Garrett v. Dils Co.
Supreme Court of Texas
299 S.W.2d 904 (Tex. 1957)
Garrett (plaintiff) conveyed to Caldwell an undivided one sixty-fourth mineral interest, expressly clarified elsewhere in the deed as one-eighth of the one-eighth royalty due under the then-existing Humphrey Lease, with a further clause stating Caldwell would own one-eighth of the lease interest and future rentals if that lease terminated. After the Humphrey Lease expired and Garrett signed a new lease with the same standard one-eighth royalty, Dils (defendant), who acquired Caldwell's interest, claimed one-eighth of the new lease's one-eighth royalty, while Garrett argued Dils was entitled only to a flat one sixty-fourth mineral interest. The trial court sided with Garrett's narrower reading, but the court of appeals reversed in Dils's favor.
Whether a deed containing a granting clause and a subject-to or future-lease clause with conflicting fractional conveyances should be construed to give effect to the parties' intent as gathered from the deed as a whole.