Opinion ID: 1533620
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: One-fourth Mineral Deed on 40 Acre Tract

Text: The rules stated above do not apply to the deed from plaintiffs to W. M. Barnett dated March 1, 1962, covering one-fourth of the minerals on the 40 acres described as the NW/2 of Water Tracts 3 and 4 of Section 201, which plaintiffs sought to cancel because of the alleged fraud of Barnett in failing to reconvey to them all of the remainder of the 240 acres. This involved no mutual mistake. Plaintiffs intentionally and knowingly severed and conveyed these minerals to Barnett. Whether or not it was a good bargain, plaintiffs agreed to deed these minerals to Barnett in exchange for a deed from Barnett to them removing the clouds cast on their title by reason of the void deeds held by him on their constitutionally protected 200 acres and by reason of the legal title which he held to the 40 acres in excess of the constitutional rural homestead. Any fraud on the part of Barnett was not in obtaining the mineral deed on the 40 acres but in failing to execute the deed to plaintiffs covering the remainder of the 240 acres. The findings of the jury related to this failure. Barnett partially performed by conveying them all of the NW/2 of tracts 3 and 4 of Section 201 and one-half of the remainder of the land. Upon oral argument in this Court, counsel for defendants disclaimed any interest in the surface estate and authorized this Court to enter judgment accordingly. The trial court's judgment accomplished this and all else that Barnett had left undone. We agree with the Court of Civil Appeals, that the findings of the jury do not support the trial court's judgment cancelling the deed to one-fourth of the minerals on the 40 acre tract and reforming the subsequent gift deed from W. M. Barnett to his niece, Anita Head, and her husband, Joe Head, in so far as it covers one-fourth of the minerals on this particular 40 acres. For the reasons stated, we reverse the judgments of the courts below and remand this case to the trial court in order that its judgment may be modified in accordance with this opinion.