Tommy Yowell v. Granite Operating Company And Granite Operating Company and Apache Corporation v. Peyton Royalties, L.P. ( 2018 )

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo No. 07-17-00112-CV TOMMY YOWELL; GAIL YOWELL; HARRY GRAFF; EL TERCIO, LLC; AND CASUARINA INVESTMENTS, LLC (D/B/A LAR RESOURCES, LLC), APPELLANTS V. GRANITE OPERATING COMPANY AND APACHE CORPORATION, AND PAC PRODUCTION CO.; MESA OIL & GAS CORP.; AND CATTALO, LTD., APPELLEES AND GRANITE OPERATING COMPANY AND APACHE CORPORATION, APPELLANTS V. PEYTON ROYALTIES, L.P.; BAILEY PEYTON, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE GEORGE BAILEY PEYTON, IV 2007 GRANTOR RETAINED ANNUITY TRUST NO. 1; AND PEYTON HOLDINGS CORP., APPELLEES On Appeal from the 31st District Court Wheeler County, Texas Trial Court No. 12,944, Honorable Steven R. Emmert, Presiding July 26, 2018 DISSENTING OPINION Before CAMPBELL and PIRTLE and PARKER, JJ. It is with the utmost respect that I dissent from the opinion of my learned colleagues. One can read thousands of opinions regarding complex oil and gas litigation and never encounter the terms “anti-washout,” “rule against perpetuities,” and “doctrine of cy pres” in the same opinion. It is the uniqueness of those rarely cited principles that has caused me to examine so closely the appropriateness of the trial court’s summary disposition of this dispute. Because the majority affirms the decision of the trial court to dispose of this dispute, as a matter of law, based upon the rule against perpetuities and then dismisses consideration of the doctrine of cy pres—I respectfully dissent. Patrick A. Pirtle Justice 2