Luthi v. Evans

562 P.2d 127, 1 Kan. App. 2d 114, 58 Oil & Gas Rep. 181, 1977 Kan. App. LEXIS 144
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 18, 1977
Docket48,327
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 562 P.2d 127 (Luthi v. Evans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Luthi v. Evans, 562 P.2d 127, 1 Kan. App. 2d 114, 58 Oil & Gas Rep. 181, 1977 Kan. App. LEXIS 144 (kanctapp 1977).

Opinions

Spencer, J.:

Plaintiffs, as successors in title of the original lessors, brought suit to cancel an oil and gas lease (known as the [115]*115Kufahl lease) on land in Coffey County, Kansas. Defendant John R. Evans is the undisputed owner of the lease in zones above the Mississippi lime formation as well as a small overriding royalty interest in the zones below. Defendants J. R. Burris (hereinafter Burris) and International Tours, Inc. (hereinafter Tours) each claim ownership of the lease in the zones below the Mississippi lime (deep zones), subject to the Evans interest, from a common assignor. The trial court quieted title as to the deep zones in Burris and granted plaintiffs cancellation of the lease, subject only to test drilling by Evans and Burris in their respective zones within six months after the date judgment became final. Tours has appealed from the judgment quieting title in Burris. No issue is raised in this appeal as to plaintiffs Luthi or as to the defendant Evans, or as to the judgment of conditional cancellation.

This matter was submitted upon agreed facts as set forth in the pre-trial memorandum. The trial court concluded that Burris was an innocent purchaser and acquired title by virtue of the fact that the recording of the prior assignment to Tours was not sufficient to give notice under the recording statutes.

By written instrument designated “Assignment of Interest in Oil and Gas Leases” dated February 1, 1971, acknowledged February 5, 1971, one Grace V. Owens, who was then the owner of the working interest in the Kufahl lease subject only to the overriding interest of the defendant Evans, assigned to Tours all of her right, title and interest in and to seven oil and gas leases on land in Coffey County, Kansas. These leases were identified in the assignment by lease descriptions and recording data and are not involved in this appeal. The second full paragraph of that assignment is as follows:

“And for the same consideration the Assignors covenant with the Assignee, his heirs, successors or assigns: That the Assignors are the lawful owners of and has good title to the interest above assigned in and to said Lease, estate, rights and property, free and clear from all liens, encumbrances or adverse claims; That said Lease is valid and subsisting Lease on the land above described, and all rentals and royalties due thereunder have been paid and all conditions necessary to keep the same in full force have been duly performed, and that the Assignor will warrant and forever defend the same against all persons whomsoever, lawfully claiming or to claim the same. Assignors intend to convey, and by this instrument convey, to the Assignee all interest of whatsoever nature in all working interests and overriding royalty interest in all Oil and Gas Leases in Coffey County, Kansas, owned by them whether or not the same are specifically enumerated above. . . (Emphasis added.)

[116]*116This instrument was filed for record on February 16,1971, at 8:50 o’clock A.M. and duly recorded in Book 13 of O & G at page 116-119, office of the Register of Deeds, Coffey County, Kansas. It is an admitted fact that the register of deeds entered this instrument in the grantor-grantee index and in the numerical indexes as to those tracts specifically described therein, but that nothing was shown on either the grantor-grantee index or the numerical indexes with respect to the Kufahl lease specifically on lands here in question.

Under date of January 30, 1975, the same Grace V. Owens, assignor to Tours, executed and delivered a second assignment of her working interest in the Kufahl lease to Burris. Prior to the date of that assignment, Burris personally checked the records in the office of the register of deeds and, following the date of the assignment to him, Burris secured an abstract of title to the real estate in question. Neither his personal inspection nor the abstract of title reflected the assignment to Tours. There is no contention here as to lack of consideration for the assignment to Tours or for that to Burris, the sole question being — Which defendant, J. R. Burris or International Tours, Inc., is the owner of the working interests in all zones below the Mississippi lime formation, subject only to the l/16th of ysths overriding royalty interest in favor of the defendant John R. Evans under the Kufahl lease?

It is admitted in the record and by the parties in oral argument before this court that the portion of the assignment to Tours which provides “Assignors intend to convey, and by this instrument convey, to the Assignee all interest of whatsoever nature in all working interests and overriding royalty interest in all Oil and Gas Leases in Coffey County, Kansas, owned by them whether or not the same are specifically enumerated above . . .,” was a valid transfer of the Owens interest in the Kufahl lease to Tours as between the parties to that instrument. However, Burris directs attention to the provisions of K.S.A. 58-2203, form of warranty deed, and notes that the general language of the assignment omits the names of the lessor and lessee in the lease from which the working interest is carved, omits the date of the lease, all legal descriptions, and the recording data. He argues that as a result of the omissions contained in that portion of the assignment to Tours, it was impossible for the Register of Deeds of Coffey [117]*117County to identify the real estate involved and to make the proper entries in the numerical index. Accordingly, even though he checked the records at the courthouse, he was unaware of the assignment to Tours and he did not learn of the prior conveyance until after he had purchased the rights from Grace V. Owens, after which he had an abstract of title prepared which also failed to reflect the assignment to Tours. He concludes that the failure to complete the proper indexes was not a problem created by the register of deeds but rather by Tours, and that as a result of the omissions, the Tours assignment as recorded was not sufficient to give constructive notice to a subsequent innocent purchaser for value. It is upon this point that Burris prevailed before the trial court.

There is no doubt but that the assignment to Tours was valid. The case of In re Estate of Crawford, 176 Kan. 537,271 P.2d 240, was an action which among other things challenged the sufficiency of a deed in which the property to be conveyed was described as follows:

“Mineral rights and oil royalties on properties heretofore conveyed by me and lots in the town of Stafford.
“Grantor expressly reserves a life estate in all of the property hereby conveyed.” (p. 540.)

In upholding the validity of the deed, the court said:

“. . • It clearly conveyed his mineral interests on properties located in Stafford County ‘heretofore conveyed’ by him, and lots in the town of Stafford. The evidence was clear that by the execution of the deed he intended to convey all of his holdings in Stafford County, reserving to himself a life estate. Specific identification of those properties was a simple matter merely by reference to the public records.” (p. 543.)

and referred to the general rule concerning the sufficiency of description contained in deeds found in 26 C.J.S., Deeds § 30, as follows:

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Related

Luthi v. Evans
576 P.2d 1064 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1978)
Luthi v. Evans
562 P.2d 127 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
562 P.2d 127, 1 Kan. App. 2d 114, 58 Oil & Gas Rep. 181, 1977 Kan. App. LEXIS 144, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/luthi-v-evans-kanctapp-1977.