Tignor v. United States

Plaintiff, Claude J. Tignor, was the lessee of 98.7 acres of submerged land in the York Eiver, York County, Virginia, which he had leased under the laws of Virginia for the culture of oysters.

Pursuant to an act of Congress of July 1, 1918, 40 Stat. 738, the President of the United States, on August 7, 1918, by proclamation, took “ title to .and authorized the Secretary of the Navy to take possession of ” a certain large tract of land near Yorktown, Va., for the purpose of a naval mine depot. Plaintiff’s leasehold was included in the boundary of said tract. Said proclamation conferred upon the…