Hodge v. Hayes

729 F. Supp. 718, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16172, 1989 WL 165957
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedMarch 28, 1989
DocketNo. CV-S-87-831-PMP
StatusPublished

This text of 729 F. Supp. 718 (Hodge v. Hayes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hodge v. Hayes, 729 F. Supp. 718, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16172, 1989 WL 165957 (D. Nev. 1989).

Opinion

ORDER

PRO, District Judge.

This case involves the competing claims of Plaintiffs and Defendant regarding title to a patented placer mining claim for sand and gravel on approximately 160 acres of land located on the eastern edge of Las Vegas Valley near Sunrise Mountain, known as Airway No. 19.1

Sometime prior to 1973, Plaintiffs predecessor in interest, Dorothy I. Smith, became the owner of an unpatented mining claim known as Airway No. 19 covering the property at issue. Desiring to obtain a sand and gravel placer mining claim patent from the United States, Mrs. Smith retained Defendant’s predecessor in interest, Keith C. Hayes, a lawyer.

On November 12, 1973, Smith and Hayes executed a written agreement providing that Hayes would perform the legal services necessary to acquire a placer mining claim patent on the Airway No. 19 property from the United States and in exchange Mrs. Smith would convey by quitclaim deed to Hayes approximately 32 acres of the Airway No. 19 mining claim.2

On January 7, 1974, Hayes became a District Judge of the State of Nevada. However, because of his ownership interest in the property, Hayes continued to act on behalf of himself and Smith in perfecting [719]*719the patent application which was filed with the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, on July 31, 1975. On January 9, 1979, the Bureau of Land Management rejected the Airway No. 19 patent application. On November 27, 1979, Hayes died of cancer.

On December 5, 1980, the Congress of the United States enacted Private Law 96-97 granting Smith and Hayes the desired sand and gravel patent to Airway No. 19, which resulted in the issuance of the patent by the Bureau of Land Management on February 24, 1981. The patent provides in pertinent part as follows:

WHEREAS, Dorothy Smith and Keith Hayes, are entitled to a Sand and Gravel Patent pursuant to H.R. 7698, an Act for the relief of two mining claimants, signed into law December 5, 1980 as Private Law 96-67, for the sand and gravel deposit contained in the Airway Number Nineteen placer mining claim designated and described as follows:
Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada T. 20 S., R. 62 E., sec. 14, EVaNWVi, NV2SWy4.

The area described contains 160 acres.

NOW KNOW YE, that there is, therefore, granted by the UNITED STATES, unto the above named claimants, their heirs, successors and assigns, the sand and gravel deposit within the claim and such use of the surface of the claim reasonably required to mine the sand and gravel as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or his designated agents.

On May 18, 1986, Dorothy Smith died. On November 13, 1987, this action was commenced by Smith’s successors seeking declaratory judgment adjudicating the respective rights and interests of the parties in the Airway No. 19 patented mining claim. By their Complaint, Plaintiffs alternatively allege causes of action for unjust enrichment, constructive trust and resulting trust, all seeking judgments that Defendant has no interest in the Airway No. 19 mining claim except for the approximately 32-acre portion quitclaimed to Defendant’s predecessor pursuant to the agreement of November 12, 1973. Alternatively Plaintiffs seek judgment that Defendant be required to compensate Plaintiffs in an amount equal to the full value of whatever Defendant claims her interest in Plaintiffs’ portion of the mining claim to be.

Defendant responds that the patent issued by the United States is the sole source of the mining claim title of the parties and results in a tenancy in common by which the parties enjoy an undivided 50% interest. Additionally, Defendant contends that Plaintiffs’ claims to the contrary are barred by the statute of limitations.

On November 30, 1988, Plaintiffs and Defendant filed Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment (# 20 and # 22, respectively), which have been fully briefed and regarding which arguments were heard on Friday, March 10, 1989.

Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”

Three recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court have clarified what a non-moving party must do to withstand a motion for summary judgment. That standard was effectively reiterated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cal. Arch. Bldg. Prod. v. Franciscan Ceramics, 818 F.2d 1466, 1468 (9th Cir.1987) as follows:

First, the Court has made clear that if the non-moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial as to an element essential to its case, and that party fails to make a showing sufficient to establish a genuine dispute of fact with respect to the existence of that element, then summary judgment is appropriate. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, [477] U.S. [317], 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Second, to withstand a motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party must show that there are “genuine factual issues that properly can be re[720]*720solved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., [477] U.S. [242], 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (emphasis added). Finally, if the factual context makes the non-moving party’s claim implausible, that party must come forward with more persuasive evidence than would otherwise be necessary to show that there is a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). No longer can it be argued that any disagreement about a material issue of fact precludes the use of summary judgment.

In her Motion for Summary Judgment, Defendant argues that the patent issued by the U.S. constitutes the sole source of title to the land, that upon issuance and recordation a tenancy in common was created, and that Plaintiffs and Defendant are entitled to an undivided fifty percent interest in mining patent. Accepting Defendant’s contention that the issuance of the patent constitutes the source of title to the patent and that a tenancy in common resulted, the Court must consider the merits of Defendant’s claim that she is entitled to a fifty percent share of the land.

It is well established that when two or more individuals own property as tenants in common, there is a presumption of equal shares when the instrument under which they claim ownership is silent as to their respective shares, Sebold v. Sebold, 444 F.2d 864 (D.C.Cir.1971). However, this presumption is rebuttable, Id. The burden of proof of overcoming this presumption lies with the party asserting unequal distribution, Castle v. Hulcher, 312 N.E.2d 836

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Related

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Randall E. Sebold, Sr. v. Irene H. Sebold
444 F.2d 864 (D.C. Circuit, 1971)
Castle v. Hulcher
312 N.E.2d 836 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
729 F. Supp. 718, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16172, 1989 WL 165957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hodge-v-hayes-nvd-1989.