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Kothe v. Jefferson

Illinois Supreme Court
455 N.E.2d 73 (1983)

Written by Sean Carroll, JD

Facts

Vera Shaw (plaintiff) owned a tract of land and signed an oil and gas lease thereon with John Jefferson (defendant). Jefferson assigned a portion of the oil and gas lease, and numerous subsequent assignments of portions of the lease were made. The leasehold was continuously developed on certain portions, but was not developed on many of the specific portions that Jefferson had assigned. As a result, Shaw—and later Shubrick Kothe, as executor of Shaw’s estate—brought suit to cancel those portions of the assigned lease on which the land was not further developed. The trial court granted Kothe’s motion for summary judgment. Jefferson appealed, arguing that the implied covenant to further develop is indivisible. The court of appeals reversed the grant of summary judgment. Kothe appealed.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Moran, J.)

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