Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Curtis

182 F.2d 122 (1950)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
P
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Curtis

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
182 F.2d 122 (1950)

SC

Facts

Joe and Lois Curtis (defendants) executed an oil and gas lease that provided for termination on October 4, 1947, unless construction of a well commenced before that date or the lessee paid the Curtises an annual delay rental. Phillips Petroleum Company (Phillips) (plaintiff) acquired the lessee’s interest in the lease. No well was constructed on the property, but Phillips paid the first delay rental by October 4, 1947. Phillips did not pay a delay rental for the following year by October 4, 1948, due to an inadvertent error made by one of its employees. But for the error, Phillips was willing and able to pay the delay rental on time. When Phillips discovered the error in December 1948, it submitted payment of a delay rental to the Curtises, but the Curtises refused payment and asserted that the lease had terminated. Phillips sued to quiet title to the lease. The trial court ruled in favor of the Curtises, and Phillips appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Phillips, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 812,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 812,000 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Oil and Gas

Key Terms