Simmons v. Wilson

250 S.W.2d 638, 1 Oil & Gas Rep. 1424, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 1643
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 18, 1952
DocketNo. 12332
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 250 S.W.2d 638 (Simmons v. Wilson) 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
Simmons v. Wilson, 250 S.W.2d 638, 1 Oil & Gas Rep. 1424, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 1643 (Tex. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

NORVELL, Justice.

This appeal is closely related to that decided by the Waco Court of Civil Appeals under the style of Simmons v. Wilson, opinion reported in 216 S.W.2d 847. The suit was originally tried in 1948, judgment being rendered in February of that year. The jury answered certain issues relating to the controversy between Jay Simmons and H. A. Porter and others, but failed to answer issues submitted in connection with the controversy insofar as it involved Simmons and Sam E. Wilson, Jr., and his corporation, S. E. W. Oil Corporation. A severance was ordered and judgment rendered in favor of Porter et al. The case between Simmons, on one hand, and Wilson and S. E. W. Corporation, on the other, was again tried and resulted in a jury disagreement.

The present appeal is from a summary judgment rendered in accordance with the provisions of Rule 166-A, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. In their motion, ap-pellees adopted as a part thereof the statement of facts or transcript of the evidence made in connection with the 1948 trial. Appellees’ contention, which was accepted by the trial court, was that appellees were entitled to judgment as a matter of law despite the testimony of Simmons, particularly the part thereof relating to a purported conversation with Wilson on February 25, 1943. The legal situation is essentially the same as if the trial court had rendered judgment for Wilson and S. E. W. Oil Corporation in 1948, despite the jury’s failure to agree upon certain issues. In other words, if an instructed verdict upon the 1948 record could have been sustained, then the motion for summary judgment was properly rendered as the transcript of the evidence made in 1948 is an exhibit to said motion. In stating the facts we refer for the most part to the 1948 statement of facts. In passing upon the evidence as set out therein, the familiar rule is applicable, i. e., we are required to view the same in the light most favorable to the losing party below and resolve all conflicts in his favor.

The judgment rendered below impressed a constructive trust in favor of appellees, Sam E. Wilson, Jr., and S. E. W. Oil Corporation, in and to certain interests under an oil and gas lease held by appellant, Jay Simmons, and covering Survey 43, originally patented to Pedro Ramos, and containing 160 acres of land in Kleberg County, Texas.

The holding of the trial court was that there was no genuine issue of fact in the case despite the fact that Simmons stated and Wilson denied that on February 25, 1943, in a conversation between the two, Wilson said, in effect, that he would not proceed further with the prosecution of a joint venture in which he and Simmons were then both engaged.

In the present litigation, we do not consider that the position of S. E. W. Oil Corporation, a legal entity controlled and dominated by Sam E. Wilson, Jr., differs substantially from that of Wilson as an individual. For present purposes, it may be conceded that S. E. W. Oil ’Corporation should be awarded equitable relief establishing its asserted overriding royalty as were the other royalty owners, if such right be not defeated by Wilson’s position supposedly taken on February 25, 1943. The same may be said of Wilson’s individual claim in and to the working interest under, the lease involved.

[640]*640We shall not attempt a complete statement of the factual events leading up to this controversy, but will refer to the opinion of the Waco Court for that purpose. We take up the narrative on February 25, 1942, the date Wilson contends he became a partner or co-adventurer with Simmons.

At that time, the Heman-Craig lease (referred to by the Waco Court as the H-C lease) had terminated by reason of nonpayment of delay rentals. Simmons then negotiated with Edward, John and Mary Rawlinson, children of William and Ida Rawlinson, and secured a lease covering Survey No. 43, dated February 25, 1942, and a lease covering Survey No. 44, Ricardo Gutierrez, original patentee, dated February 26, 1942. Simmons and Wilson agreed to own the working interest jointly and to reinstate the overriding royalty owners under the Heman-Craig lease, insofar as Survey 44 was concerned.1 The section number used in the Heman-Craig lease was No. 44. At this time there was in existence a title complication or dispute between the Rawlinsons and the King Ranch, a corporation. The number 44 had been used in a deed of conveyance from Robert J. Kleberg to William and Ida Rawlinson in 1896, but the grantees had gone into possession of Survey No. 43. It seems that Simmons and Wilson contemplated settling this title matter by suit or otherwise, but a year later this had not been accomplished.

On February 25, 1943, Simmons, according to his testimony, came to Corpus Christi to see Wilson and make arrangements to pay delay rentals upon the leases above mentioned. Simmons’ testimony as to the disputed conversation may be set forth as a dialogue with minor paraphrasing, as follows:

“Simmons: The delay rental (on the Rawlinson leases) is due today, and, instead of mailing it out to them, I think we should go over there and have a talk with Ed Rawlinson at the time we pay, for, although we have no direct obligation (to drill), we are going to develop it as soon as we can and I would like to explain what we are doing.
“Wilson: Jay, you sure have handled this thing in a slipshod manner. You haven’t filed suit and these leases are a year old now. You haven’t done a thing. It is just in the same status it [641]*641was on the 25th (of February, 1942).
“Simmons: That is true, but Mr. Rawlinson doesn’t want a lawsuit with them if we can avoid it, with the King Ranch and Humble, and I have discussed it with my attorney and he is looking the thing over and is carrying on negotiations, and he says the King Ranch and the Humble people would be the last people to want a lawsuit with so long as there is a chance to get a lease from them without that. I was just following his advice in the matter and also the wishes of Mr. Rawlinson. It is getting nowhere, but I think it is better to negotiate.
“Wilson: Well, I don’t agree with you and I think something ought to be done, build a fire or get somebody out there and get a suit filed.
“Simmons: I’m not going to agree to have a suit filed as long as the attorney said not to.
“Wilson: I’m not going ahead with it any longer the way you are handling it. You turn that thing over to me and let me take those leases and I will show you how to get the job done. I will get a fire built under them and bring a suit and clear it up, and you can take an oil payment, hold a retained oil payment, and assign those leases to me and we will get them and you will wind up with an oil payment; you will have nothing further to do with it, and I will work it out.
“Simmons: Sam, that is ridiculous. I gave you that half interest in each of those leases and we talked about it for thirty minutes before I agreed to do it and I would have nothing left out of it for that four hundred dollars, just nothing other than just I had thrown it to you.
“Wilson: Yes, but you will have your oil payment.
“Simmons: I’m not going to do that, I wouldn’t think of it.
“Wilson: I’m not going to throw in another dollar.

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250 S.W.2d 638, 1 Oil & Gas Rep. 1424, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 1643, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simmons-v-wilson-texapp-1952.