Joyce v. Wyant
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
202 F.2d 863 (1953)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Joyce (plaintiff) executed an oil and gas lease to a lessee. The lease was granted to the lessee in consideration of the lessee’s drilling of four wells on the premises. The lease also provided that it would be in effect for 60 days “and as long thereafter as Lessee complies with his obligations hereunder, and he produces oil, gas or other minerals in paying quantities from the leased premises.” The lessee later assigned the lease to Wyant (defendant). Within the first 60 days of the lease, Wyant drilled a well that failed to produce. Wyant determined that the drilling of additional wells would be similarly unprofitable. As a result, Wyant declined to drill additional wells. The 60-day primary term of the lease passed. Joyce brought suit for breach of contract, claiming that Wyant had breached the obligation to drill four wells. Wyant filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, arguing that the lease had terminated on its own terms. The district court granted Wyant’s motion to dismiss. Joyce appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Miller, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
