Thomas Gilcrease Foundation v. Stanolind Oil & Gas Co.

First National Bank of Fort Worth owned the entire mineral estate under the northeast quarter of a tract and half the estate under the northwest quarter; Thomas Gilcrease Foundation (plaintiff) separately acquired a three-fourths mineral interest in the northeast quarter and a one-fourth interest in the northwest quarter. The Bank and, a month later, Gilcrease each separately leased their interests to Stanolind Oil & Gas Co. (defendant), but only the Gilcrease lease contained an entirety clause requiring royalties to be divided among separate owners in proportion to each owner's overall acreage share of the entire leased tract, rather than by tract. The northwest quarter turned out far more productive than the northeast, meaning Gilcrease -- who owned more in the less productive quarter -- stood to gain from entirety-clause apportionment; Gilcrease sued for royalties based on its one-half overall ownership share, Stanolind argued for tract-by-tract apportionment instead, and the trial court granted Gilcrease summary judgment before the court of appeals reversed.