Thomas

The action was brought for the recovery of the possession of a tract of land. The answer denies that the plaintiff is the owner or entitled to the possession of the land, and it also sets up the Statute of Limitations. It also avers certain facts as the basis for equitable relief, and prays that the plaintiff be adjudged to convey the lands to the defendant. .»

The facts upon which the claim to equitable relief is based are in substance as follows: The lands are within the limit of *406 the lands claimed by the City of Los Angeles, and while they were so claimed the city conveyed the same to Carpenter, a remote grantor of the defendant. The patent afterwards issued by the United States to the city, in pursuance of the decree of confirmation, did not include the land in controversy. Carpenter and those claiming under him have been in the continuous occupation of the land, having improvements thereon from 1865 to the commencement of this action. The defendant has filed two applications in the United States Land Office—one before and the other after the commencement of this action—to purchase the lands under the Act of Congress of July 23rd, 1866, which are still pending, but he has…