United States v. St. Clair

This case spanned 140 years of land surveys and transfers. Pertinent to this matter, in 1907, federal lands within "Section 33" (a portion of the land at issue here) were made part of the San Juan National Forest. In 1925, the BLM issued an oil and gas permit in "Lot 6" of that section. The BLM later issued oil and gas permits for Lot 6 in 1964 and 1977. From 1893 until 1951, each time the property described in the "Overocker patent" was conveyed, the deeds used the original land description ("aliquot," dating back to the 1880s): the “south half of the north-east quarter and the north half of the south-east quarter of section thirty three” of Township 36. In 1951, James and Lois Heidelberg conveyed the Overocker land to Angelo Dallabetta by warranty deed with the same aliquot description. In 1967, Dallabetta conveyed the land to defendant-appellant Laverne St. Clair and his first wife by warranty deed, which described the land by metes and bounds. In 1976, St. Clair conveyed the property to himself and his second wife by warranty deed using the metes and bounds description (Mr. St. Clair passed away in late 2015; his estate was named a party to this action). In 1984, St. Clair purchased land from Dallabetta’s estate that was not included in the Overocker patent description. The First National Bank represented Dallabetta’s estate in the transaction. In conveying the land, the First National Bank also agreed to include a quit claim deed to Lot 6. In 2000, Forest Service personnel discovered road construction, fence posts, brush hogging, and vegetation clearance in Lot 6. In 2011, the Government sued Mr. St. Clair for trespass on Lot 6. The complaint requested that he be ejected and pay for the damage he caused by constructing a road and making the other alterations to Lot 6 land. Following a bench trial, the district court held St. Clair liable for trespass, ordered him ejected, and imposed damages for alterations he had made upon the land. St. Clair appealed. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. St. Clair" on Justia Law