43 U.S.C. § 895 — Cancellation of patents erroneously issued; reconveyance
submitted 139 years ago by ch. 376 to r/title-43-PUBLIC-LANDS · 175 words · no verdicts yet
If adjustments show that the United States wrongly certified or patented railroad-grant land before March 3, 1887, the Interior Secretary must demand its return. If the company does not return it within 90 days, the Attorney General must sue to cancel the title evidence and restore United States ownership.
If, during or before completion of the adjustments, it appears that before March 3, 1887 the United States mistakenly certified or patented land to, for, or for the benefit of a company claiming under a United States railroad grant, the Interior Secretary must demand that the company give up or reconvey all the land, whether inside grant or indemnity limits. If the company does not reconvey it within 90 days after demand, the Attorney General must bring and pursue the needed court proceedings to cancel all pre-March 3, 1887 patents, certifications, or other title evidence for the land and restore title to the United States.
If it shall appear, upon the completion of such adjustments, respectively, or sooner, that lands were, from any cause, prior to March 3, 1887, erroneously certified or patented, by the United States, to or for the use or benefit of any company claiming by, through, or under grant from the United States, to aid in the construction of a railroad, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to thereupon demand from such company a relinquishment or reconveyance to the United States of all such lands, whether within granted or indemnity limits; and if such company shall neglect or fail to so reconvey such lands to the United States within ninety days after the aforesaid demand shall have been made, it shall thereupon be the duty of the Attorney General to commence and prosecute in the proper courts the necessary proceedings to cancel all patents, certification, or other evidence of title prior to March 3, 1887, issued for such lands, and to restore the title thereof to the United States.
Source credit: (Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 2, 24 Stat. 556.)
- 1887Enacted · Act of Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376 · 24 Stat. 556
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 376 on 1887-03-03.
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