Jones v. Interstate Oil Corp.

MURPHEY, J., pro tem.

This is an action for declaratory relief with respect to an oil and gas lease in the Signal Hill territory in Los Angeles County.

At the time of the execution of the lease in question no oil sand was known nor suspected to exist in that area at a greater depth than between four to five thousand feet and no oil drilling companies had had the courage at the time to make the necessarily large expenditures incident to prospecting below that level.

The lease in question was executed in February, 1923, and provided among other things: “The party of the second part (appellants)…