Darlene

At a staff meeting of the law partners Doyle Cantrell read a letter from a Dallas independent oil man, Hank Bridges. His letter said he was being swindled by the giant oil company, United Petroleum. He told of a switch in dates on a buyout clause of a lease sale of ten sections of land. He said that he had hired the best detective service in Dallas and they told him they could not find anything that would lead them to believe that the dates had been switched and they had investigated his claim thoroughly. Bridges wrote that he had bought the leases after United had dug four exploratory wells that were dry down to six thousand feet. He said that he had employed an old seismologist who to his knowledge was the best in the business. He had the old man go over the seismographic printouts and he studied the deflections at eight thousand feet and reported that he thought there was a good possibility of oil at that depth. Hank said he bought the leases for sixty thousand dollars and set up over one of United’s well sites and drilled another two thousand feet and hit a gusher. The well came in three months after the signing of the leases so Hank thought he was on solid ground. As the oil field had a potential of over sixty million dollars to him alone, Bridges said he was more than elated. But three weeks after his well came in he was sent a letter saying that United was going to exercise their buyout rights in the lease sales clause. Bridges asked his secretary to copy the lease agreement in his files and send a letter telling United they were too late. His secretary brought in his copy of the lease sale and the buyout date said six months. He was appalled as he knew that the last time he looked at the lease sale agreement it said sixty days. Bridges said his only chance was with the court system as his secretary had typed the lease sale and would swear the buyout clause was sixty days and not six months. He further stated that she had witnessed the lease sale by signing it and would swear that the lease buyout clause had been changed. The only catch was three of United’s people had also signed the lease and they all swore that the lease buyout clause said six months and not sixty days. The county recorder had produced the original that also read six months. The letter went on to say he figured his only chance was in a court of law and he didn’t know if that would help, but he was willing to gamble the cost of a noted law firm to at least give him their opinion. Doyle said, “What do you think Darlene? You’re from Dallas. Do you want to look into this?” Darlene said, “I’ll go down there, but I won’t bring my team at this point in time. I will meet with Bridges and study the situation then give him my honest opinion. From here it sounds like the oil wells are split between the two parties. United gets the oil and Bridges gets the shaft,” and everyone laughed. After the meeting Doyle called Bridges and told him they were sending their best lawyer, Darlene Gray, to look into the matter. Bridges said, “I’ll pick her up at the airport, Mr. Cantrell. How will I know her?” Doyle chuckled and said, “When you see the most beautiful blond you have ever seen in your life, that’s her.”