Chamberlain v. Montgomery
Chamberlain v. Montgomery
Opinion of the Court
Appellant was plaintiff in an action below concerned with opposing claims to verascite mining property. Respondents had located the property, by them designated The Little Green Monster Lode Mining Claim, in 1937. In 1940, appellant’s father, since deceased, observing no activity on the property, hired an engineer to watch the property and to determine whether the required $100 assessment work was performed during the succeeding year.
Appellant claims that if the work was done, he and his predecessor were unable to observe it because of respondents’ concealment of the premises and that this was a violation of the good faith required to maintain a mining claim.
Title 30 U.S.C.A. § 28 of the Mining Laws of the United States requires:
“ * * * On each claim located after the 10th day of May 1°72, and until a patent has been issued therefor, not less than $100 worth of labor shall be performed or improvements made during each year. * * * ”
Appellant cites us to a number of cases discussing the statute, which are exemplified by his citation of Royston v. Miller, C.C., 76 F. 50, to the effect that the object of the law requiring annual work is that the holder of a mining claim shall give substantial evidence of his good faith. We agree that such is the law, but we cannot agree with appellant’s deduction that the work must be performed openly and notoriously in order to give notice to subsequent claimants that it is being done. Notice that the work is being done in accordance with the assessment statute is given in the filing of the affidavit in the office of the county recorder and posting.
*34 “Clearly, the purpose was the same as in the matter of similar regulations by the miners, namely, to require every person who asserted an exclusive right to his discovery or claim, to expend something of lab,or or value on it as evidence of his good faith, and to show that he was not acting on the principle of the dog in the manger.”
Thus, the trial court’s finding that the work was in fact done during the questioned year, whether or not it was easily discoverable to appellant, supports the conclusion that respondents retained their prior claim. The judgment of the lower court is affirmed. Costs to respondents.
. U.C.A.1953, 40-1-6.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CHAMBERLAIN v. MONTGOMERY
- Status
- Published