Pure Oil Co. v. Evans
| Decision Date | 13 October 1938 |
| Docket Number | No. 24694.,24694. |
| Citation | 17 N.E.2d 23,369 Ill. 416 |
| Parties | PURE OIL CO. v. EVANS et al. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Suit by Lou Evans and others against the Pure Oil Company to cancel an oil and gas lease on certain lands. From an adverse judgment, the defendant appeals.
Affirmed.Appeal from Circuit Court, Clay County; William B. Wright, judge.
Vinson, Elkins, Weems & Francis, of Houston, Tax., and Smith, George & McCollum, of Flora (Ben A. Harper, of Houston, Tax., of counsel), for appellant.
Weilepp & Wilson, of Decatur, for appellees.
Alonzo Evans died intestate leaving his widow, two sons, three daughters and three children of a deceased daughter, as his sole surviving heirs-at-law. The widow and three daughters (with their husbands) filed a complaint in the circuit court of Clay county against the Pure Oil Company to cancel a five-year oil and gas lease on certain lands owned by them and the five other heirs as tenants in common. The circuit court entered a decree canceling the lease and the Pure Oil Company has appealed directly to this court, a freehold being involved. Douglass v. Treat, 246 Ill. 593, 92 N.E. 976.
The lease in question was signed by Mrs. Lou Evans, Irene Franklin, her daughter, and Dolph Franklin, the latter's husband, on March 15, 1937, and by Bessie Denton and Pauline Shore and their husbands on March 16 and March 19, 1937, respectively. The five remaining tenants in common either refused to sign the lease or were never located. Mrs. Evans and her daughter testified that they were approached by F. A. Calvert, Jr., a representative of the oil company, who wanted to obtain a ten-year lease on the premises. They refused at first, stating that they wished to consult their co-tenants but finally signed a five-year lease when assured by Calvert that it would not be binding unless signed by all the remaining tenants in common. A check for the first year's rent was delivered to Mrs. Evans who testified that Calvert told her not to cash it until the remaining heirs signed the lease. This check was never cashed. Calvert, who testified for the oil company, denied that Mrs. Evans or her daughter signed the lease on the condition that it should be effective only if signed by their co-tenants. The trial court made a finding of fact on this issue in favor of plaintiffs and we believe this finding is supported by the greater weight of the evidence.
The Pure Oil Company argues that even if Mrs. Evans and her daughter signed the lease conditionally, the condition became inoperative when they delivered the lease to Calvert. In support of this argument it cites McCann v. Atherton, 106 Ill. 31,Stanley v. White, 160 Ill. 605, 43 N.E. 729, and other cases, holding that delivery of an instrument in escrow must be made to a third party, and not to the grantee or its agent, if the conditions attached thereto are to remain effective. In those cases we found that the...
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Carroll v. Caldwell
...a second amended complaint was dismissed for failure to state a cause of action and, since a freehold is involved, (Evans v. Pure Oil Co., 369 Ill. 416, 17 N.E.2d 23) plaintiff has appealed directly to this court for The allegations of the contested complaint are substantially as follows: P......
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Logue v. Almen
...the several grantors with the intent that such transfer of possession should be a completed delivery. Plaintiffs cite Evans v. Pure Oil Co., 369 Ill. 416, 17 N.E.2d 23, and earnestly contend it is controlling. In that case some of the lessors had signed the lease and handed it to the agent ......
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