Grayson v. Stith

1943 OK 150, 138 P.2d 530, 192 Okla. 340, 1943 Okla. LEXIS 161
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 20, 1943
DocketNo. 29687.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1943 OK 150 (Grayson v. Stith) 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
Grayson v. Stith, 1943 OK 150, 138 P.2d 530, 192 Okla. 340, 1943 Okla. LEXIS 161 (Okla. 1943).

Opinion

ARNOLD, J.

Defendant in error, hereinafter called plaintiff, brought this action to perpetually enjoin the plaintiffs in error (P. E. Grayson and L. E. Brown), hereinafter referred to as defendants, from entering upon a certain tract of land allegedly belonging to him and from pulling or moving the casing, tubing, and other equipment from the two gas wells thereon situated.

The plaintiff alleged that he is the owner of a certain tract of land; that two fully equipped gas wells of a value of $1,000 each are located thereon; that the defendants entered upon said land and asserted their right to remove the casing, tubing, and other well equipment thereon; that the said defendants have been advised of his ownership and have been denied permission to pull and remove said personal property; that he is unable to learn under what claim of right defendants assert the right to remove same. This petition was filed on April 25, 1933.

On April 29, 1933, the defendant L. E. Brown answered by way of a general denial, and then alleged that on the 29th day of March, 1933, he entered into a contract with the defendant P. E. Grayson whereby he purchased the tubing and pipe in the two abandoned gas wells located on the lands described in plaintiff’s petition; that the defendant Grayson was and had been for many years the owner of said land and in open and notorious possession thereof; that the agreed price for the purchase thereof was reasonable; that while he was preparing to pull the pipe of the second well the plaintiff advised him that he was the owner of the land and the wells and all of the equipment; that he advised plaintiff of his contract with defendant Grayson, and the terms thereof; that plaintiff agreed that should the equipment be determined to be his, he would accept the price provided therefor in said contract; that relying thereon he continued with the work of pulling the casing; that he was thereafter served with a garnishment in a case against Grayson and by reason thereof he advised plaintiff he would pay the money for the equipment into court; that immediately thereafter plaintiff commanded him to get off the premises. He then prayed that injunction relief be denied the plaintiff and that he be permitted to remove and sell all the pipe and equipment and deposit the purchase price thereof with the court clerk.

On January 30, 1935, the defendant Grayson answered by way of general denial and alleged that he was the owner of the land described in plaintiff’s petition and the wells and equipment located thereon; that plaintiff’s claim is based on a certain tax' deed, and that same is void for a number of alleged reasons; that said tax deed constituted a cloud upon his title. He then prayed that plaintiff take nothing; that the tax deed be canceled and declared void and the plaintiff decreed to have no interest in the land.

The defendant Brown filed an amendment to his separate answer alleging the invalidity of the tax deed, and prayed that plaintiff take nothing and that the tax deed be canceled as a cloud upon his rights.

On February 12, 1935, plaintiff filed a reply to the separate answer of the defendant Grayson wherein he denied *342 generally and specifically the allegations thereof, and alleged that on the 31st day of July, 1934, in a separate action filed by 'him against the defendant Grayson and his wife, on November 25, 1933, a judgment had been rendered determining the tax deed to be valid and quieting the title to the land in him; that said judgment is now final and res adjudicata of the validity of the tax deed and plaintiff’s title to the land, and the defendant Grayson is estopped to plead' and offer proof on the issues sought to be raised in his answer.

Plaintiff filed a reply to the separate answer of the defendant Brown, denying generally and specifically the allegations contained in his answer and the amendment thereto, and alleged that he obtained title to the land by tax deed issued on March 22, 1933, of which defendant Brown had full knowledge on March 29, 1933, when he entered into the contract of purchase of the equipment with defendant Grayson. He also therein adopted all the allegations set forth in his reply to the answer of defendant Grayson.

At the conclusion of the trial on August 19, 1935, the trial court made findings of fact and conclusions of law to the following effect in the particulars pertinent to our decision in this case: That the casing in dispute was realty and passed by virtue of the tax deed to Stith; that the judgment in the quiet title action hereinbefore referred to was res adjudicata as to the title of the Graysons; that said judgment constitutes a bar to all persons claiming under them.

The trial court then entered judgment permanently enjoining the defendants as prayed for.

Each defendant filed a separate petition in error. The allegations of the petition in error filed by the defendant Brown are identical with those of the petition filed by the defendant Grayson, with the exception that it contains two additional paragraphs, same being paragraphs 5 and 10. The pertinent parts of the petition in error of Brown are as follows:

“(7) The court erred in its findings of fact and conclusions of law No. 1, in holding that the casing in dispute being placed in the wells became a part of the land and was realty which passed by virtue of the deed to Stith had he become owner thereof, if his deed was valid.”
“(10) The court erred in its findings of fact and conclusions of law No. 4, in holding that the question involved in this lawsuit had been adjudicated by virtue of the judgment rendered on July 31, 1934, in the case of J. O. Stith v. P. E. Grayson, No. 9691, district court of Wagoner county, Oklahoma.”
“(15) Wherefore, plaintiff in error prays that said judgment so rendered may be reversed, set aside and held for naught, and that said action be remanded to the district court of Wagoner county, Oklahoma, with instructions to sustain the demurrer and to dismiss said petition of the plaintiff in said district court, and that this plaintiff in error be restored to all rights that he has lost by the rendition of such judgment, and for such other relief as to the court may seem just.”

The defendant Grayson filed an application in the case in this court setting forth that he had theretofore filed an action in the district court of Wagoner county to set aside the judgment quieting title in the plaintiff to the land on which the wells and equipment involved herein were located; that the trial court had rendered judgment on the pleadings in that case and refused to vacate the judgment; that he was perfecting an appeal therefrom; that if this court should in that contemplated appeal set aside the default judgment quieting title to said land in plaintiff, he would then be entitled to defend this action on the ground that the tax deed of plaintiff was void. He admitted in said application that the quiet title judgment was binding upon him until set aside, and on this admission predicated his application to stay determination of this case until the appeal from the judgment refusing to vacate the quiet title judgment .should be determined. *343

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Bluebook (online)
1943 OK 150, 138 P.2d 530, 192 Okla. 340, 1943 Okla. LEXIS 161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grayson-v-stith-okla-1943.