever, for a graveyard.” The acre of land conveyed to Hicks was used by him as a graveyard or burial place, and Hicks cleared about >/t of the acre after it was conveyed to him, but he did not put his deed on record.

The graves of the persons buried were marked, and the remaining 64 acres was still held by Murphy as open and unimproved land until March 17, 1922, on -which date Murphy and his wife executed and delivered to W. G. Sanford an oil and gas lease to the 65 acres, excepting one acre, now used as a cemetery, and describing it as containing 64 acres more or less. The lease provided for an annual rental of $64. Whether the exception of the' one acre was valid or not, Sanford’s lease was upon 64 acres only. And if the lease from Murphy to Sanford had included the one acre used as a burial place, it would have been 65 acres. Sanford thereafter assigned a portion of this lease to Marshall Spoonts, trustee for the Oil Operators’ Trust. This assignment recites the original lease and contains the description as it is in the original lease. Spoonts thereafter resigned as a trustee, and 0. F. Spencer was selected trustee, in succession. Later C. F. Spencer and Dan Lydick were appointed receiver for the Oil Operators’ Trust.

The Lion Oil & Refining Company submitted an offer to the receivers to purchase the property, and, in itemizing the property that they' proposed to buy, they described this tract, and in the description was “less one acre used as a cemetery.” An assignment was afterwards executed by Spencer and Lydick as receivers, and Spencer also acted as trustee, conveying the property to the Lion 0-il & Refining Company.' From the time the deed was made to Hicks, 1908, until some time in 1924, Hicks had kept his deed in his possession, but had never had it recorded. On April 5, 1924, Hicks returned the deed to the one acre and Murphy executed a new deed conveying one-half of the original acre tract. There was no reconveyance by Hicks, but he simply delivered the original deed to Murphy. The one-half acre that contained the graves was under fence. Murphy paid Hicks nothing for the surrender of the deed. In March, 1925, Hicks executed a warranty deed to the one-half acre which was not inclosed, to G. D. Hayes, describing the one-half acre as follows: “Beginning at the northeast corner of the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 8, township 16 south, range 15 west, running west .633 feet, thence south 66 feet for a point of beginning, thence south 210 feet, thence east 1Ó5 feet, thence north 210 fee,t, thence west 105 feet, to point of beginning, being one-half (i/>) acre more or less.”

Hayes, on the same day, executed an oil and gas lease on the one-lialf acre to Fred W. Bowen. Bowen assigned one-half interest to M. L. McCorkle, who assigned an interest to Thurman. The owners of the lease on the one-half acre conveyed to him by Hicks drilled an oil well upon the property, which is still producing large quantities of oil. Shortly after the drilling of said well, appellees brought a suit in the chancery ' court to enjoin the appellants from drilling and taking oil from said one-half acre, alleging that they were the owners of said one-half a,cre tract, under, the original. lease from Murphy to Sanford.

After this suit was filed, Murphy was unable to locate the deed which Hicks had returned to him, and parol evidence was ■ introduced, and a decree rendered to the effect that the evidence of the execution of the deed was insufficient. Before the term of court adjourned, Murphy found the deed, the court set • the original decree aside for the purpose of hearing further evidence. The deed was then introduced, and the court again found in favor of appellees, holding that the deed to Hicks conveyed only the surface right for a graveyard, and did not convey a fee sifuple estate, nor any interest in oil .and gas, and again entered a decree in favor of appellees.' This deed from Hicks to Hayes was placed on record in March, 1925. The suit brought not only asked for an injunction, but for a cancellation of the deed, lease, and assignments. There is practically no dispute about the facts, and the appellant states that the case presents only the following propositions of law:

. 1. Did the deed from Murphy to Hicks in 1908 convey the oil and gas to Hicks?

2. Did Sandford, by his lease from Murphy in 1922, acquire any interest in this one-acre tract of land?

3. Did Murphy acquire any title to the Hayes half-acre by reason of the fact- that Hicks, in 1924, surrendered the original deed covering one acre to him and took a new deed to the one-half acre? -

4. If Murphy did acquire title by this transaction, did such title inure to the plaintiffs under the doctrine of after-acquired title?

We think the proof is clear and convincing .that Murphy executed and delivered to Hicks a deed in 1908. This deed was not recorded, and it was afterwards surrendered to Murphy, and Murphy executed and delivered to Hicks a deed to one-half of the acre, and this deed was put on record.

It is earnestly insisted by the appellee that, in cases like this, where the deed was delivered back to the grantor-with the intention of revesting title in him and a new deed wias executed to the grantee, a- court of equity will treat the transaction as vesting the equitable title in the grantor, and in effect that the grantee holds the naked legal title as trustee for the person to whom he surrendered the deed. Appellees admit that the ease of Strawn v. Norris, 21 Ark. 80, has no-particular bearing on this case. And we think also that the case of Neal v. Speigle, 33 Ark. 64, has no particular bearing. The facts in that case are wholly unlike the case at bar, and the court said: “At the time the deed and mortgage were burned, Jones being dead, the legal title to the lands was in his heirs at law by virtue of the mortgage, and the equitable title was in Shaver, and the destruction of the deed did not divest his title and revest it in the heirs of Jones. The legal existence of the deed and mortgage continued, though the papers on' which they were written were burned.

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Related

Werbe v. Holt
100 F. Supp. 392 (W.D. Arkansas, 1951)

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Bluebook (online)
292 S.W. 405, 173 Ark. 429, 1927 Ark. LEXIS 179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garrett-v-lion-oil-refining-co-ark-1927.