§897 Patents to purchasers from railroads; purchase money

Summary

When a company was wrongly given title to land (except land listed in section 896) and then sold that land to U.S. citizens or people who said they would become citizens, a buyer who acted in good faith — or their heirs or assigns — can get an official U.S. title for the land. They must prove the purchase at the proper land office within the time and under the rules the Secretary of the Interior sets after the grants are fixed. The U.S. title will be issued and count back to the date of the original wrongful title. The Secretary will ask the company to pay the government the government price for similar land. If the company does not pay within 90 days, the Attorney General will sue to collect. Buyers can still sue the company to recover money they paid, minus what the company paid the United States under sections 894–899. A mortgage or pledge of the land is not a sale. If a buyer paid less than the government price, the buyer must pay the difference before getting the title; then the government will only demand from the company the amount the buyer actually paid it.