Hoyle v. Dopslauf

256 S.W.2d 457, 2 Oil & Gas Rep. 779, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 2260
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 5, 1953
DocketNo. 12481
StatusPublished

This text of 256 S.W.2d 457 (Hoyle v. Dopslauf) 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
Hoyle v. Dopslauf, 256 S.W.2d 457, 2 Oil & Gas Rep. 779, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 2260 (Tex. Ct. App. 1953).

Opinion

GRAVES, Justice.

Appellant Hoyle filed this suit against Appellees, Louis Dopslauf and wife — joining with them their lessees, the two oil companies, the Amerada and the Stanolind— seeking to reform a 5-year term royalty deed executed by such Dopslaufs to Hoyle, dated June 15th of 1936;

This further statement is adopted, after some editing, from the brief of appellees herein: “ * * * and also sought to recover a royalty interest in 337 acres of land, in addition to the 40 acres specifically described in said deed. Both the Plaintiff, R. A. Hoyle, and the Defendants, Louis Dopslauf and wife, filed motions for summary judgment, alleging that there were no fact issues to be decided * * *.

“Pursuant to said motions, the Trial Court entered judgment, granting the Plaintiff’s motion in part and overruling it in part, and granting the Defendants’ motion ; holding that the deed from the Dops-laufs to Hoyle vested Hoyle with ½ of the royalty under the 40-acre tract specifically described in said deed, that such royalty interest had terminated, due to the fact that there was no production in paying [458]*458quantities from said 40 acre tract at the end of the five year term, and that Hoyle was not entitled to reform the deed.”

The map, which is considered as aiding in the consideration of the appeal, is likewise taken from the Appellees’ brief, and is made a part of this opinion, as Exhibit “A”.

In this Court, the parties do not differ over the recited holding of the trial court that the deed from the Dopslaufs to Hoyle vested him with ½ of the royalty under the 40 acre tract, described in the Hoyle deed, nor over its further holding in that particular that Hoyle was not entitled to reform the deed to him, since — on his appeal herein — he makes no attack upon that holding.

Wherefore, appellant thus states his remaining three points of error:

“Point 2. The lease on the Francis Fry one hundred (100) acres was unitized by the agreement dated January 14th, 1936, with the adjoining [459]*459Louis Dopslauf one hundred (100) acres, and the Louis Dopslauf one hundred seventy-seven (177) acres, known respectively as the “B” Lease and the “C” Lease, and the Trial Court erred in refusing to grant Appellant’s motion for summary judgment for one-sixteenth (%e) of the royalty to he paid under the terms of said leases as unitized.
“Point 3. The motion of the Appellant for summary judgment in the Trial Court for an undivided one-half (½) of the royalty under the 40-acre tract described in the deed to Hoyle, so long as oil and gas is produced under the lease upon such property, should have been granted.
“Point 4. There was a fact issue to be submitted to the jury as to whether there was a mere temporary cessation of production which would not terminate the grant to Appellant on the forty (40) acre tract, and the Trial Court erred in granting Appellee’s motion for summary judgment.”

He, likewise, presents this map of the ground involved, in aid of his contentions, which is hereto attached and made a part hereof, as Exhibit “B”.

[460]*460It -will be noted from the appellant’s map that he grounds his whole cause upon his contention that all three of the appellees’ leases — A, B and C — to him had been unitized; whereas, the appellees’answering brief, and their map of the ground, so attached as Exhibit “A” hereto, reflect that no unitization of the leases had ever been made, and that the trial court so found; hence they answer appellant’s quoted points with these two counter-points only:

“First Counterpoint
“The Trial Court correctly held that the Dopslauf A, B and C leases were never unitized, and that the deed from the Dopslaufs to Hoyle was effective to vest him with ½ of the royalty under the 40 acre tract specifically described therein for a term of five years and as long thereafter as there was production therefrom in paying quantities, and in holding that such royalty interest had terminated due to the fact that there was no production in paying quantities from said land at the end of said five year term.
“Second Counterpoint
“All of the facts with reference to the cessation of production from the Dopslauf “A” lease were stipulated, and the Trial Court correctly held that whether such cessation of production constituted a mere temporary cessation which would not terminate Appellant’s royalty interest, or whether same constituted such a cessation as would terminate such interest, presented a question of law to be determined by the Court and not a question of fact to be determined by a jury.”

This Court concludes that the trial court correctly determined the controversy, and that the Appellees’ copied map and answers in reply to Appellant’s presentments so show. They, further, in support of their answering positions, cite these, among other, authorities: Garcia v. King, 139 Tex. 578, 164 S.W.2d 509; Hoffman v. Magnolia Petroleum Co., Tex.Com.App., 273 S.W. 828; Kokernot v. Caldwell, Tex.Civ.App., 231 S.W.2d 528, writ of error refused; Scarborough v. New Domain Oil & Gas Co., Tex.Civ.App., 276 S.W. 331; Stephens County v. Mid-Kansas Oil & Gas Co., 113 Tex. 160, 254 S.W. 290, 29 A.L.R. 566; Watson v. Rochmill, 137 Tex. 565, 155 S.W.2d 783, 137 A.L.R. 1032; Wilson v. Holm, 164 Kan. 229, 188 P.2d 899; 31-A Tex.Jur., Sec. 160.

As indicated, the trial court found that the claimed royalty- interests of appellant under his deed from the appellees, to the 40-acre tract in the A lease had entirely terminated, in consequence of the fact that there had been no production in paying quantities from such 40-acre tract at the end of the first 5-year term of the lease thereon; hence, that appellant had not been entitled to reform the deed from appellees to him. This Court does not understand that appellant attacks that holding here.

As the appellees urge in their quoted counter-points, appellant’s whole cause appears to rest upon his contention that certain other (ad interim) transactions between the parties to such leases, and their two amendments to them, which they had executed on the same day, back on January 14, 1936, had resulted in unitizing all three of such leases — A, B and C — between them, into only one lease, which unitization transaction conferred upon appellant the rights asserted upon his three points, on this appeal.

It seems clear to this Court, from an inspection of such amendments to the leases, both of which, as stated, had been executed on the same day, January 14, 1936, shows his contention that they constituted a uniti-zation, is unsound.

Furthermore, the trial court properly so found.

The deed from appellees to appellant is also copied and attached hereto as Exhibit “C”.

These conclusions require an affirmance of the judgment; it will be so ordered.

Affirmed.

Exhibit “C”

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Related

Kokernot v. Caldwell
231 S.W.2d 528 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1950)
Scarborough v. New Domain Oil & Gas Co.
276 S.W. 331 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1925)
Stephens County v. Mid-Kansas Oil & Gas Co.
254 S.W. 290 (Texas Supreme Court, 1923)
Garcia v. King
164 S.W.2d 509 (Texas Supreme Court, 1942)
Watson v. Rochmill
155 S.W.2d 783 (Texas Supreme Court, 1941)
Hoffman v. Magnolia Petroleum Co.
273 S.W. 828 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1925)
Wilson v. Holm
188 P.2d 899 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1948)

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Bluebook (online)
256 S.W.2d 457, 2 Oil & Gas Rep. 779, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 2260, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoyle-v-dopslauf-texapp-1953.