Court Opinion

ID: 9664405
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:18:27.307419+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:06.082433
License: Public Domain

On Motions for Rehearing
GANNON, Justice.
All parties have filed motions for rehearing.
The motion of appellee, Texas Consolidated Oils, takes exception to the opinion of the Court only in so far as the cause is reversed and remanded. Error is confessed in so much of the judgment of the court below as fixes and establishes and forecloses an equitable lien against all of the leasehold estates involved for the total expenses incurred in operating all of the several leases, and admits that appellee is entitled to equitable liens against the several leases respectively only for expenses incurred in operating each particular lease. Further, appellee has demonstrated to our satisfaction from the record that all speculative expense included in the judgment which did not result in production and in prolonging the life of the leases may be separated from such expenses of operation as did result in production and prolonging the lives of the leases, and has offered to remit all items in the recovery which might possibly represent in whole or in part speculative expenses, said remittiturs totaling $39.52. Appellee, accordingly, prays that we set aside our former judgment reversing and remanding the cause to the trial court, and that we here modify and reform the judgment in accordance with the views expressed in our opinion on original submission. We have concluded that appellee’s motion is meritorious and that it should be granted.
Our former judgment is, therefore, set aside and the judgment of the trial court is reformed and modified, as follows: Ap-pellee’s total money recovery against appellant, Shaw & Estes, jointly and severally, is reduced to the sum of $2,001.99 with interest thereon at the rate of 6% per annum from May 2, 1956, until paid. Appellee’s money recovery against Burnett Estes individually is reduced to the sum of $1,443.08 together with interest thereon at the rate of 6% per annum from May 2, 1956, until paid. Appellee’s cotenant’s liens for expenses of operation and maintenance against the several leases to secure its money recovery against Shaw & Estes, jointly and severally, are hereby fixed and established, as follows: against the Levy A. Lease to secure the sum of $862.26 of its recovery against Shaw & Estes, jointly and severally; against the Rothschild Lease to secure the sum of $580.82 of its recovery against Shaw & Estes, jointly and severally; against the Tuffly A Lease to secure the sum of $558.91 of its recovery against Shaw & Estes, jointly and severally. Appellee’s cotenant’s liens for expenses of operation and maintenance against the several leases to secure its money recovery against Burnett Estes, individually, are hereby fixed and established, as follows: against the Levy A. Lease to secure the sum of $862.26 of its recovery against Burnett Estes, individually; against the Rothschild Lease to secure the sum of $580.82 of its recovery against Burnett Estes, individually.
We have carefully considered the able motion for rehearing of appellants, but find it without merit and it is refused.
*316Former judgment set aside; judgment of the trial court modified and reformed, and as modified and reformed, affirmed; motion for rehearing of appellants refused.
CODY, J., not sitting.