G.E.J. Corporation and M.F. Corporation v. Uranium Aire, Inc., a Corporation

This is a suit to recover on an option for the sale of mining claims. The court below gave judgment for the plaintiffs and defendants appeal.

On January 12, 1956, appellees granted appellant, G. E. J. Corporation (GEJ), an option to purchase appellees’ property. The option contained the following clause:

GEJ, the signatory optionee, was a corporation organized by the Christiana Oil Corporation (whose name was later changed to M. F. Corporation, hereinafter MF) for the purpose of entering into the option agreement. Having procured the option, GEJ then turned the property over to MF, which conducted approximately twenty-seven days of exr ploratory work upon it. Early in March, 1956 MF advised appellees that it did not want to acquire the property. On March 8, 1956 GEJ formally notified appellees that it did not intend to exercise its option and, at the same time, released and quitclaimed its interest in the property. Appellees immediately responded by advising GEJ that they considered it GEJ’s duty “either to stockpile the ore as required in Paragraph 4 or to make the cash payment.”

Neither performance forthcoming, on September 24, 1956, appellees commenced this action. Trial…