Shell Petroleum Corporation v. Scully

HUTCHESON, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff is the owner of a large body of salt marsh land in the parish of La Fourehe, La., to wit, 26,794.65 acres. These lands, without value for agriculture or grazing, have a surface value for trapping purposes of $5 an acre. In addition, because of the prospecting for oil which has been going on in the Louisiana Gulf Coast .country for many years, they have a speculative mineral value. Beginning in 1927, defendant, an oil company engaged in prospecting for and producing oil, had been negotiating with plaintiff for a selection lease on his land. Such a lease,…