Case Name: GREAT SOUTHERN SULPHUR CO. v. MILLS
Court: Texas Courts of Civil Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1924-11-26
Citations: 267 S.W. 528
Docket Number: No. 1680
Parties: GREAT SOUTHERN SULPHUR CO. v. MILLS.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Western Reporter
Volume: 267
Pages: 528–531

Head Matter:
GREAT SOUTHERN SULPHUR CO. v. MILLS.
(No. 1680.)
(Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. El Paso.
Nov. 26, 1924.
Rehearing Denied Dee. 31, 1924.)
1. Appeal and error <@==>931 (I) — All fact issues .assumed resolved in appellee’s favor, in ab? sence of findings.
In absence of findings by trial court, it must be assumed, on appeal from judgment for plaintiff, that all fact issues raised by evidence were resolved in his favor.
2. Mines and minerals <@=>6 — Payment of purchase-money notes for executed conveyance of right and privilege under permits not defeated, because land did not contain minerals hoped for.
Executed conveyance of every right and privilege of grantor under mineral permits ■granted is sufficient consideration for purchase-money notes, payment of which cannot be defeated, merely because it develops that land did not contain minerals which parties thought or hoped it did.
3. Mines and minerals <@=>6 — Whether fraudulent representations as sulphur in land, covered by mineral permits, were made held fact issues for trial court.
Whether alleged fraudulent representations that land, covered by mineral permits conveyed, contained sulphur of commercial quality in paying quantity, were made held issues of fact for trial court on conflicting evidence.
4. Mines and minerals <§=>6 — Purchaser of mineral rights held not entitled to abatement in price for deficiency of acreage.
Purchaser of'mineral rights, without reference, in negotiation or. consideration, to any designated or estimated acreage, which deed, importing sale in gross on its face, recited was 600, instead of 620 acres, by draftsman’s error, held not entitled to abatement in purchase price for deficiency of acreage;
5. Evidence <@=>129(6) — Evidence of prior lease of mineral rights to subsequent grantee held admissible to rebut evidence of reliance'on lessor’s representations in purchasing them.
In action on notes for purchase price of mineral permits, prior lease thereof by plaintiff to defendant held admissible to rebut latter’s evidence of reliance on plaintiff’s representations as to quantity and quality of sulphur in land in purchasing property.
6. Appeal and error <@=>1056(4) — Refusal to permit filing of reconveyance of mineral permits, purchased in alleged reliance on fraudulent representations, held harmless in view of finding against appellant on fraud.
In action on notes for purchase price of mineral permits, refusal to permit defendant, alleging reliance on fraudulent representations in purchasing them, to file tendered deed reeon-veying them to plaintiff, held harmless, if error, where court, on sufficient evidence, found against defendant on such issue.
On Rehearing.
7.Mines and minerals <g=>6 — Contract for conveyance of mineral permits treated as executed in suit on purchase-money notes.
Eor purposes of suit on notes for purchase price of mineral permits, purchased in alleged reliance on fraudulent representations by seller, contract of conveyance must be treated as executed.
Appeal from District Court, Culberson County; W. D. Howe, Judge.
Action by J. L. Mills against the Great Southern Sulphur Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals.
Affirmed.
See, also, 257 S. W. 573.
Jno. L. Dodson, of Van Horn, for appellant.
M. Y. Ward, of El Paso, for appellee.
Writ of error dismissed for want of jurisdiction February 25, 1925.

Opinion:
HIGGINS, J.
Appellee, Mills, brought this suit against appellant, Great Southern Sul-phur Company, upon promissory notes given by the latter in part payment for 15 mineral permits conveyed by Mills to the appellant by deed dated September 22, 1920. The deed recites a consideration of $20,000 paid and to be paid as follows: $3,750 cash, $10,000 worth of lots of the Great Southern Sulphur Company, and the balance in notes. Some of the notes were paid, and, upon refusal to pay the remaining notes, this suit was brought to recover upon the same and to foreclose the vendor's lien reserved in the conveyance.
The deed is not copied in the statement of facts, but it appears that it conveyed permits thus described:
"Mineral permit No. 2635, heretofore issued by the general land office of the state of Texas and lying and being situated in the south Yz of the N. W. % of section No. 10, in block 111, public school land, Culberson county, Tex., and containing 80 acres of land, more or less.
"Mineral permit No. 5551, heretofore issued by the general land office of the state of Texas, and known as a part of section No. 13, and part of section No. 24, in block No. 113, public school lands, Culberson county, Tex., and containing 119.1 acres of land, more or less.
"Mineral permits Nos. 2132, 2133, 2134, 2146, 2147, 2148, 2149, 2150, 2151, 2152, 2153, 2154, and 2155, covering the N. Yz of the N. W. Yi and the N. E. % of section 10, the S. W. % and the N. Yz of the S. E. Yi of section No. 11, and the N. W. Vi of the S. W. Vi of section 12, all in block 111, public school land, Culberson county, Tex., and containing 600 acres of land, more or less."
Defendant set up that it" was induced to purchase the permits upon the false representation made to it by Mills, that the land covered by the same contained sulphur of commercial quality and in paying quantity, wherefore there was a failure of consideration for the notes; also that it was entitled to an abatement in the purchase price which should be set off against the notes, because the last 13 described permits only contained 580 acres instead of 600 as stated in the deed. The defendant also filed a cross-action seeking to rescind upon the ground of fraud as indicated. Upon trial without a jury judgment was rendered in favor of Mills as prayed for, and against the defendant on its cross-action.
The case upon its merits is essentially one of fact, and in the absence of findings by the trial court it must be assumed that all issues raised by the evidence were resolved in favor of the plaintiff. The undisputed evidence shows that the land covered by the perniits did not contain sulphur of commercial quality in paying quantity.
It is first in effect asserted that the undisputed evidence shows the fact just stated respecting sulphur, and therefore nothing of value was conveyed by the plaintiff to the defendant, and the consideration has therefore failed. By his conveyance the plaintiff conveyed to the defendant every right and privilege which he owned by virtue of the permits granted and this was a sufficient consideration for the notes. No authority goes to the extent of holding that the payment of purchase-money notes, given for an executed conveyance of mineral rights, can be defeated, simply because it develops that the land did not in fact contain the minerals which the parties thought or hoped that it did. The cases cited by appellant in this connection are upon an entirely different state of facts and have no- application to the record here presented.
The next proposition is that the undisputed evidence shows that defendant was induced to purchase the permits by the false and fraudulent representations concerning the presence of sulphur as pleaded.
The testimony of Warfield, appellant's secretary and treasurer, supports its contention that the representations were made by Mills, but it is flatly contradicted by the latter, who testified:
"As to my making representations to him that sulphur was on any of those claims in commercial quantities, I told him I didn't know; that I had only done assessment work, dug holes 4 by 5 by 10 feet, and that was not sufficient to say whether there was sulphur or not; I thought they were adjoining these other claims and between some of, them, and therefore were valuable mining claims, and that was why I filed on them. At the time of this final deed Mr. Warfield asked me in Mr. Dodson's office if I had ever seen any sulphur on the claims, and at that time I told him I had not; we had never dug enough to ascertain."
Mills' testimony raises an issue of fact as to whether the representations were made, and it must be assumed that the court adopted Mills' version.
With reference to the deficiency of the acreage, this too is controlled by the testimony of Mills, supported by other circumstances reflected by the record, to the effect that the discrepancy between the actual acreage of the last-described 13 permits and that recited in the deed was an error made by the draftsman of the deed at the time it was prepared. Except for the recitation as to thé acreage, the deed upon its face imports to be a sale in gross. We are of the opinion that the evidence is sufficient to support the conclusion that, in fact, the sale was made without reference, in the negotiation or the consideration, to any designated or estimated acreage; that the reference in the deed to 600 acres was merely descriptive and the recitation that the acreage of the 13 sections was 600 instead of 520 was an error upon the part of the draftsman of the deed. Under' these circumstances appellant was not entitled to any abatement in the purchase price. O'Connell v. Duke, 29 Tex. 300, 94 Am. Dec. 282.
Error is assigned to the admission in evidence of a contract between the parties made March 10, 1920. By this contract Mills, as first party, leased the 15 permits to appellant, as second party. It contained these provisions;
"That the party of the second part shall have thirty (30) days from the date of this instrument to do certain prospecting work upon the property above described in order to determine whether or not sulphur and other minerals can be found in paying and commercial quantities, such prospecting work to consist of the digging of at least three (3) holes to a depth of not less than thirty-five (35) feet each, and such other holes as the said party of the second part may desire to dig upon any part of the property hereinbefore described. And if, at the expiration of said thirty (30) days, sulphur and other minerals are not found in paying and commercial quantities, then, and in that event, this contract and lease shall become null and void and of no further force and effect. And the only act or thing to be done by either party hereto shall consist of an affidavit, duly made and filed for record by the party of the first part, that said obligations hereinbefore stated were not done and performed by the said party of the second part, and if, at the expiration of said thirty (30) days, it is determined that sul-phur and other minerals exist in paying quantities upon and in said property hereinbefore described, then, and in that event, the said party of the second part shall have the right to pursue this contract and lease for a term of one year from date of this instrument, and that during said period said party of the second part agree to take out at least five thousand (5,000) tons of ore from said land herein-before described, and to pay said party of the first part the sum of one and no/100 ($1.00) dollars per ton for each of said five thousand (5,000) tons, free of expense to the said party of the first part, and that the said party of the second part shall have the right to take from said land hereinbefore described within the said period of one year from the date hereof as much ore in excess of said five thousand (5,000) tons as it may see proper so to take, but shall pay to the said party of the first part the sum of one and no/100 ($1.00) dollars per ton for each ton in excess of said five thousand (5,000) tons so taken out. It is further agreed and understood by and between the parties hereto that the first of said five thousand (5,000) tons, if taken at all, shall be taken as follows: The first fifteen hundred (1,500) tons to be taken out and paid for as hereinbefore indicated within the first four (4) months of this contract and lease."
The admission of this evidence was objected to upon the ground "that all prior agreement or agreements to lease said property were merged into the deed of September 22, 1920." This matter presents no error. It was admissible to rebut the evidence of the defendant that in purchasing the property it relied upon the representations of Mills.
Upon the trial the. court refused defendant permission to file a deed which it tendered, reconveying all of the permits to the plaintiff. The error, if any, in this matter is harmless, because upon the merits of the case the court found against the defendant, and the evidence supports his findings and judgment.
Affirmed.
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