Hartman v. Butterfield Lumber Co.

Syllabus

<p>A homesteader, after obtaining his patent, conveyed to a lumber company all the standing timber on the land and other rights therein pursuant to a contract made prior to the issuing of the patent; subsequently he conveyed all his interest in the land to one who thereupon .claimed the timber on the ground that the prior conveyance was void as violative of the land laws and land policy of the United States. Held, that:</p> <p>When the patent issues to a homesteader the full legal title passes to the patentee and he may do with the land that which he sees fit.</p> <p>An executed contract, voluntarily executed, without' fraud or duress, is binding and cannot be repudiated by the party who executed it, and one whose interest in land is acquired subsequently to a conveyance thereof by the owner has no higher right to question the conveyance than the grantor had.</p> <p>Although the grantee of the timber might not .have been able to enforce the contract because void as made in violation of the land laws of the United States, the conveyance having been voluntarily made after the issuing of the patent, could not be attacked on that ground by the grantor or his subsequent grantee. Whether the Government itself could challenge the conveyance not decided.</p>