Garcia v. Andrus

692 F.2d 89 Barbara GARCIA, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. Cecil ANDRUS, as Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior; The United States Department of the Interior; Earl R. Platt and Buena Platt, husband and wife, Defendants/Appellees. No. 81-5417. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted March 4, 1982. Decided Nov. 12, 1982. Katherine Ott, Vlassis & Ott, Gary Verburg, Phoenix, Ariz., for plaintiff/appellant. Mitchell D. Platt, Platt & Hall, St. Johns, Ariz., for defendants/appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Before HUG, TANG, and PREGERSON, Circuit Judges. PREGERSON, Circuit Judge: 1 Appellant Barbara Garcia and appellee Earl Platt are tenants in common of real property known as the Garcia Ranch ("the ranch"). Garcia owns a life estate and her children a remainder in fee in an undivided one-third interest in the ranch; Platt owns in fee simple an undivided two-thirds interest in the ranch. In 1962, Garcia leased her life estate to Platt. The lease expired on October 1, 1975, and was not renewed. 2 The Taylor Grazing Act, 43 U.S.C. Sec. 315m, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to…