Archer County v. Webb
Supreme Court of Texas
338 S.W.2d 435 (Tex. 1960)
Relevant factsFree
A 1929 royalty deed granted Scarbauer's successors (plaintiffs) royalty rights for a 15-year term or so long as oil/gas was produced, with no shut-in provision of its own; a later, unrelated 1940 lease between the landowner (defendants) and an operator contained its own shut-in royalty clause that extended the lease's separate term when the well wasn't producing, and Scarbauer's successors argued those lease-based shut-in payments also extended their deed's expired 15-year royalty term.
IssueFree
Whether a deeded royalty interest can be extended beyond its primary term by a shut-in royalty provision when the shut-in provision is not contained in the mineral deed itself.
Related cases
Freeman v. Magnolia Petroleum Co.171 S.W.2d 339 (Tex. 1943)Hitzelberger v. Samedan Oil Corp.948 S.W.2d 497 (Tex. App. 1997)Peveto v. Starkey645 S.W.2d 770 (Tex. 1982)Thomas Gilcrease Foundation v. Stanolind Oil & Gas Co.266 S.W.2d 850 (Tex. 1954)Sunac Petroleum Corp. v. Parkes416 S.W.2d 798 (Tex. 1967)