Opinion ID: 168824
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Humble Oil Assignment: Tracts 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, and 20

Text: 9 On May 15, 1963, the Bank, Mr. Luthy's widow, Defiance Coal, and Mr. Butt sent a letter to Humble Oil & Refining Company offering to sell mineral interests in six tracts covered by the Lease. The offer letter stated that the Estate of C. Frederick Luthy, now deceased, has the entire official title to said land but that the leasehold interest is actually owned one-third by Paul Butt Jr., one-third by Defiance Coal Company, and one-third by the Estate of C. Frederick Luthy, deceased. App. Vol. II, at 442. The letter also indicated that, in return for the assignment, the Luthy and Defiance interests would receive production payments while the Butt interest reserved an overriding royalty interest. Humble Oil accepted the offer on May 21, 1963. 10 On June 19, 1963, Humble Oil obtained a title opinion letter from the law firm of Hervey, Dow & Hinkle. The authoring attorney advised that since Mr. Luthy is now deceased his power of control and sale has now ceased and it is not vested in his heirs or devisees. Id. at 449. Instead, the one-third interests were titles in real property and not merely contract rights to profits. Id. In subsequent correspondence, the attorney further opined: 11 I suppose that the trust which Mr. Luthy had in mind when he made his Affidavit of December 7, 1954 ... and the unrecorded trust dated April 19, 1948 terminated when he died[, and that it] may be that upon the death of Mr. Luthy this became a dry trust and the legal title would go over to the beneficiaries under the Statutes of Uses .... 12 Id. at 479. 13 On October 8, 1963, Mr. Butt, by separate instrument, conveyed his interest in the six tracts to Humble Oil in exchange for $31,964.80.