Pease v. Johnson

MUSSELL, J.

Plaintiff Carl Erikson brought this action to quiet title to mining claims situated in the Julian-Banner Mining District of San Diego County. Since this appeal was filed, C. C. Pease has been substituted as appellant, as the successor in interest of Erikson. The controversy herein concerns the validity of locations by the parties and their predecessors in interest of two mining claims, generally described in. the record as the East and West Claims. These claims, particularly described in the findings, are paraEel and are separated by what is known as the Golden Chariot Mine Patent Lot No. 39. Plaintiff claims title to the West Claim by virtue of location thereof alleged to have been made by Charles W. Carey on June 29, 1940, and a subsequent deed by Carey to Erikson. Defendants claim title by deed from one William. Crosby and also by location thereof on July 1, 1940.

The trial court found that the attempted location by Carey was void as the said claim was not then open for entry and found that the plaintiff’s claimed predecessor in interest obtained no rights thereto. It .was further found that after 12 o’clock noon, July 1,1940, one William Crosby, defendants’ predecessor in interest, filed a valid location notice upon this claim and subsequently, by deed, made a valid transfer thereof to defendants Ben Johnson and Ed Farris; that there was

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no abandonment or forfeiture of this claim by the defendants and that they have been in possession and present upon the property at all times since 12 o’clock noon, July 1, 1940, and have done the required discovery and assessment work since said date. These findings are supported by substantial evidence.

There was testimony that Crosby located the West Claim in 1936 as the “Armistice” mining claim; that defendant Ben Johnson went on the property on June 30, 1940, and on the following day, with Crosby, relocated this claim, placed monuments around it, found mineral in place, mailed the location notice to the recorder’s office in San Diego and thereafter did the necessary work upon the property. There is also substantial evidence that when Carey made his attempted location on June 29th, he knew of the prior location by Crosby and saw the defendants on the property prior to his own location thereof. He admitted that the reason he hurried to the recorder’s office on July 1, 1940, was that he had noticed the defendants filling out location notices.