Richland Plantation Company v. Justiss-Mears Oil Company, Inc.

TATE, Circuit Judge:

This Texas diversity suit involves the construction of an agreement to pay an additional (or overriding) royalty in the event of production, beyond that provided by a mineral lease entered into the same day between the parties. The defendant producer-lessee (“Justiss”) appeals from the district court’s ruling that additional royalty payments are due to the plaintiff landowner-lessor (“Richland”) under the additional-royalty agreement. Justiss, the appellant defendant, principally contends that the district court erred in finding ambiguity in the additional-royalty…