§901 Claims of Bona Fide Purchasers; Establishment of Rights

Summary

If someone bought land in good faith and the land was wrongly given a patent or certificate, they must tell the Secretary of the Interior before any lawsuit starts to cancel that patent or certificate. If the Secretary finds the buyer acted in good faith, the Secretary will ask that the United States sue the original patentee or the party who benefited from the certificate for the land’s value (never more than the minimum Government price), and the buyer’s title will be confirmed. If the Secretary denies the claim, that decision is not final. If a buyer is joined in the lawsuit and a court finds they bought in good faith, the court will confirm their title and order the action against the patentee for the land’s value as above. A good-faith buyer of land patented or certified to a railroad who was not made a party and did not apply to the Secretary can still protect their rights in any U.S. court with proper jurisdiction or follow the options in sections 896 and 897.