Hunt v. McWilliams

Griffin Smith, Chief Justice.

Counsel for appellee McWilliams state the substance of the jurisdictional problem in this controversy when they assert that because their client is sole owner of the forty acres he may sue for cancellation of an oil and gas lease; and this may be done without bringing into the litigation non-participating royalty holders whose aggregate interests were 98/113ths. The trial court held that the royalty owners were not indispensable parties, since their concern was with oil [and gas] as such, in contradistinction to operations or plans pertaining to production, or use…