43 U.S.C. § 897 — Patents to purchasers from railroads; purchase money
submitted 139 years ago by ch. 376 to r/title-43-PUBLIC-LANDS · 430 words · no verdicts yet
A bona fide purchaser who bought certain wrongly certified or patented railroad-grant land may obtain the land and a United States patent after proving the purchase. The railroad company must pay the Government's price for similar land, subject to rules for partial payment and stated exceptions.
For lands other than those mentioned in section 896 of this title that were wrongly certified or patented and then sold by the grantee company to a United States citizen or to someone who declared an intention to become a citizen, the good-faith purchaser, and the purchaser's heirs or assigns, is entitled to the land. The purchaser must prove the purchase at the proper land office within the time and under the rules set by the Secretary of the Interior, after the grants have been adjusted. The United States must issue a patent for the land, and the patent relates back to the date of the original certification or patent. The Secretary of the Interior, for the United States, must demand from the company an amount equal to the Government price of similar land. If the company does not pay within 90 days after demand, the Attorney General must bring one or more suits against the company for that amount.
However, nothing in sections 894 through 899 prevents a purchaser of land wrongly withdrawn, certified, or patented from recovering the purchase money from the grantee company, minus the amount the company paid the United States as required by those sections. A mortgage or pledge of the land by the company is not a sale for these sections. These sections do not declare forfeiture of any part of a land grant because conditions were broken, authorize an entry for that land, or waive any United States rights arising from a breach of the conditions.
If a purchaser, heir, or assign paid only part of the purchase price and that part is less than the Government price of similar land, the purchaser must pay the Government, before the patent is delivered, the difference between the amount paid and the Government price. In that case, the amount demanded from the company is the amount the purchaser paid to the company.
As to all lands, except those mentioned in section 896 of this title, which have been so erroneously certified or patented as aforesaid, and which have been sold by the grantee company to citizens of the United States, or to persons who have declared their intention to become such citizens, the person or persons so purchasing in good faith, his heirs or assigns, shall be entitled to the land so purchased, upon making proof of the fact of such purchase at the proper land office, within such time and under such rules as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, after the grants respectively shall have been adjusted; and patents of the United States shall issue therefor, and shall relate back to the date of the original certification or patenting, and the Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the United States, shall demand payment from the company which has so disposed of such lands of an amount equal to the Government price of similar lands; and in case of neglect or refusal of such company to make payment as hereafter specified, within ninety days after the demand shall have been made, the Attorney General shall cause suit or suits to be brought against such company for the said amount: Provided, That nothing in sections 894 to 899 of this title shall prevent any purchaser of lands erroneously withdrawn, certified, or patented as aforesaid from recovering the purchase money therefor from the grantee company, less the amount paid to the United States by such company as by said sections required: And provided, That a mortgage or pledge of said lands by the company shall not be considered as a sale for the purpose of said sections, nor shall said sections be construed as a declaration of forfeiture of any portion of any land grant for conditions broken, or as authorizing an entry for the same, or as a waiver of any rights that the United States may have on account of any breach of said conditions. Provided further, That where such purchasers, their heirs or assigns, have paid only a portion of the purchase price to the company, which is less than the Government price of similar lands, they shall be required, before the delivery of patent for their lands, to pay to the Government a sum equal to the difference between the portion of the purchase price so paid and the Government price, and in such case the amount demanded from the company shall be the amount paid to it by such purchaser.
Source credit: (Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 4, 24 Stat. 557; Feb. 12, 1896, ch. 18, 29 Stat. 6.)
- 1887Enacted · Act of Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376 · 24 Stat. 557
- 1896Amended · Act of Feb. 12, 1896, ch. 18 · 29 Stat. 6
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 376 on 1887-03-03.
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