Bertrand v. Doyle, 92.
| Decision Date | 04 December 1929 |
| Docket Number | No. 92.,92. |
| Parties | BERTRAND v. DOYLE |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
W. L. Chapman, of Shawnee, Okl., and T. G. Cutlip, of Tecumseh, Okl., for appellant.
C. E. Hall and Wm. P. Thompson, both of Oklahoma City, Okl., for appellee.
Before LEWIS, PHILLIPS, and McDERMOTT, Circuit Judges.
This is a suit in equity brought by John W. Bertrand against Kenneth Doyle to cancel certain deeds and to quiet title to a tract of land in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, which was formerly the allotment of Ze-qua-qua, a member of the Pottawatomie Tribe of Indians, enrolled as No. 1233 on the tribal roll.
The complaint alleges: That, on January 19, 1892, a trust patent for the land in question was issued to the allottee, Ze-qua-qua; that Ze-qua-qua was married to one Thomas Shah in 1890; that Ze-qua-qua died March 12, 1902; that Thomas Shah was her sole surviving heir; that Doyle claims title to the land through certain conveyances commencing with a deed executed on October 24, 1894, by Ze-qua-qua to Hercule Pessemier; that the deed from Ze-qua-qua to Pessemier was approved by the Secretary of the Interior; that such deed was obtained through fraud; that, on October 10, 1927, Bertrand discovered the facts constituting such fraud and revealed such facts to Thomas Shah, who, previously to that time, had no knowledge of such facts or of the making of such deed to Pessemier; that, on October 19, 1927, for a valuable consideration, Thomas Shah, by deed, conveyed to Bertrand the tract of land in question.
A motion to dismiss the bill was interposed, setting up, among other grounds, that the determination of the heirship of Ze-qua-qua was a prerequisite to the relief sought, and that jurisdiction to determine such heirship was vested solely in the Secretary of the Interior, under the provisions of the Act of June 25, 1910, 36 Stat. 855, Sec. 372, Tit. 25 U. S. C. (25 USCA § 372).
Section 372, supra, in part, reads as follows:
"That when any Indian to whom an allotment of land has been made, or may hereafter be made, dies before the expiration of the trust period and before the issuance of a fee simple patent, without having made a will disposing of said allotment as hereinafter provided, the Secretary of the Interior, upon notice and hearing, under such rules as he may prescribe, shall ascertain the legal heirs of such decedent, and his decision thereon shall be final and conclusive."
Counsel for Bertrand contend that the approval of this deed, by the secretary, removed the restrictions on the allotment, and that the provisions of section 372, supra, apply only to restricted allotments. However, by this action, Bertrand seeks to cancel...
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Arenas v. United States
...§§ 349, 404 note. 11 241 U.S. 210, 36 S.Ct. 602. 12 Gerard v. United States, 9 Cir., 1948, 167 F.2d 951, 954. In Bertrand v. Doyle, 10 Cir., 1929, 36 F.2d 351, 352, the Court ruled specifically that the right to determine heirship relates to all questions of heirship, during the period: "Th......
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In re Estate of Flaws
...judicial review to the same extent as determinations rendered under section 373 of this title.4 Appellants direct us to Bertrand v. Doyle, 36 F.2d 351 (10th Cir.1929), and Spicer v. Coon, 110 Okla. 233, 238 P. 833 (1925), in support of the proposition that “the BIA's conclusive right to det......
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Spriggs v. United States, 6711.
...of the heirs. 25 U.S.C.A. § 372. Henrietta First Moon v. Starling White Tail, 270 U.S. 243, 46 S.Ct. 246, 70 L.Ed. 565; Bertrand v. Doyle, 10 Cir., 36 F.2d 351. The will of an enrolled Indian is effective as a disposition of his restricted lands only when approved by the Secretary of the In......
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In re Estate of Flaws
...review to the same extent as determinations rendered under section 373 of this title.2 Appellants direct us to Bertrand v. Doyle, 36 F.2d 351, 352 (10th Cir.1929), and Spicer v. Coon, 110 Okla. 233, 238 P. 833, 835 (1925), in support of the proposition that “the BIA's right to determine hei......