Tommy Yowell v. Granite Operating Company And Granite Operating Company and Apache Corporation v. Peyton Royalties, L.P.

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-17-00112-CV

TOMMY YOWELL; GAIL YOWELL; HARRY GRAFF; EL TERCIO, LLC; AND CASUARINA INVESTMENTS, LLC (D/B/A LAR RESOURCES, LLC), APPELLANTS

V.

GRANITE OPERATING COMPANY AND APACHE CORPORATION, AND PAC PRODUCTION CO.; MESA OIL & GAS CORP.; AND CATTALO, LTD., APPELLEES

AND

GRANITE OPERATING COMPANY AND APACHE CORPORATION, APPELLANTS V.

PEYTON ROYALTIES, L.P.; BAILEY PEYTON, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE GEORGE BAILEY PEYTON, IV 2007 GRANTOR RETAINED ANNUITY TRUST NO. 1; AND PEYTON HOLDINGS CORP., APPELLEES

On Appeal from the 31st District Court Wheeler County, Texas

Trial Court No. 12,944, Honorable Steven R. Emmert, Presiding

July 26, 2018

DISSENTING OPINION

Before CAMPBELL and PIRTLE and PARKER, JJ.

It is with the utmost respect that I dissent from the opinion of my learned colleagues. One can read thousands of opinions regarding complex oil and gas litigation and never encounter the terms “anti-washout,” “rule against perpetuities,” and “doctrine of cy pres” in the same opinion. It is the uniqueness of those rarely cited principles that has caused me to examine so closely the appropriateness of the trial court’s summary disposition of this dispute. Because the majority affirms the decision of the trial court to dispose of this dispute, as a matter of law, based upon the rule against perpetuities and then dismisses consideration of the doctrine of cy pres—I respectfully dissent.

Patrick A. Pirtle

Justice