Clements v. Robison

• Decision Date: 05 April 1922
• Docket Number: (No. 3574.)
• Citation: 239 S.W. 902
• Parties: CLEMENTS v. ROBISON et al.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

Page 902

239 S.W. 902

CLEMENTS v. ROBISON et al.

(No. 3574.)

Supreme Court of Texas.

April 5, 1922.

Petition for a writ of mandamus by D. P. Clements, relator, against J. T. Robison, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and others. Writ denied.

Bishop, Scott & Sparks, of Gorman, and Charles Rogan, of Austin, for relator.

C. M. Cureton, Atty. Gen., and E. F. Smith, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondents.

PIERSON, J.

On the 4th day of April, 1907, section No. 40, block 2, H. & G. N. R. R. Company certificate No. 7/1404, school land in Reeves county, was awarded to H. W. Case on his application of date March 15, 1907. At that time the classification of said section upon the records of the land office at Austin and of the county clerk of Reeves county was "mineral and dry grazing." Case applied to purchase it under that classification, and on March 16, 1907, filed in the land office his waiver to any minerals that might be in the land.

This section prior to May 20, 1901, was classified as "dry grazing," and valued at $1 per acre. On that date, May 20, 1901, one Mrs. E. D. Wadley filed with the county surveyor of Reeves county an application to purchase this section as oil land, and her application was filed in the land office on the 3d day of June, 1901. Same was accepted by the Land Commissioner, and the county clerk of Reeves county was advised that said tract of land was off the market for one year. About this time, and prior thereto, in 1900 or 1901, the discovery of oil was reported in Reeves county, creating considerable excitement, and much land in these counties was filed on as oil land. Thereafter, on the 13th day of September, 1901, the Land Commissioner sent to the county clerk of Reeves county a classification of this land, showing it to be classified as "dry grazing." This was followed on October 21, 1901, by a letter from the Land Commissioner to the county clerk of Reeves county, instructing him to reappraise all public school land in Reeves county, and that "such lands only as were known to be mineral lands and filed on as such" were to be classified as "mineral." Closely following this letter, on the 30th day of November, 1901, Hon. Charles Rogan, Land Commissioner, reclassified this land, and sent a new classification and appraisement to the county clerk of Reeves county, which showed this tract to have been classified as "mineral," valued at $25 per acre, and "dry graz.," valued at $100 per acre.

On or about the 12th day of February, 1907, said original grantee, H. W. Case, filed in the General Land Office his affidavit to the effect that there were no minerals on said tract of land, so far as he knew or had reason to believe, or did believe. On February 14, 1907, the Land Commissioner again classified this tract of land as "mineral and dry grazing," and valued the same at $2 per acre, and sent the proper notice of classification and valuation to the county clerk of Reeves county. It was upon this classification and valuation that the land was awarded to H. W. Case on the 4th day of April, 1907. On the 16th of March, 1907, and prior to the award herein, said H. W. Case again filed his affidavit to the effect that to the best of his knowledge and belief there were no minerals in this land, and further—

"That said land has heretofore been classified as mineral land, and, believing there to be no mineral thereon, and hereby waiving all right to the minerals on said section to the state of Texas, should there be any mineral deposits of any character hereafter found in or on said land, and in the event of a sale to me of the foregoing land, it is expressly agreed and understood that I acquire no right, title, or other interest in or to any minerals that are now or may hereafter be known or found to exist in or on said land."

An oil permit was issued by the Land Commissioner to Edwin F. Smith to this land on August 13, 1919. This suit was brought by relator, D. P. Clements, who is the successor in title to this land through mesne conveyances from the original grantee, for a writ of mandamus, in which he prays that the Commissioner of the General Land Office be required to cancel the oil permit mentioned above; to change the records of his office so as to show said tract of land to be classified as grazing only; to cancel a certain "combination contract" in which the permit on this land is included, to the extent that said "combination contract" embraces this land; and to perpetually enjoin the Land Commissioner from issuing or executing any oil, gas, or other mineral permits or mineral leases on this land, unless same should thereafter be forfeited to the state for any reason.

Relator alleges as grounds for the relief sought that the Commissioner of the General Land Office, on November 30, 1901, unlawfully changed the classification of this land from "dry grazing" to "mineral and dry grazing," valuing the minerals at $25 per acre and the land at $100 per acre; that said land had never been examined by the Geological and Mineralogical Survey and found to be mineral-bearing, and had not been designated by said survey as mineral land, as provided by articles 3482, 3498b, title 71, R. C....