Denison v. Udall, No. Civ-963-Pct.
| Court | United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. District of Arizona |
| Writing for the Court | CRAIG |
| Citation | 248 F. Supp. 942 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ-963-Pct. |
| Decision Date | 10 December 1965 |
| Parties | Marie W. DENISON, individually and as Executrix of the Estate of Alvis F. Denison, Deceased, Plaintiff, v. Stewart L. UDALL, Secretary of the Department of the Interior of the United States of America, Defendant. |
248 F. Supp. 942
Marie W. DENISON, individually and as Executrix of the Estate of Alvis F. Denison, Deceased, Plaintiff,
v.
Stewart L. UDALL, Secretary of the Department of the Interior of the United States of America, Defendant.
No. Civ-963-Pct.
United States District Court D. Arizona.
December 10, 1965.
Ryley, Carlock & Ralston, Phoenix, Ariz., for plaintiff.
William Copple, U. S. Atty., by Richard S. Allemann, Asst. U. S. Atty., Phoenix, Ariz., for defendant.
CRAIG, District Judge.
The plaintiff in this case, Denison, seeks judicial review of the final decision of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior. The Solicitor denied Denison's patent application on sixteen manganese mining claims located in the Sitgreaves National Forest, Coconino County, Arizona, and declared the claims to be void.
The Agency action contested herein by plaintiff is subject to judicial review, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.A. §§ 1001-1011. As indicated in Adams v. Witmer, 271 F.2d 29, at page 37 (9th CCA 1961), dealing with the review of a placer claim cancellation by agency action, review should be pursuant to Section 10(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5
As indicated by the Court in Adams v. Witmer, supra, there should be no de novo judicial determination by this Court, but a determination that the final administrative decision is or is not substantially supported by the administrative record. Therefore, a summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, may be granted for either party in response to their cross-motions. Adams v. United States, 318 F.2d 861 (9th CCA 1963).
The Solicitor of the Department of the Interior has captioned his decision in the present case as deciding that, although a mining claim may have been valid in the past because of a discovery on the claim of a valuable deposit of mineral, the mining claim will lose its validity if the mineral deposit ceases to be valuable because of a change in economic conditions, and there is no reasonable prospect of a future market.
Neither the various briefs of the parties, nor the independent search of the Court, indicates sufficient evidence in the record to substantiate the Solicitor's finding that the claims have ceased to be valuable. All the pages of the hearing record cited by the Solicitor in footnote 4 of his decision, incorporated by reference, but not supplemented in the defendant's answer, indicate only testimony of witnesses appearing on behalf of the plaintiff, Denison, in the administrative hearing. Their testimony indicates that a reasonable man might well expend money, as Denison had done, in the expectation of a future market for the manganese extracted, even though the present value is not such as to guarantee a profit. A government witness, Mr. Tragitt, went so far as to say he believed four of the claims were patentable if changed from lode to placer claims. (Record of hearing, pp. 487-488.) There was little or no proof adduced that a reasonable man might not expect the market to return, and a substantial amount to indicate that he could.
Cases cited by the defendant as controlling in this case are Mulkern v. Hammitt (9 CCA 1964), 326 F.2d 896, and Adams v. United States, supra. Both cases dealt with the judicial review of placer mining claim cancellations.
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State of Mont. v. U.S. E.P.A., No. CV 95-56-M-CCL.
...where, as here, review is on the administrative record. Adams v. United States, 318 F.2d 861, 865 (9th Cir.1963); Denison v. Udall, 248 F.Supp. 942, 944 (D.Ariz.1965) ("there should be no de novo review by this Court, but a determination that the final administrative decision is or is not s......
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Arkla Exploration Co. v. Watt, Civ. No. 82-2168.
...Adams v. United States, 318 F.2d 861 (9th Cir. 1963); Coleman v. United States, 363 F.2d 190 (9th Cir. 1966); Denison v. Udall, 248 F.Supp. 942 (D.Ariz.1965); Foster v. Jensen, 296 F.Supp. 1348 (C.D.Cal.1966), although the Secretary is frequently This Court has no desire to substitute its j......
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Coleman v. United States, No. 20227.
...judicial review under the standards of the Administrative Procedure Act, Adams v. Witmer, 271 F.2d 29 (9 CCA 1959), Denison v. Udall, 248 F.Supp. 942 (D.C.Ariz.1965), and that a counterclaim is a permissible method of obtaining such review. Adams v. United States, The District Judge rendere......
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Dow Jones & Co., Inc. v. United States Postal Serv., Civ. A. No. 74-20.
...presents only a question of law, summary judgment is appropriate. Dredge Corp. v. Penny, 338 F.2d 456 (C.A.9, 1964); Denison v. Udall, 248 F. Supp. 942 (D.Ariz.1965); Henrikson v. Udall, 229 F.Supp. 510 (N.D.Cal.1964), aff'd 350 F.2d 949 (C.A.9, 1965), cert. den. 384 U.S. 940, 86 S.Ct. 1457......
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State of Mont. v. U.S. E.P.A., No. CV 95-56-M-CCL.
...where, as here, review is on the administrative record. Adams v. United States, 318 F.2d 861, 865 (9th Cir.1963); Denison v. Udall, 248 F.Supp. 942, 944 (D.Ariz.1965) ("there should be no de novo review by this Court, but a determination that the final administrative decision is or is not s......
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Arkla Exploration Co. v. Watt, Civ. No. 82-2168.
...Adams v. United States, 318 F.2d 861 (9th Cir. 1963); Coleman v. United States, 363 F.2d 190 (9th Cir. 1966); Denison v. Udall, 248 F.Supp. 942 (D.Ariz.1965); Foster v. Jensen, 296 F.Supp. 1348 (C.D.Cal.1966), although the Secretary is frequently This Court has no desire to substitute its j......
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Coleman v. United States, No. 20227.
...judicial review under the standards of the Administrative Procedure Act, Adams v. Witmer, 271 F.2d 29 (9 CCA 1959), Denison v. Udall, 248 F.Supp. 942 (D.C.Ariz.1965), and that a counterclaim is a permissible method of obtaining such review. Adams v. United States, The District Judge rendere......
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Dow Jones & Co., Inc. v. United States Postal Serv., Civ. A. No. 74-20.
...presents only a question of law, summary judgment is appropriate. Dredge Corp. v. Penny, 338 F.2d 456 (C.A.9, 1964); Denison v. Udall, 248 F. Supp. 942 (D.Ariz.1965); Henrikson v. Udall, 229 F.Supp. 510 (N.D.Cal.1964), aff'd 350 F.2d 949 (C.A.9, 1965), cert. den. 384 U.S. 940, 86 S.Ct. 1457......