M & C OIL, INC. v. Geffert

Lewis, J.:

M & C Oil Company, Inc., was the lessee and Jane Geffert was the lessor in a 1979 oil and gas lease. The lease contained a clause requiring the payment of a minimum royalty. This clause was inadvertently breached by the lessee. The trial court ordered the lease canceled as a result. The lessee appeals.

The lease in question was a Form 88 (Producer’s) lease, and the form was altered by the parties. At the time of the trial, there was a producing oil well located on real estate covered by the lease.

The form of the lease was altered in three respects. The clause providing for delay…