The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1900-01-12
OF Territory important Decision
byPennsylvania supreme court
Affecting oil and Gas.
Pennsylvania Decisions
Have Much Weight
In w. Va. Courts on oil and gas
Rights, as that is the Oldest
oilState and hashad much
oiILitigatlon.

Adhesion of unusual importance to
every person interested In the oil and
gas business has beenhanded down by
thcSupreme Court Of Pennsylvania.
1t was in the case OF Colgan against
the Forest OIL Company and settled
question that has been In doubt for q
long time.
| Colgan, the plaintiff owned farm
of 6Oacres in Midtown district, on
which the Forest OIL Company held n
lease drawn in the usual way. Five
wells have been drIlledunder the lease
on the eastern partof the tract. The
company also owned producing wells
OF moderate capacity on all the adj
Joining farms on the north, west and
SOUTH located ut distances varying
fronts to so feet from Colgan's line.
Colgan insisted that the western half
of the farm should be developed by
the drilling of other wells upon II, and
asserted that he could get Others to
drill the wells II the defendant COM
pany would release thatportion OF the
farmto him. The company declined
to drill the additional wells on the
grounds that they wereunder no obli-
cations to do SO, because they did not
believe paying wells could be obtained
ON that part Of the farm, and declined
also torelease it to him for the reason
that they considered they had cons
piled with the requirements Of the
lease and had thereby kept it in force
as tothe whole tract.
WANTED COMPANY COMPELLED.
Colgan then filed a bill In the Com
mon Pleas Court Of Allegheny county
to compel the defendant company to
drill IN the western part Of the farm
or forfeit the lease to him, and also to
compel the company to account for oil
whichhe alleged had been taken from
the western part OF his farm. The
court, after fully hearing the evidence
made the decree prayed for in the bill,
but the Supreme Court reversed 1t and
orders the bill dismissed. The opin-
ion was written by Justice Mitchell,
in it he says :
stThIs is bllf in equity by lessor
against lessee for specificcovenants. or
IN the alternative for forfeiture OF
lease and also for an account. AS the
covenants are merely implied and
their extent depends altogether on
oral evidence Of opinions, the case for
relief is wholly wanting In that pre-
cisionand certainty ofcontractual duty
which Is necessary to sustain the or
binary chancery decree for a specific
performance.
"There is no relation Of Especial trust
or confidence between lessor and lessee
in gas or oil leases any more than in
anv other. Like all thercontracting
parties, they deal Mt 'slcngth, each
for his own interest. So long as the
question is one Of business judgment
and management, the lessee is not
bound to work unprotitably to himself
for the profit of the lessor, and the
/ parties must be left, as in other cases.
to theirown ways. 1t is only when a
manifestly fraudulent use OF the OPP
portunities and control is shown, that
the courts are authorized to interfere.
OBLIGATION WAS FOR ONE.
"As already said, defendants con-
| tract obligation was to sink one well.
1t has sunk five. One OF these, known
| as Colgan No. 5, it was desirable, in
defendants Judgment. to locate near
the lineof another lessor, Caldwell.
Defendant accordingly consulted both
/ plaintIffand Caldwell, who both agreed
to the location chosen; with notice
from defendant to plaintiff, that II 1t
proved a paying well, plaintiff would
| in justice TO Caldwell, put down an
| other on Caldwell's side otthe line as
an Offset, This was done, The well
on plaintiffs side OF the line proved a
| fair producer, though it declined after
few weeks, and the other well was
then sunk on Caldwell's sideand prov
ed aboutan equal producer. The sec
/; ond well, known as Caldwell No. 4, is
the chief subject OF plaintiffs COM
plant and request for an account.
/ lit isquite apparent, as the learned
4 Judge reports, that each of these wells
draws itssupply partly from the 9TH
cr's territory, but this was foTeseen
and an express agreement made as to-
/ the location,of the first ope, and the
necessity for the second .asan offset
The plointlfI's bill, therefore. on this
] branch, is conclusIyely met by bis own
agreement beforehand to tho conduct