Beardmore v. Ling

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Fontron, J.:

This is the latest in a series of cases reaching this court from the western reaches of our state involving the assessment of oil and gas properties. The plaintiffs, who are partners doing business as Beardmore Drilling Company, own and operate five oil and gas leases in Hodgeman County. They will be referred to herein either as plaintiffs or as Beardmore.

For the calendar year 1965, the five leases were assessed by the county clerk of Hodgeman County, wearing his assessor’s hat, in the aggregate sum of $143,525. This figure was designed to…