Folkes v. Mitchell
Folkes v. Mitchell
Opinion of the Court
The contract is for the execution of a lease. The second paragraph provides that the plaintiffs shall execute a lease in the general form customarily used in the local
Finally, to malee assurance doubly sure, I can see no possible significance in the last paragraph but one, if my interpretation be wrong. It could surely not have been necessary to.give the lessee a right of entry, if he was already under positive obligation to enter and drive a well. The use of the word “may” is clearly permissive; i. e., it means that before the lease he has the option to begin. More could be said for this argument if there were merely an option to enter, but the option extends to “begin operations”; i. e., to begin driving a well. That is absolutely inconsistent with any duty to do so.
Finally, I may say that it would be a harsh construction which should compel the proposed lessor to expend money on the ground before he got the security of a lease. I do not mean that in any case any contract had been formed because of the vagueness as to the terms of the lease. I am taking that in the plaintiff’s favor, for the sake of argument. Even so there is no cause of action pleaded.
Demurrer sustained, with leave to respondent to answer within 20 days.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- FOLKES v. MITCHELL
- Status
- Published