Holbrook v. Continental Oil Co.

278 P.2d 798, 73 Wyo. 321, 4 Oil & Gas Rep. 453, 1955 Wyo. LEXIS 2
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 4, 1955
Docket2641
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 278 P.2d 798 (Holbrook v. Continental Oil Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holbrook v. Continental Oil Co., 278 P.2d 798, 73 Wyo. 321, 4 Oil & Gas Rep. 453, 1955 Wyo. LEXIS 2 (Wyo. 1955).

Opinion

*326 OPINION

Riner, Chief Justice

The controversy in this case involves a portion of the ranch holdings of the plaintiffs which total about 5,200 acres; specifically, the west half of Section 25 and the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 26, Township 36 North, Range 64 West of the sixth principal meridian, are the lands to be considered in the litigations before us. The portion of Section 25 above- *327 mentioned is located at the northwest corner of plaintiff’s property and does not appear to be adjacent to any other land held by plaintiffs under lease or in fee. The defendant corporations will frequently be designated as the “oil companies” or by their respective names, as may be convenient, and for the purpose of clarity.

The record shows that a patent was issued from the United States Government to one Ralph E. Marshall on March 26, 1923, for the west half of Section 25 aforesaid; and that instrument contained a mineral reservation reading:

“Excepting and reserving, also, to the United States all the oil and gas in the lands so patented and to it or persons authorized by it, the right to prospect for, mine, and remove such deposits from the same upon compliance with the conditions and subject to the provisions and limitations of the Act of July 17, 1914 (38 Stat., 509).”

The Act of July 17, 1914, so far as here pertinent (see Section 122 of Title 30, U.S.C.A.) provides that any patent covering lands v/ithdrawn or classified as mineral should contain a reservation to the United States of the mineral deposits on account of which the lands thus patented were withdrawn or classified as valuable for mineral development and that “Any person who has acquired from the United States the title to or the right to mine and remove the reserved deposits,” in the event the United States should dispose of such mineral deposits in the lands, “may reenter and occupy so much of the surface thereof as may be required for all purposes reasonably incident to the mining and removal of the minerals therefrom, and mine and remove such minerals, upon payment of damages caused thereby to the owner of the land, or upon giving a good and sufficient bond or undertaking therefor *328 in an action instituted in any competent court to ascertain and fix said damages.” (Italics supplied.) The damages the statute intended to cover are previously mentioned in the statute as “damages to the crops and improvements on such lands,” and the measure thereof was to be fixed by “agreement of parties or by a court of competent jurisdiction.”

There appears also to have been issued by the United States on July 1, 1943, to Albert N. Rundquist and W. W. Wright “subject to any unit agreement heretofore or hereafter approved by the Secretary of the Interior” an oil and gas lease covering the west half of Section 25 aforesaid which, it is conceded, is now in force and effect and is owned by the defendant oil companies.

A United States patent was also issued by the Government to Ralph E. Marshall on March 26, 1923, covering the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 26, Township 36 North, Range 64 West of the sixth principal meridan. This patent contained a mineral reservation, to wit:

“Excepting and reserving, however, to the United States all the coal and other minerals in the lands so entered and patented, together with the right to prospect for, mine and remove the same pursuant to the provisions and limitations of the Act of December 29, 1916 (39 Stat., 862).”

The provisions of the Act of Congress of December 29, 1916, material here are found in Chapter 9 thereof (see Section 299 of Title 43, U.S.C.A.) which provides that all patents issued shall “contain a reservation to the United States of all the coal and other minerals in the lands so entered and patented, together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the same.” The statute also provides that:

“Any person who has acquired from the United States the coal or other mineral deposits in any such *329 land, or the right to mine and remove the same, may reenter and occupy so much of the surface thereof as may be required for all purposes reasonably incident to the mining or removal of the coal or other minerals . . . upon the execution of a good and sufficient bond or undertaking to the United States for the use and benefit of the entryman or owner of the land, to secure the payment of such damages to the crops or tangible improvements of the entryman or owner, as may be determined and fixed in an action brought upon the bond or undertaking in a court of competent jurisdiction against the principal and sureties thereon, such bond or undertaking to be in form and in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior and to be filed with and approved by the register of the local land office of the district wherein the land is situate, subject to appeal to the Commissioner of the General Land Office ...” (Italics supplied.)

Another oil and gas lease embracing the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 26 aforesaid and other lands was issued by the United States to Frank Cordell under date of July 10, 1939, it being conceded by the parties to this action that this lease is now owned and held by the defendant oil companies. Of the entire ranch holdings of the plaintiffs, the west half of Section 25 and the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 26 aforesaid, including 400 acres, are the only lands upon which the defendant oil companies are engaged in operating as oil and gas lessees. The individual defendants in this case are employees of the Continental Oil Company living in the dwellings subsequently mentioned and are without interest in these leases.

Plaintiffs purchased all of the deeded lands in their ranch except the 400 acres mentioned above as located in Section 25 and Section 26 aforesaid and on January 25, 1947, obtained a deed thereto from one Frank W. Chambers. From September, 1938, until the land was *330 bought from Chambers, the land was held by plaintiffs under lease from him. Only the surface of the land was involved in this lease.

The defendant oil companies entered upon the lands leased by them, as stated above, and drilled their first well in 1943. Nine wells have been drilled on the west half of Section 25, six of which are producing, the remaining wells being dry holes. When the plaintiffs purchased the lands in January, 1947, five wells had been completed. Six wells have been drilled on the south half of the northeast quarter of Section 26; half of these are producing, but the others are dry. Four of these wells were drilled prior to 1947 and two thereafter. Wells 1, 8, 3, 9, and 5 are about 330 feet from the west line of Section 25; wells 6, 4, and 7 are about 990 feet from that line.

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

Related

Btu W. Res., Inc. v. Berenergy Corp.
442 P.3d 50 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2019)
Mingo Oil Producers v. Kamp Cattle Co.
776 P.2d 736 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1989)
Belle Fourche Pipeline Co. v. State
766 P.2d 537 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1988)
CHEYENNE MIN. AND URANIUM COMPANY v. Federal Resources Corp.
694 P.2d 65 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1985)
Sanford v. Arjay Oil Co.
686 P.2d 566 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1984)
Occidental Geothermal, Inc. v. Simmons
543 F. Supp. 870 (N.D. California, 1982)
Reno Livestock Corp. v. Sun Oil Co.(Delaware)
638 P.2d 147 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1981)
Hollabaugh v. Kolbet
604 P.2d 1359 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1980)
Hurst v. Davis
386 P.2d 943 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1963)
Schmidt v. Foster
380 P.2d 124 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1963)
Texaco Inc. v. Joffrion
363 S.W.2d 827 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1962)
Marsh v. Butters
361 P.2d 729 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1961)
SCHOOL DIST. 32 IN CO. OF FREMONT v. Wempen
342 P.2d 232 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1959)
Dame v. Mileski
340 P.2d 205 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1959)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
278 P.2d 798, 73 Wyo. 321, 4 Oil & Gas Rep. 453, 1955 Wyo. LEXIS 2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holbrook-v-continental-oil-co-wyo-1955.