United States v. Merle I. Zweifel and Kenneth Roberts

LEWIS, Chief Judge.

Twenty-seven persons who, through Merle I. Zweifel, filed association mining claim certificates covering large tracts of public land in Wyoming, appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming invalidating their claims and quieting title to the lands in the United States. This appeal turns on the questions whether the district court had jurisdiction over the government’s suit and, if so, whether the court could properly exercise jurisdiction in view of the government’s failure to seek a prior administrative determination of the…