United States v. Curtis-Nevada Mines, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

The cross motions for summary judgment in this case arise out of a dispute between the Government and the defendants regarding the proper use of the sur face area of unpatented mining claims. The defendants are Curtis-Nevada Mines, Inc., a Nevada mining corporation, and Robert Curtis, the corporation’s president. The mining claims in question here are located in Mono County, California, in Township 9N, Range 23E, M.D.M. Certain portions of the claims lie within Tioyabe National Forest, and are administered by the National Forest Service. Those portions of the mining claims that are not in the National Forest are “Public Domain” land, and are administered by the Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management. Jurisdiction is proper in this case pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 1345 which provides that “the district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions, suits or proceedings commenced by the United States.”

The law regarding persons allowed to use the surface areas of unpatented mining claims, when those areas are not being used for actual mining, is contained in Title 30 U.S.C. §§ 611-615 . Unfortunately, the relevant language of these sections is…