Williamson v. Jones

Summary

The court held that Jones's extraction of petroleum from land in which others held vested remainders was waste because neither his life estate nor his three-tenths fee interest authorized him to open new wells. The remainder-men were not bound by the judicial sale or by estoppel because they were indispensable parties, made no affirmative representation, and were not required to warn Jones of their rights. The court required an accounting of the plaintiffs' share of actual rents and profits, subject to credit for the costs of productive wells and production. The decree was reversed and remanded for correction of the accounting and distribution.