Riddle v. Brann

1942 OK 23, 124 P.2d 402, 190 Okla. 456, 1942 Okla. LEXIS 116
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 20, 1942
DocketNo. 30192.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1942 OK 23 (Riddle v. Brann) 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
Riddle v. Brann, 1942 OK 23, 124 P.2d 402, 190 Okla. 456, 1942 Okla. LEXIS 116 (Okla. 1942).

Opinion

OSBORN, J.

This is an appeal by F. E. Riddle, hereinafter referred to as in-tervener, from a judgment rendered against him by the district court of Creek county in an action wherein James Brann was plaintiff and James A. Harris and William Harris were defendants, wherein the trial court fixed an equitable lien in favor of plaintiff upon certain funds held by the Texas Company as the proceeds of oil production, to which funds the intervener held an assignment from defendants.

*457 It appears that the property from which the oil was produced has been in litigation since August 4, 1917. The litigation has been before this court on numerous occasions and has twice been before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Some time prior to August, 1917, James A. Harris and William Harris, hereinafter referred to as Harris Brothers, purchased an undivided one-half interest in the real property herein involved. On August 4, 1917, Ison Gray-son, joined by many others, commenced an action in the district court of Creek county to recover an interest in the undivided one-half interest claimed by Harris Brothers; on February 21, 1920, the court rendered judgment decreeing the plaintiffs in that action to be the owners of a 9/22nds interest in said land and Harris Brothers to be the owners of 2/22nds and James Brann, plaintiff! herein, to be the owner of the remaining ll/22nds, or one-half interest. Brann was appointed receiver to take charge of the 9/22nds interest in the land decreed to plaintiffs and the 9/22nds of the oil and gas produced therefrom and hold the same pending final disposition of the case. No receiver was appointed to take charge of or collect for the oil and gas produced from the 2/22nds interest decreed to Harris Brothers. The plaintiffs did not appeal from said judgment, but Harris Brothers prosecuted an appeal. In view of plaintiffs’ failure to appeal, the 2/22nds interest in the property thereupon became vested in the Harris Brothers. From the judgment entered on February 21, 1920, there was extended litigation. Since the issues involved herein relate to the 2/22nds interest, it is unnecessary to relate further details regarding the litigation between the plaintiffs in the original action and the Harris Brothers.

The action in the instant case was instituted on December 17, 1936, in the district court of Creek county, in which Brann sought to recover certain monies alleged to be due him from Harris Brothers for their proportionate part of the expense incurred in the operation of the property. We are here concerned with only a portion of the funds involved therein and find it unnecessary to quote all of the allegations of the plaintiff’s petition. Insofar as pertinent to the present controversy, plaintiff alleged as follows:

“Second Cause of Action
“Comes now the plaintiff and for his second cause of action against the above-named defendants and each of them, alleges and avers:
“That the lands described in his first cause of action became involved as described in his first cause of action, in extensive litigation, and that he was appointed receiver as described in his first cause of action, and that as such receiver, operated and controlled said property, and that the same was an operating oil and gas lease, producing oil, gas and casing-head gasoline, and that between the dates of December, 1927, and November, 1935, said defendants were the owners of an undivided one-eleventh of said property, and that said one-eleventh or two-twenty-seconds was never involved in the litigation in plaintiff’s first cause of action, but was the property of said defendants and that it was necessary, because of the nature of said property, to operate the entire estate which included said one-eleventh interest, and in said operation thereof it was necessary to furnish material and equipment and make various expenditures as the operator thereof, and that he did make such expenditures and that the said defendants and each of them agreed and promised that such expenditures and charges so made would be repaid out of the proceeds of said one-eleventh interest, and that he would be reimbursed thereby. That on December 9, 1927, the Texas Company, who were the purchasers of the oil, gas and gasoline from said interest, impounded and retained all the proceeds that were due said one-eleventh interest, and do so now hold the same and have refused to distribute them until a proper order of court be made, relieving them from any obligations after said distribution is made. Plaintiff says that on the 9th day of March, 1936, he filed a lien against said estate and said defendants’ interest therein in the court clerk’s office of Creek county, Oklahoma, and gave due notice thereof to said defendants. A copy *458 of said lien is hereto attached, marked plaintiff’s exhibit ‘D’ and made a part of this petition as though set out herein in full, and that said statement has appended thereto a verified account, properly itemized, showing all expenditures and expense charges against said interest in said property, amounting to a total sum of $1,651.13, and that this amount has remained and does now remain unpaid. . . .
“Third Cause of Action
“Comes now the above-named plaintiff and for his third cause of action, pleading in the alternative pleads all the matters and things set out in his second cause of action, and those things made a part thereof by exhibits and by reference therein, and shows to the court that by virtue of the facts involved therein, if said court should refuse to permit him to foreclose his lien upon the oil and gas estate therein described, as a lien against an oil and gas estate or a mechanic’s or materialman’s lien and labor lien under and by virtue of the provisions of law applicable in the State of Oklahoma concerning said liens, that he be declared to have an equitable lien upon said leasehold estate and upon said funds impounded in the hands of the Texas Company, and that said equitable lien be declared foreclosed and said property sold in accordance with said decree and that he have judgment of and from the said defendants and each of them in the sum of $3,988.63. . . .”

On February 24, 1940, F. E. Riddle was granted leave to intervene, and on March 8, 1940, filed his petition in intervention, wherein he alleged a transfer and assignment of the money and funds held by the Texas Company, the proceeds of the oil produced from the interest of Harris Brothers in the lands involved herein. It appears that sometime in 1933 the attorney who had represented Harris Brothers in the litigation died, and intervener herein, who is an attorney, was retained to represent Harris Brothers in the litigation; that in payment of his fee they made an oral assignment of all their interest in the fund accumulated in the hands of the Texas Company, and on January 28, 1935, the assignment was reduced to writing.

The cause proceeded to trial and witnesses were called and examined.

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Bluebook (online)
1942 OK 23, 124 P.2d 402, 190 Okla. 456, 1942 Okla. LEXIS 116, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/riddle-v-brann-okla-1942.