Payne v. Hoover, Inc.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment for the defendants in a suit for declaratory judgment. We affirm the trial court's judgment and hold that limestone is not a "mineral," as that word is used in the deed in question.

On November 3, 1915, George B.H. Martin and Amelia A. Martin executed a warranty deed conveying approximately 445 acres of land in Colbert County, Alabama, to Oscar Ham. The deed contained the following reservation:

"The Grantors herein also reserve all mineral rights absolutely in and to the said above conveyed lands. Said lands — and petroleum."

The appellants are the…