Somers v. McMordie
Somers v. McMordie
Opinion of the Court
Suit was commenced by William F. Somers to quiet his title to the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 27, township 3 south, range 14 west, San Bernardino meridian, containing, according to the allega
There is a statement of stipulated facts wherein, among other things, it is agreed by these litigants that both parties derive title to their respective lands through patents issued ■by the state of California under indemnity lists duly approved and certified by the Secretary of the Interior; that the government plat of the survey of said lands shows Somers’ land as containing forty acres and the McMordie lot as having an area of twenty-one and thirty-eight hundredths acres; that there is a shortage of four and forty-four hundredths acres in the two tracts; that this deficiency was imposed in the judgment upon the parties hereto according to their several proportions of the whole acreage embraced in the boundaries of the two tracts, the plaintiff Somers being given by this method thirty-six and ninety-one hundredths acres and the defendant McMordie twenty and three hundredths acres; and that the sole question on the appeal from the order denying the motion for a new trial is whether or not the court erred in apportioning said land as set forth in the judgment and decree. It is also agreed that the measurements of the exterior lines of the two tracts are as indicated upon a certain plat attached to the stipulation. Appellant asserts that the cause was decided by the learned judge of the superior court in an effort to comply with section 2395 of the United States Revised Statutes (6 Fed. Stats. Ann. 363; U. S. Comp. Stats. 1901, p. 1471), and the rule of “proportionate measurement” as used in the circular of instructions in relation to lost or obliterated corners, approved by the Secretary of the Interior October 16, 1896 (23 Land Dec. Dep. Int. 361), and respondent’s brief contains an assertion that the court was governed by sections 2395, 2396, 2397 of the United States Revised Statutes (6 Fed. Stats. Ann. 363-369, U. S. Comp. Stats. of 1901, pp. 1471-1473), and the circular of the Secretary of the Interior mentioned above. These sections have reference to the rules to
The cause is remanded, with instructions that appellant’s motion be granted.
We concur: Lorigan, J.; Henshaw, J.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SOMERS v. McMORDIE
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- 1 case
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- Syllabus
- Boundaries—Government Plat — Conclusiveness.—There is no provision in Revised Statutes of the United States, sections 2395, 2396, 2397 (U. S. Gomp. Stats. 1901, pp. 1471-1473), relating to the rules to be followed where corners have been lost, or in. the circular of instructions approved by the Secretary of the Interior October 16, 1896 (23 Land Dec. Dep. Int. 361), relating to lost or obliterated corners, for a proportionate measurement based on the deficiency in acreage of adjoining parcels of land, and, where there is no question as to the establishment of a lost corner, the exact boundaries as shown on the government plat must prevail, and they will control a further description by quantity.