Boal v. Citizens' Natural Gas Co.

Citations

• 23 Pa. Super. 339
• 1903 Pa. Super. LEXIS 71

Syllabus

<p>Lease — Oil and gas lease — Covenants—Rental.</p> <p>Where an oil and gas company takes a lease of land for a term of years “ for the sole and only purpose of drilling and operating for petroleum oil or gas,” and covenants to pay a royalty on oil and gas produced, and also, as additional rental, to furnish the lessor with natural gas for heat and light for his house during the term of the lease, and the lease contains no forfeiture clause, or clause as to the number or depths of the wells to be drilled, or as to the lime when operations are to begin, or as to finding oil or gas in paying quantities, the lessee cannot discharge itself from the obligation of the covenant to furnish natural gas for domestic purposes, by ceasing its operations when the production of gas ceased from the single well which had been drilled.</p> <p>Practice, C. P. — Parties—-Oiland gas lease.</p> <p>In an action on an oil and gas lease, where it appears that the name of the plaintiff’s wife was inserted in the lease as one of the parties of the first part, but the lease was not executed by her, but only by the husband, and the pleadings show that the only parties to the lease were the plaintiff and defendant, the action is properly brought in the name of the husband alone.</p> <p>Affidavit of defense — Covenant—Oil and gas lease.</p> <p>Where it is not clear whether an averment of an affidavit of defense is of a fact or of an inference of law from particular facts not set forth, it is bad for uncertainty.</p> <p>In an action for breach of a covenant to furnish natural gas to heat and light a house, where it is admitted that the defendant did not furnish the gas during the months covered by the action, and the court determines as a matter of law that the defendant was bound to furnish the gas, the plaintiff is entitled to judgment in the absence of a clear, distinct and unequivocal denial that the gas purchased by the plaintiff was' reasonably necessary to heat and light his premises, or