Thompson v. Pelton
District Court, D. Alaska
This suit is one for the possession of ground alleged to be a portion of certain unpatented placer mining claims, to enjoin defendants from mining it and from diverting water from that part of said claims in which they assert no right other than to take the water to the portion in dispute, and for damages on account of plaintiff’s ouster from the disputed area. Setting up location of the claims in 1902, the complaint contains the usual allegations.
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This suit is one for the possession of ground alleged to be a portion of certain unpatented placer mining claims, to enjoin defendants from mining it and from diverting water from that part of said claims in which they assert no right other than to take the water to the portion in dispute, and for damages on account of plaintiff’s ouster from the disputed area. Setting up location of the claims in 1902, the complaint contains the usual allegations. The answer denies all its material allegations, alleges possession and occupancy under the local usage and custom of miners of certain “beach”…
1Opinion of the Court
No controlling authority or convincing reason has been offered by plaintiff why Congress should in the matter of mining claims, and especially placers, have made an exception to the rule that grants of land by the United States on the ocean are bounded by the line of ordinary high tide. In view of this settled long-established and well-known rule of law, it is plain, had Congress intended to make a different provision in con*514ferring the right to acquire mineral land or in extending such right to Alaska, it would have expressly so provided.
Section 2319 of the Revised Statutes (U. S. Comp. St.…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Shively v. BowlbySupreme Court of the United States · 1894
- McCloskey v. Pacific Coast Co.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1908
- Heckman v. SutterCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1902
- Dalton v. HazeletCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1910
- Columbia Canning Co. v. HamptonCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1908
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by2 opinions
- McCavit v. LacherAlaska Supreme Court · 2019
- Dent v. Alaska Placer Co.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1949