May v. Buck

375 S.W.3d 568, 2012 WL 3104603, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 5501
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 11, 2012
DocketNo. 05-09-01501-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 375 S.W.3d 568 (May v. Buck) 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
May v. Buck, 375 S.W.3d 568, 2012 WL 3104603, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 5501 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion By

Justice MOSELEY.

In a single-issue bench trial, the trial court determined that the property description contained in a letter agreement between appellant Randall Clayton May and appellee William “Bill” Buck did not satisfy the requirements of the statute of frauds. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

BACKGROUND

On January 20, 2005, May, Buck, and appellee Petrox Energy Corporation (Pe-trox) entered into a letter agreement regarding the acquisition of mineral rights in Leon County, Texas. The letter agreement recited that May and Buck desired “to enter into an agreement to acquire mineral rights on acreage in Leon County, Texas from Norman Powell and Mary Bor-mann (Formerly Mary Powell).” The agreement provided that May would provide the capital to lease the acreage, and Buck would lease the acreage to acquire the mineral rights.

The following are the relevant terms and conditions from the letter agreement:

RM [May] will provide the capital to lease the acreage.
BB [Buck] will lease the acreage.
BB will assign to RM or any entity designated by RM all the mineral rights and a 100 acre spacing centered around the David Morris Gas Unit # 1 in Leon County, Texas.
BB will retain the mineral rights to the South of the unit.
RM will retain the rights to the North of the center of the unit, if any. The boundary will be from an East-West line on the David Morris Gas Unit and then all mineral acreage covered by the lease to the North, if any.
The acreage referred to within this agreement is better described in the Exhibit A attached to this agreement and made a part of this agreement.

Exhibit A attached to the agreement describes “563.465 acres, more or less as described in the following four tracts,” and includes specific references to the deed records of Leon County for each tract.

Pursuant to the letter agreement, May provided the capital and Buck entered into leases with Mary M. Powell Borman and Norman Powell. Later, when Buck did not assign the mineral rights to May, May filed suit against Buck and Petrox. May also asserted claims against the other ap-pellees, including claims for tortious interference with May’s contract with Buck. Appellants Union Energy, Inc. and Lane McNamara intervened in the suit.

The parties agreed to a bench trial on the limited issue of appellees’ affirmative defense that the statute of frauds barred May’s claims. As appellees’ counsel argued at the trial, “the problem is where’s the hundred acres [?]” described in the letter agreement. Both appellees and appellants offered expert testimony. Appel-lees’ expert, Daniel Elbert, testified that he could not determine, from the letter agreement or from any other document, a metes and bounds description of only one tract to be conveyed under the letter agreement, but rather that several different configurations were reasonable. Appellant’s expert, Alan Morgan, testified he could determine with reasonable certainty that the hundred acres conveyed in the letter agreement was in the shape of a rectangular “halo,” (also referred to at trial as a “donut,” or “picture frame”) immediately outside the boundary of the David Morris Gas Unit. Over appellants’ objec[573]*573tions, appellees also offered the deposition testimony of appellant May that the well bore was the center of the hundred acres, and the spacing could be a circle, a square, or oblong in shape.

After the trial, the court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, and entered judgment for appellees.2 Appellants assert the trial court erred in concluding the letter agreement did not satisfy the statute of frauds.

Applicable Standards of Review

The trial court concluded the description of the property in the letter agreement did not satisfy the statute of frauds. The parties agree we review this conclusion de novo. See Dixon v. Amoco Prod. Co., 150 S.W.3d 191, 194 (Tex.App.-Tyler 2004, pet. denied) (citing Haines v. McLean, 154 Tex. 272, 280, 276 S.W.2d 777, 781-82 (1955), and In re Humphreys, 880 S.W.2d 402, 404 (Tex.1994)).

Appellants also challenge several of the trial court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. Findings of fact in a nonjury trial have the same force and dignity as a jury’s verdict. Catalina v. Biasdel, 881 S.W.2d 295, 297 (Tex.1994). When a complete reporter’s record is filed, the trial court’s fact findings may be reviewed for legal and factual sufficiency under the same standards as jury verdicts. Ortiz v. Jones, 917 S.W.2d6 770, 772 (Tex.1996) (per curiam); Catalina, 881 S.W.2d at 297. We do not substitute our judgment for that of the fact finder, even if we would have reached a different conclusion when reviewing the evidence. FDIC v. F & A Equip. Leasing, 854 S.W.2d 681, 684 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1993, no writ). Unchallenged findings of fact are binding on the parties and the appellate court. Employers Cas. Co. v. Henager, 852 S.W.2d 655, 658 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1993, writ denied).

In addressing a legal sufficiency challenge, we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the finding, consider only the evidence and inferences that support the finding, and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Catalina, 881 S.W.2d at 297. We uphold the finding if more than a scintilla of evidence exists to support it. Id. In reviewing a factual sufficiency challenge, we examine all of the evidence and set aside a finding only if the evidence is so weak or the finding so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence that it is clearly wrong and unjust. Zieben v. Platt, 786 S.W.2d 797, 799 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1990, no writ); see also Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d 175, 176 (Tex.1986) (per curiam).

We do not review a trial court’s conclusions of law for factual sufficiency. See Dallas Morning News Co. v. Board of Trustees, 861 S.W.2d 532, 536 (Tex.App.Dallas 1993, writ denied). Rather, we evaluate them independently, determining whether the trial court correctly drew the legal conclusions from the facts. Id. However, incorrect conclusions of law will not require a reversal if the controlling findings of fact will support the judgment under a correct legal theory. See Westech Eng’g, Inc. v. Clearwater Constructors, Inc., 835 S.W.2d 190, 196 (Tex.App.-Austin 1992, no writ).

Appellants also challenge the trial court’s admission of certain evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
375 S.W.3d 568, 2012 WL 3104603, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 5501, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/may-v-buck-texapp-2012.