American Canadian Expeditions, Ltd. v. Gauley River Corporation
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
655 S.E.2d 188 (2007)
Relevant factsFree
Gauley (defendant) sold ACE (plaintiff) a three-year option to buy a portion of Gauley's land plus a river-access easement, but the option contract said nothing about the property's timber; before ACE exercised the option, Gauley logged and profited from the property's trees, and ACE sued for the resulting loss, though the logging didn't interfere with ACE's easement and ACE went ahead and exercised its purchase option anyway.
IssueFree
Whether an option contract, by itself, gives the optionee any ownership interest in the property.