Anderson v. Woodward

The court had jurisdiction of the cause, and the only question involved relates to the sufficiency of the complaint to state a cause of action. The facts are undisputed, and the proposition is whether on these facts the land department was authorized by law to issue a patent to the defendant.

It has frequently been decided by the supreme court of the United States that patents for lands which have been previously granted, reserved from sale, or appropriated, are void, and that actions may be maintained to annul such patents. — Morton v. Nebraska, 21 Wall. 660, 22 L. Ed. 639; Burfenning v.…