Stephens Production Co. v. Johnson

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Stephens Production Co. v. Johnson

842 S.W.2d 851, 311 Ark. 206, 1992 Ark. LEXIS 720

CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas

DecidedDecember 7, 1992

Docket91-333

StatusPublished

Cited by5 cases

This text of 842 S.W.2d 851 (Stephens Production Co. v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Stephens Production Co. v. Johnson, 842 S.W.2d 851, 311 Ark. 206, 1992 Ark. LEXIS 720 (Ark. 1992).

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Opinions

Robert H. Dudley, Justice.

The chancellor cancelled the oil and gas leases to some of the vertical geological formations of a drilling unit. The defendant production companies appeal from the chancellor’s finding that they have abandoned some of the formations, and the plaintiffs cross-appeal from the finding that the defendants have not totally abandoned the leases.

We cannot reach the merits of the case and must affirm the final order on both direct and cross-appeal for failure of the parties to comply with Rule 9(d) of the Rules of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. There is no abstract, by either the appellants or the cross-appellants, of the complaint, the cross-complaint, or either of the answers. An abstract of those pleadings would be helpful. There is no abstract of the chancellor’s findings of fact or of the final order, and these are essential in order to understand this case. Equally critical are certain exhibits which are not abstracted or copied. The testimony of the witnesses about the exhibits is abstracted, but, without the exhibits, much of the testimony about the issues is meaningless.

It is necessary for a party to abstract the essential portions of the proceedings relied upon for appeal purposes. Otherwise, all seven members of the court would have to pass, from office to office, the one transcript and the one set of exhibits in order to examine and understand the case, and, with the number of cases submitted, that is impossible. We have no alternative other than to do as we have done in other comparable cases and affirm the decree of the chancellor. See Hunter v. Williams, 308 Ark. 276, 823 S.W.2d 894 (1992); Meyers Gen. Agency v. Lavender, 301 Ark. 503, 785 S.W.2d 28 (1990); Cash v. Holder, 293 Ark. 537, 739 S.W.2d 538 (1987); Zini v. Perciful, 289 Ark. 343, 711 S.W.2d 477 (1986).

Accordingly, we affirm pursuant to Rule 9(d).

Holt, C. J. and Brown, J., not participating. Special Chief Justice Wright and Special Justice Ross concur.

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Robert H. Dudley, Justice.

The chancellor cancelled the oil and gas leases to some of the vertical geological formations of a drilling unit. The defendant production companies appeal from the chancellor’s finding that they have abandoned some of the formations, and the plaintiffs cross-appeal from the finding that the defendants have not totally abandoned the leases.

We cannot reach the merits of the case and must affirm the final order on both direct and cross-appeal for failure of the parties to comply with Rule 9(d) of the Rules of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. There is no abstract, by either the appellants or the cross-appellants, of the complaint, the cross-complaint, or either of the answers. An abstract of those pleadings would be helpful. There is no abstract of the chancellor’s findings of fact or of the final order, and these are essential in order to understand this case. Equally critical are certain exhibits which are not abstracted or copied. The testimony of the witnesses about the exhibits is abstracted, but, without the exhibits, much of the testimony about the issues is meaningless.

It is necessary for a party to abstract the essential portions of the proceedings relied upon for appeal purposes. Otherwise, all seven members of the court would have to pass, from office to office, the one transcript and the one set of exhibits in order to examine and understand the case, and, with the number of cases submitted, that is impossible. We have no alternative other than to do as we have done in other comparable cases and affirm the decree of the chancellor. See Hunter v. Williams, 308 Ark. 276, 823 S.W.2d 894 (1992); Meyers Gen. Agency v. Lavender, 301 Ark. 503, 785 S.W.2d 28 (1990); Cash v. Holder, 293 Ark. 537, 739 S.W.2d 538 (1987); Zini v. Perciful, 289 Ark. 343, 711 S.W.2d 477 (1986).

Accordingly, we affirm pursuant to Rule 9(d).

Holt, C. J. and Brown, J., not participating. Special Chief Justice Wright and Special Justice Ross concur.

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842 S.W.2d 851, 311 Ark. 206, 1992 Ark. LEXIS 720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stephens-production-co-v-johnson-ark-1992.

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