United States v. Diamond Coal Coke Co
| Decision Date | 11 November 1920 |
| Docket Number | No. 87,87 |
| Citation | 65 L.Ed. 660,41 S.Ct. 335,255 U.S. 323 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. DIAMOND COAL & COKE CO |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
Mr. Assistant Attorney General Nebeker, for the United States.
[Argument of Counsel from page 324-325 intentionally omitted] Mr. W. B. Rodgers, of Anaconda, Mont., for appellee.
[Argument of Counsel from pages 325-329 intentionally omitted] Mr. Chief Justice WHITE delivered the opinion of the Court.
This suit, begun by the United States against the Diamond Coal & Coke Company in October, 1917, had a threefold object: (1) To cancel 18 patents granted to that number of persons, at dates ranging from 14 to 21 years prior to the commencment of the suit, and covering 2,283 acres of coal land situated in the Evanston land district, state of Wyoming; (2) to cancel deeds of conveyance to the corporation made by the entrymen who had purchased from the United States the land which the patents embraced; (3) to recover the value of coal which it was alleged had been taken by mining operations of the corporation from the land in question during the period stated.
It suffices from the view we take of the matters requiring consideration to briefly resume the averments of the bill. It was alleged that in the year 1894 the defendant corporation had formed a conspiracy to defraud the United States of the land covered by the patents by procuring the purchase of said land from the United States by persons acting ostensibly for themselves, but really as the representatives of the corporation and for its sole account and benefit. In furtherance of the conspiracy thus formed, it was alleged that 18 persons described as entrymen, at the suggestion and in the pay of the corporation, made application at the proper land office of the United States to purchase in their own names the land covered by the patents, the land so applied for having been designated by the corporation and the entries being exclusively intended for its benefit. It was charged that these entrymen falsely swore, for the purposes of their applications to purchase, that the applications were made for their own benefit, when in fact they were solely made for the benefit of the corporation; that the entrymen additionally falsely swore that they were in possession of the land, had developed coal mines on it, and were engaged in working the same, when in truth the lands had never been in the possession of the applicants, who had expended no money and had done no work thereon, since the lands were, prior to and at the time of the applications, in the possession of the corporation through its officers or some persons or agents acting for it and for its benefit.
It was further alleged that shortly after the entries were made, in furtherance of the fraudulent purpose, and upon the false allegations and affidavits above stated and before patent issued, the entrymen conveyed the land applied for by warranty deed to the corporation, although there was no allegation concerning the registry or nonregistry of the deeds of conveyance thus made. The bill in addition charged that for the purpose of securing the right which was contemplated for the benefit of the corporation, further false affidavits as to the exclusive interest of the entrymen were made and that all the money paid by way of price for the land or for expenses or otherwise was furnished by the corporation for its own account. It was alleged that the corporation for many years before the transactions thus stated had engaged in the mining, production, and sale of coal in the state and district in which the land covered by the entries was situated; that its operations had been principally carried on in the vicinity of such lands, and that the lands involved in the suit had been mined for coal and large quantities of coal had been and were still being removed therefrom to the irreparable injury of the United States; the value of the coal thus removed being the subject—matter of the claim in that respect to which we have at the outset referred.
There were general averments that the previously alleged acts concerning the making of the entries, which were alike in all, were done not only for the purpose of defrauding the United States and enriching the corporation, but in order to conceal the wrong which was being accomplished, and that the acts of concealment were of such a character as to deceive the officers of the United States and to lead them to believe that the entries were what they...
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