Ridge Oil Co. v. Guinn Investments, Inc.

148 S.W.3d 143, 161 O. & G.R. 1135, 47 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1080 (2004)

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

Ridge Oil Co. v. Guinn Investments, Inc.

Supreme Court of Texas
148 S.W.3d 143, 161 O. & G.R. 1135, 47 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1080 (2004)

SC

Facts

Ridge Oil Company, Inc. (Ridge) (defendant) and Guinn Investments, Inc. (Guinn) (plaintiff) were lessees on adjoining tracts of land that were subject to a single oil and gas lease (1937 lease). The 1937 lease provided that it would remain in effect so long as there was production in paying quantities on the land subject to the lease. Thus, as long as there was production on either the Ridge tract or the Guinn tract, the 1937 lease would remain in effect as to both tracts. There was production on the Ridge tract from the inception of the 1937 lease to December 1997, at which time Ridge intentionally ceased production temporarily in an attempt to terminate the 1937 lease. Approximately 90 days after production ceased, Ridge entered into a new lease with the lessors, covering only the Ridge tract. At that time, Ridge restarted production. There was no production on the Guinn tract throughout the relevant time period. Guinn brought suit against Ridge based on the temporary-cessation-of-production doctrine, claiming that the 1937 lease had not terminated with respect to the Guinn tract. The trial court granted summary judgment to Ridge, and Guinn appealed. The court of appeals reversed. Ridge appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Owen, 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 803,000 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 803,000 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 803,000 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