James v. Germania Iron Co.

Citations

• 107 F. 597
• 1901 U.S. App. LEXIS 3995

Syllabus

<p>1. Land Department of the United States — Judicial Power and Its Effect.</p> <p>The land department of the United States is a quasi judicial tribunal, invested with authority to hear and determine claims to the public lands subject to its disposition, and its decisions of the issues presented at such hearings, and its patents issued thereon, are impervious to collateral attack.</p> <p>8. Patents and Decisions of Land Department — How Directly Assailed.</p> <p>But a patent or decision of the land department is not impregnable to direct attack. The legal title derived from it may be charged with a trust for the benefit of the party lawfully. entitled to it either on the ground (1) that, upon the facts found, conceded, or established without dispute at the iina.1 hearing before the department, its officers fell into a clear error in the construction of the law applicable to the case which caused them to issue the patent to the wrong party, or for the reason (2) that through fraud or gross mistake they fell into a misapprehension of the facts proved before them which had the like effect.</p> <p>& Land Department’s Finding of Fact — How Assailed.</p> <p>One who would attack a patent or decision of the department for a mistake of fact, however, must plead and prove the evidence before the department from which the mistake resulted, the particular mistake that was made, the way in.which it occurred, and the fact that, if it had not been made, the decision would have been otherwise, and the patent would not have issued to the patentee, before any eourt can enter upon the consideration of the original issue of fact determined by the department.</p> <p>4. Equitable Title not Devested by Subsequent Rules or Decisions of Department.</p> <p>The equitable title to land acquired by a lawful entry cannot be devested or affected by subsequent decisions of the land department, or subsequent rules or modification of rules of practice therein.</p> <p>6. Entry of Public Land, Whether