Court Opinion

ID: 9660026
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 22:01:41.208543+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:13.773928
License: Public Domain

GRIFFIN, Justice.
All previous opinions of this Court are hereby withdrawn; the motion of petitioners for a rehearing is granted, and the following is the opinion of the Court.
This suit involves the construction of the royalty clause of an oil and gas lease. On February 18, 1947, petitioner, Margaret G. Gibson, her mother, and her two sisters and. a brother were owners of an undivided %oths fee interest in the minerals in, ■ on, and under Survey 14, Cert. No; 3802, Blk. 4½, G. Q. & S. F. Ry. Co. Survey, containing' 922- acres of land in Upton County, Texas. Margaret Gibson owned an undivided Vioth interest in' said 922 acres of land. On said date respondent Fred Turner, Jr., and other respondents owned the leasehold mineral interest in the remaining 8:}4oths of said land. Respondents were also aware that the Gresham lessors (Mrs. Gibson being a daughter of Mrs. Gresham) only owned 94oths of the minerals. On February 17, 1947, the petitioner, Mrs. Gibson, and the other owners of the %oths mineral interest made, executed and delivered to-Fred Turner, Jr., an oil, gas and other-minerals lease on the whole of the oil, gas and other minerals under the whole of Survey' 14, and upon a printed form in. common use. The granting clause, among; other things, provided that “lessor in consideration of ten and No/100 dollars ($10.-00), in hand paid, of' the royalties herein< provided, and. of the agreements of the-Lessee . herein contained, hereby grants, leases, and lets exclusively unto the Lessee, * * Thereafter follows a provision for an oil payment of $5,186.25-(this figure!being the exact equivalent of" %oths of 922 acres at $25. per acre) out. of “the first- oil and gas produced, saved, and sold from said premises under this, lease * * ⅜” - Paragraph 3 of the lease-provided -that “the royalties to be paid lessors are: (a) on oil, one-eighth of that produced and saved from said land, * * *" (b) on gas * * * produced from said', land * * * the market value * * *” of one-eighth * * (Emphasis ours.) The stipulated delay rental was $207.45^ (this sum -being the exact equivalent of 94oths of 922 acres at; $1 per acre). Parar graph 9 states “lessor hereby warrants- and agrees to defend ’■ the title to said" land * * *.” The original lease was-introduced in evidence and. following the ■ above quoted provision of the paragraph-was printed a proportionate reduction of royalty clause, which was eliminated prior to signature by the lessors, by running-typewritten “x” through it.
Margaret G. Gibson, joined by her husband, Ben- -D. Gibson, brought this suit against her -co-lessors .in said land and'i *783Fred Turner, Jr., lessee, and his assignees and co-owners of the total leasehold- -interest seeking a declaratory judgment construing the lease to provide and mean that Fred Turner, Jr., his assigns and co-owners of the working interest under the lease, are, by its terms obligated to pay to Margaret G. Gibson as royalty Jfand of the oil and gas or the value thereof produced and saved from- the ■ lands described in said lease, that is, that she should be paid .that, proportion of ⅛⅛ of the oil produced and saved from the- land -described in the lease, and that proportion of ⅜⅛ of the gas sold or used off said premises which the-interest (Moth) owned by Margaret G. Gibson in the mineral estate in the land bore to the total interest (Moths) owned by her and her co-lessors in such mineral estate.
It was urged in the pleadings of the defendants, Fred Turner, Jr., and his assignees, that, although the lease executed hy Margaret G. Gibson and her co-lessors purported to cover the entire mineral interest in the tract described and warT .-ranted the title thereto, the grantors in said lease actually owned only Moths of •the minerals therein and Margaret G. •Gibson owned only Moth of such total •mineral interest; that the lease provided .as part of the consideration therefor, that ■lessors should receive Ysth of all the oil produced from the land - covered by the lease; that since, the title had failed 'ex7 •cept as to %oths of the mineral interest purported to be conveyed, the consideration should be abated in proportion to the part of the title that had failed; that Margaret G. Gibson was therefore entitled •■to receive only Moth of the ⅝⅛ royalty provided by the lease, or ⅝20⅛ of the oil .and gas so produced and saved.
The trial was had upon an agreed statement of facts before the court without a jury and judgment was entered in accordance with the defendants’ contention -that Margaret G. Gibson was entitled to receive only Moth of the full ⅝⅛ royalty -interest in the land described. On appeal the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the trial. court’s judgment. 274 S.W.2d 916.
All parties agree that the lease is unambiguous, and we also agree that there is no ambiguity in the lease; therefore, it is a question of the construction to be given to the lease. It must be given the legal effect resulting from a construction of the language contained within the four corners of the instrument. Benge v. Scharbauer, 152 Tex. 447, 259 S.W.2d 166 (1). AH parties, both petitioners and respondents, agree that the royalty under this lease, like the oil payment to be made under" it, was' reserved by the lessors (one of whom is petitioner herein) from the rights granted by the lease. Sheffield v. Hogg, 124 Tex. 290, 77 S.W.2d 1021, 1028, 80 S.W.2d 741; Hager v. Stakes, 116 Tex. 453, 294 S..W. 835; Waggoner Estate v. Sigler Oil Co., 118 Tex. 509, 517, 19 S.W.2d 27; Frost v. Standard Oil Co. of Kansas, Tex.Civ.App., 107 S.W.2d 1037, no writ history."
What royalty does the lease in question purport to reserve in' the grantors? The language of the lease is: “3. The royalties to be paid lessor are: (a) on oil, ope-eighth of that produced and saved from said land, * * *; (b) on gas, * *" * producefJ. from said land, *. * * the market value.at the well *. * * of the gas so sold or used, provided that, on gas sold at the wells the royalty shall be one-eighth of the amount realized from such sale.” . (Emphases ours.) The provision is made for royalty on other minerals, etc. This, is clearly a provision for a royalty payment of ⅛⅛ of %oths of the production from the “said land” which is “all of Survey No. 14, Upton County, Texas, containing 922 acres more or less.” There are no words in the lease modifying or changing the above construction of the lease.
This case is controlled by the court’s reasoning and judgment in the following cases: King v. First Nat. Bank of Wichita Falls, 144 Tex. 583, 192 S.W.2d 260, 163 *784A.L.R. 1128; R. Lacy, Inc., v. Jarrett, Tex.Civ.App.1948, 214 S.W.2d 692, wr.ref.; Clemmens v. Kennedy, Tex.Civ.App.1934, 68 S.W.2d 321, wr.ref.; McElmurray v. McElmurray, Tex.Civ.App. 1954, 270 S.W.2d 880, wr.ref.
In the. King case [144 Tex. 583, 192 S.W.2d 261] an owner of an undivided one-half interest, in two tracts of land, in Young County, Texas, conveyed by warranty deed such undivided one-half interest “ ‘in *and to the following described land situated in Young County, Texas,'to-wit: * * and here follows a description of two tracts of land, aggregating 240 acres, more or less. The deed contained the following reserva^ tions:
* The grantor hereby reserves unto himself, his heirs, successors and assigns for a period of ten '(10) years only from this date an undivided one-eighth (⅛) of the usual and customary one-eighth royalty interest reserved by the land-owners in oil and gas and other minerals that may be produced from the hereinabove described land ;***.’ ”
Grantee King contended that 'sinice only a one-half interest was conveyed in the land, the grantor, Duncan, reserved only oné-eighth of one-half of the usual ⅛⅛ royalty in the entire 240 acres. The Bank, which had succeeded to the rights of grantor, Duncan, contended that the reservation covered and included one-eighth of 'the usual royalty in the entire ¿40 acres. Judgment in the trial court for the Bank’s contention was affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals. This Court affirmed the judgments of both courts below. The Court held that by the language “ ‘minerals that may be produced from the hereinabove described land’ ” was meant the total production from the whole of said land' rather than from the grantor’s one-half interest therein. Such holding requires our holding in' this case that the reservation of production “from said land” in our lease covers '⅜⅛ of *%oths, or total production from Survey No. 14 in its entirety, and not from the %oths owned by the grantors in the lease.
We can see no distinction in principle between the case of R. Lacy, Inc., v. Jarrett, Tex.Civ.App.1948, 214 S.W.2d 692, wr.ref., and the present case. In the Lacy case, one Durham owned only a %2ths undivided interest in three adjacent lots in the townsite of Hawkins, Texas, and one Leona Guy owned the remaining ¾2⅛5 interest' in said lots. In 1943 one Breeding took an oil and gás lease from Leona Guy covering all these lots. In 1945 Breeding took an oil and gas lease’ from Durham upon the same three lots. This lease purported to. convey the entire title or whole interest in the three lots. The granting clause of the Durham lease was to ¿11 intents and purposes in the same wording as the granting clause in our lease. Following the description in the Durham lease was reserved “a production payment of $15,000.00 out of ⅜⅛ of' Jáths of the oil, if, as and only when produced, saved and marketed from said land under this lease.” (Emphasis added.) R. Lacy, Inc., having succeeded to Breeding’s rights under the Durham lease, brought a declaratory Judgment action wherein it sought to construe the oil- payment reservation to cover only ⅛⅛ of %2ths of %ths of the oil as delivered from the pipeline on the ground that the reservation should be reduced proportionately to the ownership of Durham. Judgment in the trial court was- for Jarrett et al. who had purchased the oil payment from Durham, that the reservation applied to ⅝⅛ of %ths of the oil produced. This part of the- judgment was affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals. The trial court’s judgment was modified so as to make the oil payment of $15,000 inclusive of the production taxes. This Court gave an unqualified “Refusal” to the Court of Civil Appeals’ opinion, thus making it our own opinion, Rule 483, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; Heinatz v. Allen, 147 Tex. 512, 217 S.W.2d 994.-
The-reasoning in the. cases of Clemmens v. Kennedy, Tex.Civ.App.1934, 68 S.W.2d *785321, wr.ref., and McElmurray v. McElmurray, Tex.Civ.App.1954, 270 S.W.2d 880, wr.ref., also support the construction of our lease to the effect that the ⅛⅛ royalty reserved covers oths of the production from the entire Survey No. 14'.
The lease itself, in addition to the plain and .unambiguous language of the royalty clause, contains three other provisions which show that the parties to the- lease at the-time of its execution did-not limit the royalty provision to ⅛⅛-of ,'%oths of the production — the interest owned by the lessors in the minerals under Survey No, 14. The first is the oil payment reservation of an undivided Vieth of ⅛⅛ of- the oil and gas production to'secure the payment of the sum of $5,186.25 to the lessors.. .This, sum is the exact equivalent of. %oths of the total of 922 acres contained in Survey No. 14, at $25 per acre, which is stated in- petitioners’ application to be the-bonus payment. The second is the provision that payment for delay rental was fixed in the lease at $207.45, or %oths at $1 per -acre on the- 922 acres. These figures are not controverted nor denied by respondents. The third is that prior to the signature and delivery of the lease the “proportionate reduction" clause of Paragraph 9 of the lease was struck from the printed form used in the lease.
The first two instances show that all parties at the time the lease was drawn recognized that lessors only had a %oth interest in Survey No. 14, and reduced the oil payment bonus and delay rental proportionately to such interest. The fact that the royalties to be paid were not reduced in any such proportion, but that a royalty of Ysth of the oil and gas produced and saved from said land (being from .the total 4%oths of the minerals, rather than- only %oths) shows that no reduction of the ⅛⅛ royalty was intended to be made by the parties. We cannot conceive how parties could draw a lease which would provide for ⅛⅛ of the oil and gas produced from a tract of land in any clearer language than was here used.
• Respondents contend that the fact that the proportionate reduction clause was stricken from the lease cannot be considered in construing the meaning of the royalty reservation of “Ysth of that produced and saved from said land.”<£As early as 1866, this Court, in the case of Self v. King, 28 Tex. 552, 554, said:
‡ The Court may • read a ■•written document in the light of surrounding circumstances, which can be proved, in order to arrive at the true meaning and intention of the parties as expressed in the words used, but. will not hear parol evidence of language or words other than those used by the parties themselves in the writing. No-other words are to be added to or subtracted from the written instrument.”
Again, in Ryan v. Kent, Tex.Com.App., 36 S.W.2d 1007 (1, 2), 1010, Judge Leddy said that in -construing a contract a court may look to the circumstances surrounding the parties at the time the contract was entered into, the situation of the parties, and the subject matter of the instrument, regardless of whether the language used in the contract be ambiguous. Lipscomb v. Fuqua, 103 Tex. 585, 131 S.W. 1061; Murphy v. Dilworth, 137 Tex. 32, 151 S.W.2d 1004; Bowden v. Patterson, 51 Tex.Civ.App. 173, 111 S.W. 182, wr.den.; Hoffer Oil Corp. v. Hughes, Tex.Civ.App., 16 S.W.2d 901, no writ history; Dublin Electric & Gas Co. v. Thompson, Tex.Civ.App., 166 S.W. 113, no writ history.
This Court, in the cases of Glens Falls Ins. Co. v. McCown, 149 Tex. 587, 236 S.W.2d 108, and Providence Washington Ins. Co. v. Proffitt, 150 Tex. 207, 239 S.W.2d 379, in construing insurance policies and in determining the meaning of clauses in each policy, which were in effect by virtue of premiums having been paid for such coverage, considered coverage clauses which were not effective because no premiums had been paid for those specific risks. See also Corbin, Vol. 3, Sec. 543, p. 72 et *786seq.; Thomas Gilcrease Foundation v. Stanolind Oil & Gas Co., 153 Tex. 197, 266 S.W.2d 850, 854, wherein this Court took into consideration that the “entirety clause” under discussion was included in the lease at the instance of the lessee.
Here the stipulation shows that the lessors owned only %oths of the minerals instead of all the %ths mineral interest as the lease purported to convey. This fact is used by respondents to secure a proportionate reduction of the royalty payable under the lease, which changes the plain and clear language of the instrument. Without this circumstance being shown there could be no claim for a reduction of the royalty.!»! In the Murphy case the court points out that the grantor owned an undivided ⅛⅛ mineral interest and therefore could reserve ¾6⅛ mineral interest in his deed.
Respondents rely upon the case of Mineral Investing Corporation v. Bishop Cattle Co., Tex.Civ.App., 49 S.W.2d 532, affirmed 124 Tex. 387, 78 S.W.2d 174, 175, as authority for the proposition that words stricken out of a mineral deed before it is signed cannot be considered in construing the lease. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Civil Appeals’ judgment affirming the judgment of the trial court upon the ground that the Court of Civil Appeals should have affirmed the trial court’s judgment on certificate. The reason given was that the record on appeal was not filed in the Court of -Civil Appeals within the statutory period. In fact, the Supreme Court said, “ * * * If this [affirmance on certificate] should have been done, then the judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals should be affirmed here, regardless of the correctness of its opinion on the merits of the case.” Respondents also rely upon a quotation from 31-A Tex.Jur. 75, which-is but a summary of a holding of the Court of Civil Appeals in the Mineral Investing Corporation case.
Respondents contention amounts to one that a royalty cannot be larger than i/$th of the interest owned by the lessors. It is well settled that the parties may provide for a royalty payment different from the fractional mineral interest owned by the parties making the lease. As this Court said in Benge v. Scharbauer, supra [152 Tex. 447, 259 S.W.2d 169], “The fractional part of the bonuses, rentals, and royalties that one is to receive under a mineral lease usually or normally is the same as his fractional mineral interest, but we cannot say that it must always be the same. The parties owning the mineral interest may make it different if they intend to do so, and plainly and in a formal way express that intention.” • The . Case of Duhig v. Peavy-Moore Lumber Co., 135 Tex. 5.03, 144 S.W.2d 878, has been cited as sustaining the contention of respondents. The reservation in our lease covers ⅛⅛, or %ths. The lessors having purported to convey 4%oths, and having reserved only %oths, their lease would be held to convey 3%oths to the lessees. Under the doctrine of after-acquired title as set out in the Duhig case; lessors would be estopped to urge any interest they might have in the land against lessees until lessees had received 3%>ths of the minerals. However, in our case, the lessees owned all the balance of the mineral estate, except such as was conveyed to them by lessors; therefore, there can be no breach of warranty. Further, in the Duhig case the ■ grantor conveyed all the title and attempted to reserve-.-only one-half mineral interest, thus conveying an undivided one-half mineral interest to ,his grantees. Since Duhig only owned an undivided. one-half mineral interest, he could not convey one-half and keep one-half. Therefore, his one-half he owned was used to carry into effect his conveyance. In the Duhig case there was a failure of title to a part of the estate which the deed purported to convey and a breach of warranty with respect thereto, and the grantors’ reserved estate, which happened to be exactly sufficient to make up the failure in the grantee’s title, was taken from the grantor and awarded to the grantee for that pur*787pose. In this case there has been no failure of the grantee’s title to any part, of the 3%oths of the minerals which the' lease purported to grant and no breach of warranty with respect thereto, and .there is, therefore, no occasion and ri'o right to take from the lessors and award to the lessees any part of the lessors’ reserved royalty estate.
Respondents insist • throughout their briefs in this Court that this is not a suit on a warranty,' but for proportionate reduction of the consideration paid — the purchase price — as a result of a failure of consideration for the payment. The Duhig case holds that where there is an outstanding reservation of one-half of all minerals in, on and under. a, tract of land, and the then owner gives a warranty deed to another retaining .“.Ian. undivided one-half interest in and to all mineral rights or minerals of whatever description in the land’ ” without any mention being . made of. the then outstanding title to one-half of all minerals in a third party, who is a prior grantor, the doctrine of estoppel to assert an after-acquired title prevents the grantor in the second deed from claiming any -mineral interest as against the grantee. The Court says: “ * - * * Thus the deed is so written that the general warranty extends the full fee simple title to the land except an undivided one-half interest in the minerals * * 144 S.W.2d 1st. col., at page 880. And further, “ * * * When the deed is so interpreted the warranty is breached at the very time of the execution and delivery of the deed, for the deed warrants the title to the surface estate and also to an undivided one-half interest in the minerals. The result is that the grantor has breached his- warranty, but that he has and holds in virtue of the deed containing the warranty the very interest, one-half of the minerals, required to remedy the breach * * 144 S.W.2d 1st. col., at page 880... The Court holds that even though Duhig did not acquire title to the one-half mineral interest claimed by his successors, after the execution of the deed, he will be estopped to assert the reservation in his deed as against his grantee to whom he purports to convey all the surface and one-half of the minerals. Not owning the outstanding one-half mineral interest Duhig could not convey it to his grantee; therefore, the . one-half he attempted to retain or reserve for himself will be taken in order to give the grantee in the deed the full title Duhig conveyed to him.
The covenant of general warranty in a lease does not warrant the title of the lessors. ' It warrants the title of the lessees. It is for this reason that there can be no breach of warranty and no recovery of damages for breach of warranty unless and until there has been an actual or constructive eviction of the lessee. In 14 Am.Jur. 521, Covenants, Conditions and Restriction, Sec. 51, we find this statement of the nature of a covenant of general warranty: “The covenant of warranty is an agreement' by the warrantor that upon the failure of the title which the deed purports to convey, either for the whole estate or part only; he will make compensation in money for the loss sustained. It is cm assurance or guaranty of title. The obli-'gat-ion is not that the covenantor is the true owner or that he is seised in fee with the right to convey, but that he will defend and. protect the ' covenantee against the rightful claims of ail persons.” (Emphasis ours.) So, also, in McClelland v. Moore, 48 Tex. 355, 363, this Court, speaking of the covenant of general warranty, said that “the nature and purpose of such a covenant is for the indemnity of the purchaser .against the loss or injury he may sustain by a failure or'defect in the vendor’s title.” See also Langford v. Newsom, Tex.Com.App., 220 S.W. 5441 The warranty does not constitute a part of the conveyance nor strengthen or enlarge the title conveyed. City of Beaumont v. Moore, 146 Tex. 46, 202 S.W.2d 448(10-13). Such- covenant extends only to what is granted, or what purparts to be granted, by' the deed and does not apply to the' interest reserved in *788the conveyance. Benge v. Scharbauer, supra (6); Clark v. Gauntt, 138 Tex. 558, 161 S.W.2d 270, Adams v. Duncan, 147 Tex. 332, 215 S.W.2d 599, 603; Nye v. Bradford, 144 Tex. 618, 192 S.W.2d 165 (3), 169 A.L.R. 1.
“ * * * the property excepted or the estate reserved is never included in the grant. Each is something to be deducted from the thing granted, nary rowing and limiting what would otherwise pass by the general words of the grant. In this instance, however, at the time of the conveyance, the grantor actually owned one-half or four-eighths of the minerals under the entire land, or all or eight-eighths of his undivided one-half interest, and thus, without incongruity, the one-eighth portion of the royalty reserved could relate either to the whole or the one-half interest in the land, depending upon the intention of the parties from the language of the entire instrument.” King v. First Nat. Bank of Wichita Falls, 144 Tex. 583, 192 S.W.2d 260, 262(1), 163 A.L.R. 1128.
The above applies to our case.. The lessors owned Moths of the mineral rights in the land, and could, without any incongruity, reserve for themselves ⅛⅛ or Moths of these mineral rights as a royalty consideration to be paid for the sale of Moths. In the absence of any fraud, accident, or mistake or effort to reform.'there is no law to prevent the lessors and lessees from making such a contract. The language is clear, unambiguous, simple and plain, and states that the royalty on oil and gas to be paid is }4th of that produced and saved from said land'.-) Under the King case, supra, and other cases herein discussed, such language at the time of the execution of the lease meant ⅛⅛ of the total oil, gas, etc., produced from the whole ,of .the land covered by the lease; i. e., from Survey No. 14, and not from an undivided ⅝oth interest in said section and the minerals themselves.
Respondents say in their answer to the application for writ of error “Questions of breach of warranty are alien to the controversy. The question is what is the effect of this royalty provision under this lease, with all of its provisions, granting clause and warranty clause included.” Respondents, who owned the remaining %oths of the mineral interest in Survey No. 14, cannot claim any rights by virtue of a breach of warranty, or failure of title, nor can they defend a suit for the remaining purchase price (in this case the royalties to be paid in the future) or ask any abatement therein for the reason that they have'not been and cannot be evicted from the use and’ enjoyment of the whole estate ; nor ■ is there any outstanding superior title to their title to any part of .the estate conveyed' as there was to an undivided one-half interest in the Duhig case. Rancho Bonito Land & Live Stock Co. v. North, 92. Tex. 72, 45 S.W. 994; Brock v. Southwick, 1853, 10 Tex. 65, 68; Cooper v. Singleton, 1857, 19 Tex. 260, 262; May v. Ivie, 1887, 68 Tex. 379, 381, 4 S.W. 641; Adams v. Jordan, Tex.Civ.App.1911, 136 S.W. 499, 501, no writ history; Turner v. Neel, Tex.Civ.App.1950, 231 S.W.2d 660, wr.ref., n.r.e.; see also Notes 172 A.L.R. 18.
In the Rancho Bonito Land & Live Stock Co. case, supra, -defendant North conveyed to Maddox Bros. & Anderson by general warranty deed the Jane Williams Survey of 1,280 acres, and the Thomas R. Webb Survey of 640 acres, both in Menard County, Texas. ■ It later developed - that ■these -two surveys were in conflict -with certain other surveys which at the time of the conveyance by North were' then owned by Maddox Bros. & Anderson. At the time of the conveyance none of the parties thereto knew of this conflict. The title to the land in conflict was owned by Maddox .Bros. & Anderson at that time. The conflict developed afterwards, and it was then determined that North had no title to the land in conflict, but that the title to such lands in conflict was vested *789in Maddox Bros. & Anderson. Maddox Bros. & Anderson later organized Bonito Land & Livestock Company, and were the owners of all of its capital stock. The corporation brought suit upon North’s warranty for the return of the purchase price paid for the 458.84 acres in the conflict at $2 per acre. Judgment of the trial court was for the defendant and against the plaintiffs. The case was appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals which in turn certified to the Supreme Court two questions,. to wit: . . ■
* (1) J. W. and F. M. Maddox and C. E. Anderson being the owners in fee of all the land in conflict with older surveys, except what was. owned by North at the time of the conveyance by him to them, there being no eviction or threat of eviction, was there a breach of the covenant of warranty, in North’s deed to them," upon which suit can be maintained by the corporation, composed, as it is, of John W. and F. M. Maddox and C. E. Anderson, by whom the land was conveyed to plaintiff, the corporation? (2) Where the vendee himself owns the superior title to the land conveyed to him by deed with general covenant of warranty of “the premises,” is there a breach of the covenant of warránty, such as will support an action for the breach of the covenant by the covenan-tee o¡r his vendee?’” [92 Tex. 72, 45 S.W. 995.]
This Court answered both questions ■ in the negative. In discussing the legal principles, this Court said1:
“ * * * It has been held' in this state that the mere existence of a superior title' in another is riot a breach of warranty, * ■ * *. If the covenan-tee were to procure the holder of the superior title to evict Kim, certainly such act would debar him from his action upon the covenant, and we think the same would be true if he were to purchase such title when it had not been asserted; for in each of such cases, but for his own act, his title might have remained unquestioned until perfected by lapse of time. To the benefit of such contingencies the vendor is entitled as well after as before -his conveyance, and the covenantee who has been placed in privity with th¿ title, and often in possession of the" land, will not be permitted to deprive him thereof. There can be no ■ legal: eyiction or turning .out unless and until a -superior .title has been,...without, the invitation of the. covenantee, pressed upon ,him. Jone.s’. Heirs v. Paul’s Heirs, supra.. [59 Tex. 41,] * † * But- to' hold that this is so [a force which covenantee cannot resist be. pressed upon him] whpn he, as in the case before us, discovers that he really owned. ;the superior title before he purchased from his warrantor,, would be extending the rule beyond, its reason. . It could only be applied to such a case by holding that he could evict himself by electing to hold under his superior title, upon .its discovery. But we have seen that legal eviction -cannot' be predicated upon the mere voluntary act of the covenantee. We are therefore of opinion that there has been no . eviction, and therefore no breach of the warranty, in' the case before us.” • ’ '
There were no allegations of fraud, ác-cident, mistake Or overreaching in the Bonito case. There are no such allegations in the case at bar, nor is there -any effort to reform the- lease. This case being tried upon stipulations of- fact, we find no proof of a;iy -such claims.-; This Court recognized tha-t' the Bonito Company might have maintained a suit for equitable action, independent of the warranty, under proper averments of fraud, accident or mistake, or other equitable grounds. The above case is decisive of the respondents’ claims herein. Respondents cannot maintain a suit upon the warranty in the lease for reasons given in the Bonito case. *790Neither can they maintain any equitable suit for relief by virtue of the absence of any allegations of overreaching, fraud, accident or mistake. ' The Bonito Co. case has been cited and approved by this Court down through 1954 without any criticism, explanation or distinction being made. The Court of Civil Appeals’ opinion in this cause is the first time any distinction from its pronouncement has ever been made by any Texas case. y
í~Further, as regards respondents action for abatement of a part of the purchase price (in this instance a proportionate reduction of the agreed royalty to the proportion of ownership by lessors), we hold that respondents owning all the balance of the leasehold at the time the Gresham lease was executed cannot recover because they are in no danger of being evicted from the estate granted. It is shown beyond any question that all parties dealt with this mineral interest on the basis that respondents were purchasing, and petitioners owned only an undivided %oths interest. The figures contained in the lease as to the amount of oil payment and delay rental to be paid lessors and the stipulation filed in this cause show these facts beyond any controversy,
The early case of Brock v. Southwick, 1853, 10 Tex. 65, was a suit wherein a purchaser took a deed from a grantor knowing that grantor did not own a clear title to the lots conveyed by deed. -Later the purchaser resisted payment of a purchase money note, upon the ground that the grantor’s title to the land conveyed was defective. The trial court instructed the jury, in effect, that unless the defendant had been dispossessed, he could not successfully .resist the payment of the note, that proof.of a valid outstanding title was not a good defense to the action. In affirming the" trial court’s judgment, Mr. Justice Wheeler said,:. .“There is no evidence . qf any misrepresentation or fraud, practiced upon him [the defendant]. He took and has retained possession under his purchase.. Can .he, under these circumstances, withhold the payment of the purchase money? We think clearly not. Had' the defendant been deceived as to the title he acquired, by the fraud of the vendor, or had he been ignorant of the defect of title, a very different case would have been presented. But when he made the purchase and accepted the conveyance with a knowledge of that defect, he must, we think, be deemed to have waived the objection.” See also Cooper v. Singleton, 1857, 19 Tex. 260.
Respondents rely strongly upon the case of Klein v. Humble Oil & Refining Co., 126 Tex. 450, 86 S.W.2d 1077. That case is not similar to the case at bar. It involved the construction of an oil and gas lease and the Court construed the lease based upon the wording of the lease and certain other instruments contained in the record. There was no contention of breach of warranty or of failure of consideration, or proportionate reduction of royalties in the Klein case. The Court held that under the reservation made by Stein in his deed of conveyance to Baker’s predecessor in title, the owner of the land and the remaining minerals, had the right to include the Stein interest in the lease made, and with no necessity that Stein join in the lease. This was due to the wording of Stein’s reservation in his deed to Klein, Baker’s grantor, and also by the wording of certain instruments executed by Stein and Baker, singly and jointly. Baker having the right to include the Stein interest in his lease, and there being only a total of ⅝⅛. royalty reserved in that lease, such reservation as to the east 10 acres was held to be the Vath reserved by Stein, and not an additional ⅛⅛ royalty in favor of Baker.
Respondents also rely upon the case of City of Beaumont v. Moore, 146 Tex. 46, 202 S.W.2d 448, to support their- position herein. That .case is not similar to this one and announces no rules of law that will entitle respondent to a recovery. In that case Moore had purchased certain royalty interest in minerals underlying the Beaumont - Municipal • Airport from the city. It was determined that Moore's roy*791alty interest could not be enjoyed so long as the city used the airport, and that the airport land could not be used for any purpose inconsistent with its use as an airport, until such use, in whole or in part, was lawfully abandoned by the city. This ■dedication to airport use was held to prevent Moore’s dominion over and enjoyment of the royalty purchased and to constitute an incumbrance upon the title in violation of the warranty and also of Article 1297, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes. In our case there are no pleadings or proof that respondents’ dominion over, or enjoyment of, the mineral interest received under the lease has been in anywise restricted or interfered with. On the contrary, the stipulations of record show conclusively that respondents are successfully and continuously producing the oil and gas under the lease ,and its right to do so is expressly recognized. No interference of any kind or character is shown; nor is it shown that respondents are in any danger of, or in .fact can be, evicted from their ■estate. This suit is for the purpose of determining the sole question of how much royalty must be paid to Mrs. Gibson under the lease.
Mrs.- Gibson’s rights can in nowise ¡be affected by any actions taken, division ■orders signed, or conduct by the other lessors in the lease, she never having ratified or agreed to such action or conduct as a correct construction of the royalty provision. This record shows she has at all times contended that she was entitled to receive a royalty of Y^nd of total production from the land covered by the lease. In the language of this Court in the case of Garza v. De Montalvo, 1949, 147 Tex. 525, 217 S.W.2d 988, 993, “ * * * We 'know of no rule of construction which would permit the unambiguous meaning of the language of the agreement to be departed from because later developments prove the agreement to' be more advam tageous to some of the parties than to ■others.”
X- Mrs. Gibson, owning an undivided ⅝⅛ ■of the mineral rights covered by the lease, should receive ⅜⅛ of the ⅜⅛ royalty provided for therein, or ⅝2nd.
The judgments of both courts below are reversed and judgment here rendered that Mrs. Gibson be entitled to recover a royalty of V¡2nd of all the oil and gas production from Survey' No. 14.
CALVERT and WALKER, JJ„ concur only in the result. •'