§ 901. — Claims of bona fide purchasers; establishment of rights.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC901]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 21--GRANTS IN AID OF RAILROADS AND WAGON ROADS
Sec. 901. Claims of bona fide purchasers; establishment of
rights
If any person claiming to be a bona fide purchaser of any lands
erroneously patented or certified shall present his claim to the
Secretary of the Interior prior to the institution of a suit to cancel a
patent or certification, and if it shall appear that he is a bona fide
purchaser, the Secretary of the Interior shall request that suit be
brought in such case against the patentee, or the corporation, company,
person, or association of persons for whose benefit the certification
was made, for the value of said land, which in no case shall be more
than the minimum Government price thereof, and the title of such
claimant shall stand confirmed. An adverse decision by the Secretary of
the Interior on the bona fides of such claimant shall not be conclusive
of his rights, and if such claimant, or one claiming to be a bona fide
purchaser, but who has not submitted his claim to the Secretary of the
Interior, is made a party to such suit, and if found by the court to be
a bona fide purchaser, the court shall decree a confirmation of the
title, and shall render a decree in behalf of the United States against
the patentee, corporation, company, person, or association of persons
for whose benefit the certification was made for the value of the land
as hereinbefore provided. Any bona fide purchaser of lands patented or
certified to a railroad company, and who is not made a party to such
suit, and who has not submitted his claim to the Secretary of the
Interior, may establish his right as such bona fide purchaser in any
United States court having jurisdiction of the subject matter, or at his
option, as prescribed in sections 896 and 897 of this title.
(Mar. 2, 1896, ch. 39, Sec. 2, 29 Stat. 43.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 903 of this title.
