Higgins v. California Petroleum & Asphalt Co.

Citations

• 122 Cal. 373
• 55 P. 155
• 1898 Cal. LEXIS 590

Syllabus

<p>Mining—Joint Lease by Several Owners—Rights of Lessors and Grantees.—If a joint lease of adjacent parts of a mine by adjoining owners of the several parts, reserving royalties as rent to be paid jointly to the lessors, contains no covenants as between the lessors, either of them, or the grantee of either of them, may mine on his portion of the leased premises, without incurring any liability to the other lessor.</p> <p>Id.—Conveyance of One Lessor to Lessee—Covenant for Royalty.— Upon conveyance by one of the lessors to the lessee, the right of such lessee as owner to work the part of the mine conveyed without liability to the other lessor is in abeyance, and the lessee is not by such conveyance absolved from the covenant to pay royalty to the other lessor.</p> <p>Id.—Conveyance by Lessee to Third Person.—In case of conveyance by the lessee to a third person not an assignee of the lease, the right to work the part of the mine conveyed without liability to ■ the other lessor is revived in favor of such third person.</p> <p>Id.—Identity of Corporations Lessee and Grantee—Finding.—A finding that a lessee corporation which received a conveyance from one of the lessors was identical with its alleged grantee, and that the mining operations conducted by the grantee corporation were, in reality, conducted by the lessee corporation, supported by evidence that the new corporation was substantially a reorganization of the old one, and was only the old one under a new name, for the purpose of evading the obligations of the lease, is sufficient to sustain a judgment against both corporations for royalties in favor of the other lessor for mining done after the transfer from the old to the new corporation.</p> <p>Id.—Nominal Transfer—Constructive Fraud.—A mere nominal transfer by a lessee corporation to another corporation organized for the same purpose, with the same officers and the same place of business, without any consideration to the lessee corporation for the transfer,