Huselton v. Liggett
Huselton v. Liggett
Opinion of the Court
In his third amended petition The plaintiff alleged among other things that he was the owner of an oil and gas lease, dated December 28, 1917, executed by Liggett and wife to the defendant C. Frost Liggett, to certain land, and that he was the owner of all the oil and gas rights covered by such lease; that he had the right to enter upon the property to prospect and develop, and was in actual possession under and by virtue of The lease; that he based his ownership on a contract between himself and C. Frost Liggett and M. M. Fontaine dated June 26, 1918, under which C. Frost Liggett executed and delivered to him two assignments of such oil and gas lease and the oil and gas rights so far as they cover the land involved herein; and he prayed that his title be quieted against all the defendants. The lease from Liggett to Huselton of July 17, 1918, recites that the lessor—
“Has granted, demised, leased and let and by these presents does grant, demise, lease and let unto the said lessee, for the sole and only purpose of mining and operating for oil and gas, and laying pipe lines and building tanks, powers, stations and structures thereon to produce, save and take care of said products, all that certain tract of land . . . described as follows, to wit:” [describing the land].
The contract of June 26, 1918, recites that in consideration of $8,000 in stock, par value, of a certain oil and gas company, to be delivered as hereinafter provided, “the first parties hereby agree to transfer, assign and set over unto the second party, or his assigns, in proper legal form all of the oil and gas rights to the Northwest Quarter (N. W. of the Northwest Quarter (N. W. %) . . etc., subject to one-eighth royalty to the owner of the land. “The said assignment by the first parties, and this contract, shall be subject in all respects to examination and delivery of good legal title. In the event the title to said oil and gas lease be found defective, then this contract shall be null and void.”
The assignment, dated July 7, 1918, signed by C. Frost Liggett, recited that the party of the first part—
“Hereby grants ... all the oil, gas and minerals in and under the 'following described premises, together with all rights conferred upon said party of the first part, as contained in a certain oil, gas and mineral lease, executed on December 28, 1917, by Frank S. Liggett and Eva Liggett in favor of said C. Frost Liggett,” etc.
“That acting under said agreement this defendant prepared two certain papers, one in the form of an oil and gas lease and one in the form of an assignment of the oil and gas rights . . . with an abstract of title to said land showing the title to said oil and gas rights in this defendant, C. Frost Liggett.”
Further, it was alleged that the lease and assignment were given by the defendant, Fontaine, to the plaintiff for his examination and that he took them under pretense of examining them and then refused to give them up and afterwards made objection to them and refused to accept them and refused to accept the title as given in the abstract and advised this defendant of such refusal, notwithstanding which he afterwards had the lease and assignment recorded; that he and Fontaine demanded a return of the papers, which demand had been refused; and he averred that they had never been delivered to plaintiff and that he had not paid the consideration for them; and that on August 19, 1918, he notified the plaintiff that unless he complied with the terms of the agreement the defen'dant would not be bound by the terms of the agreement and it would terminate and be null and void. Lamson’s answer set up a Vie interest in the lease and the guardian for Wood made a similar answer.
The court, the jury being waived, made findings of fact to the effect, among other things, that Liggett and Fontaine made the contract with Huselton, and Frank S. Liggett and wife made the lease to C. Frost Liggett; that Liggett made the assignment to George W. Wood for a one-sixteenth interest and to Fontaine for thirteen thirty-seconds, to Lamson for one-sixteenth, and to Rowe for one-sixteenth; that the record title to the oil and gas lease was by the defendants, Fontaine, Wood, Lamson and Rowe, permitted to remain in C. Frost Liggett until after the making and execution
“Eighteenth: Neither the plaintiff nor his attorneys, . . . ever raised any objections to the legal title to the leasehold interest covering said forty acres except that the same was covered by an old mineral lease which mineral lease was canceled by the judgment of this court on the 11th day of October, 1918, and that the plaintiff never made any objection to carrying out the contract of June 26, 1918, on account of said old mineral lease. The title of said lease is good.”
The court further found that the only objection ever made by the plaintiff to carrying out the contract was because it did not appear that the entire interest in the lease was being transferred by the defendants to the plaintiff, the plaintiff having been advised by Fontaine that others were interested in the lease and Liggett refused to disclose by what authority he acted for such other persons.
As conclusions of law the court found that the contract of Liggett. and Fontaine bound the defendants to convey to the plaintiff the full title; that until the plaintiff was advised of Liggett’s authority to act for Rowe, Lamson and Wood, he had a right to withhold a delivery of the stock named as a consideration for the lease; that the assignments of July 17, 1918, conveyed to the plaintiff full title; and that the title was therefore good in the plaintiff.
The court found that a delivery of the assignments was made and the evidence well sustains the finding.
Complaint is made that the plaintiff unduly delayed payment of the consideration. But as soon as he learned of the power of attorney the plaintiff tendered the consideration and the tender was refused. Doubtless, the consideration would have been promptly forthcoming if Liggett had recorded the power of attorney promptly. At least, the record shows that the plaintiff repeatedly requested a closing of the deal, which requests were unheeded. The 19th finding was to the effect that the only objection ever made by the plaintiff to carrying out the transaction was that it did not appear that the defendants were transferring the entire interest in the lease, “Liggett
Some point is sought to be made because there was not a technical, literal tender of this stock. But the courts have come to treat such matters very much as the parties to a contract do, and when a tender is offered and refused or made in a way not quite satisfactory to the ancient doctrinaires, it will answer requirements of the law when it has already answered the purpose of the parties, and we find nothing of substance in the record on which to base any defense in relation to the matter of tender. (See Chinn v. Bretches, 42 Kan. 316, 22 Pac. 426; C. K. & W. Rld. Co. v. Comm’rs of Chase Co., 49 Kan. 399, 413, 30 Pac. 456; Piazzek v. Harman, 79 Kan. 855, 98 Pac. 711; Echternack v. Moncrief, 94 Kan. 754, 147 Pac. 860; 26 R. C. L. 622-625.)
It is disputed that the plaintiff was in possession as alleged by him. The only possession requisite under the terms of the lease was the freedom to go upon the land to prospect for and handle the oil found thereunder. The plaintiff testified that on August 14, 1920, he purchased some lumber which he caused to be taken to the land.
“I rode on the truck myself and saw it delivered myself, and wrote my name on the lumber which I left. The lumber was suitable for use in the construction of any part of an oil well, derrick, or other use in the development of the lease.”
C. Frost Liggett testified that on the 20th day of August, 1920, he was on the land, posted notices at various places on the tract and “failed to find a stick, board or anything of any character in the way of lumber.” The court found that “'the plaintiff took actual possession ... by going upon the land, and leaving there, a load of lumber which was suitable for use in drilling operations,” and under the evidence already stated, which seems to have been all on that question, it is beyond our power to overturn the finding of the court. Having recorded his assignment, and having done as found by the court, we deem his allegation of possession sufficiently supported to enable the plaintiff to maintain the action.
Because Rowe, Lamson and Wood did not execute the assignment it is urged that the plaintiff is not entitled to a judgment against them. It is argued that the principles of agency still ex
Section 2073, General Statutes of 1915, requiring a power of attorney to be recorded before the conveyance authorized thereby is executed, is cited as a reason for absolving the makers thereof. There is nothing in the statute and nothing in the law which has been called to our- attention that would in any way avoid this power of attorney by the action of Liggett thereunder on account of -the mere failure to record it. Of course, as counsel suggest, in order to be recorded it must be executed and acknowledged, but no reason appears why, having executed it, the makers are not bound by it, whether it is recorded or not. Corpus Juris says that in the absence of a statute a power of attorney need not be acknowledged or recorded, but that some states require and others permit them to be recorded. . -
“As the purpose of requiring acknowledgment and record is thereby to give notice to third persons, failure to record the power of attorney, even when recording is required by law, will not invalidate the agent’s acts thereunder as between the parties to such acts but only as to creditors and subsequent purchasers without notice, unless the statute makes recording a prerequisite to authority to act, or provides that unrecorded instruments shall be absolutely void.” (2 C. J. 456, 457.)
“But in the absence of express provisions of statute the validity of letters of attorney is not affected by a neglect to have the instrument recorded.” (21 R. C. L. 878.)
The intimation that the principals in the power of attorney are not bound because not named in the instruments relied on by the plaintiff is not deemed to require discussion.
It is further said that Liggett did not attempt to act under the power of attorney even if he had authority to do so, but it is admitted that he took the position that the entire record title was in himself. The court expressly found that Wood, Lamson and
“The court finds that said Fontaine, Wood, Lamson, and Rowe did this for the purpose of permitting the said Liggett to deal with the said oil and gas lease in his own name, and assign, transfer and convey the same in such manner as to him might seem most advantageous.”
The evidence warranted this finding, and in view thereof it hardly lies in the mouths of these defendants now to question Liggett’s power to act so as to pass the full title.
Finally, the argument is advanced that the pleadings were not sufficient to enable the plaintiff to prevail against Woo'd or his executor because he filed no pleadings. Wood was made a party and answered by his guardian, and service was had against his executor. Stratford as administrator joined in the demurrer, to the plaintiff’s evidence. The cause was tried through on the pleadings, and these defendants excepted to the findings and joined in the motion for a new trial after having moved to set aside the findings. They made no objection to testimony under the third amended petition. “The defendants requested the court to make special findings of fact and conclusions of law,” and this includes these defendants. There was no demurrer to the plaintiff’s pleadings, and in view of all these facts it is too late'now to question their sufficiency.
The cause was carefully tried by an able court who had before it the witnesses who were seen and heard, and while the defendants’ side has been pressed with the vigor and ability characteristic of their counsel, we are unable to find any error in the record.
The judgment is therefore affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Howard E. Huselton v. C. Frost Liggett, (Griggs Operating Company, a Common Law Trust, Appellees)
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- SYLLABUS BY THE COURT. 1. Action to Quiet Title — By Assignee of Oil and Oas Lease. -The facts and findings show that the provision in the contract involved herein that a defect in the title of the gas and oil lease assigned should render such contract void does not preclude the plaintiff from maintaining this action to-quiet his title. 2. Same — Title Not Defective. Held, that the title transferred was not defective. 3. Same — Power of Attorney Withheld from Record. The power of attorney held by the defendant Liggett authorized him to pass the title of certain other defendants, although withheld from record. 4. Same — Assignments of Lease Delivered. The facts and findings show that the assignments of the lease were delivered. 5. Same — Consideration for Assignments of Lease — Delay. The delay of the plaintiff in turning over certain shares of stock in consideration for the assignments of the lease was the fault of the defendant Liggett in not recording the power of attorney. 6. Same — Tender of Shares of Stock in Consideration for Assignment. The facts and findings show a sufficient tender of the shares of stock, the agreed consideration for the assignment of the lease. 7. Same — Possession by Plaintiff. The facts and findings show a sufficient possession to enable the plaintiff to maintain the action. 8. Same — Effect of Not Recording Power of Attorney. Section 2073, General Statutes of 1915, requiring a power of attorney to be recorded before action thereunder does, not avoid a conveyance made pursuant to such power without recording the latter. 9. Same — Pleadings—Record—Judgment. The pleadings and record held to justify the inclusion of all the defendants in the judgment rendered.