Opinion ID: 2516446
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: General Principles of Deed Interpretation

Text: The majority affirms the court of appeals' decision upholding the trial court's grant of summary judgment in this case. Maj.Op. at 354. In doing so, the majority determines that the issue of whether the term minerals includes oil and gas is a legal, rather than a factual question, thus concluding that a trial in this case is unnecessary. Id. However, in direct contradiction to the decisions below, which hold that the term minerals is unambiguous as a matter of law, the majority holds that the term minerals is not inherently unambiguous and that extrinsic evidence may be required to determine the parties' intent under certain circumstances. Id. at 349. The majority then relies on historical information concerning custom and usage to determine that the term minerals has a well-settled meaning that includes oil and gas. Id. As discussed below, this reasoning conflicts with general principles of deed interpretation and with the majority of other jurisdictions that have considered this issue. It is well established in Colorado that a primary goal in interpreting a deed is to effectuate the parties' intent, and that such intent may be ascertained by reviewing extrinsic evidence when a deed is found to be ambiguous. Lazy Dog Ranch v. Telluray Ranch Corp., 965 P.2d 1229, 1235 (Colo. 1998); Pepcol Mfg. Co. v. Denver Union Corp., 687 P.2d 1310, 1313 (Colo.1984). However, when a deed is unambiguous, the intentions of the parties must be determined from the deed itself, and consideration of extrinsic evidence of intent is not permissible. O'Brien v. Village Land Co., 794 P.2d 246, 249 (Colo.1990); First Nat'l Bank v. Allard, 182 Colo. 297, 301, 513 P.2d 455, 457 (1973); Simson v. Langholf, 133 Colo. 208, 216, 293 P.2d 302, 307 (1956); Brown v. Kirk, 127 Colo. 453, 456, 257 P.2d 1045, 1046 (1953). The issue of whether an ambiguity exists is a matter of law to be determined by the court. Pepcol, 687 P.2d at 1314. In making this determination, a court may conditionally admit extrinsic evidence on the issue of ambiguity to determine whether a deed is ambiguous. Lazy Dog, 965 P.2d at 1235; O'Brien, 794 P.2d at 249 n. 2. However, we have held that [i]n cases where the language specifically and completely addresses the issue at hand, there will be no need to look to the surrounding circumstances. Lazy Dog, 965 P.2d at 1236. In such cases, courts need not consider extrinsic evidence for purposes of determining ambiguity, nor for purposes of ascertaining the parties' intent. [1] The majority opinion fails to follow these general principles of deed interpretation. Without regard to whether the language in the deed reservation in this case completely addresses whether oil and gas are included as minerals, the majority determines that the term minerals has a well-settled meaning that includes oil and gas. Maj. Op. at 349. In doing so, the majority relies on historical information concerning custom and usage to determine both the ambiguity of the term minerals and its meaning. Furthermore, by relying on such information to ascertain the meaning of the term minerals, the majority determines an issue of fact properly determined by a trial court. See Pepcol, 687 P.2d at 1314 (holding that once a provision is determined to be ambiguous, its meaning is an issue of fact to be determined by a trial court's review of extrinsic evidence). Indeed, the custom and usage information relied upon by the majority is precisely the type of evidence the trial court barred by its grant of summary judgment. [2] Thus, the majority opinion has the effect of denying the landowners the opportunity to present their evidence concerning custom and usage, while at the same time relying on its own descriptions of custom and usage.