Dellit v. Schleder

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment determining that a warranty deed reserved and retained Leonard Schleder’s entire mineral estate in the subject Rosebud County property. The Court held that the deed’s express reservation of two-thirds of all minerals, construed in favor of the grantor, controlled and that the chain of title could be considered as objective contextual evidence. The Court declined to apply estoppel by deed or reach the proposed Duhig rule because the relevant parties had received their interests through the same instruments and the circumstances were not analogous.

Holdings

1. The deed’s unambiguous reservation of an undivided two-thirds of all mineral interests reserved and retained Schleder’s entire existing mineral estate: two-thirds of the minerals in Tracts 2 and 3 and one-half of the minerals in Tract 1.
2. The district court properly considered the chain of title and related objective circumstances as contextual evidence supporting its interpretation of the unambiguous deed.
3. Neither estoppel by deed nor estoppel in pais prevented Schleder from asserting ownership of the reserved mineral interests.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the warranty deed reserved to Leonard Schleder all of his mineral interests in the property.
2. Whether the district court properly considered the property’s chain of title and other objective circumstances in interpreting the deed.
3. Whether estoppel by deed, or estoppel in pais, prevented Schleder from asserting ownership of the reserved mineral interests.

Disposition

affirmed