71 Wash. 301 | Wash. | 1912
Sullivan lake is situated in that portion of Stevens county which, since the commencement of this action, has been organized as Pend Oreille county. The lake is drained by a stream several miles in length, called Outlet creek, tributary to and discharged into the Pend Oreille river, near Metaline. About two miles below the lake, Outlet creek passes through a natural basin and thereafter continues its course through a gorge or canyon of great depth and narrow width. On November 17, 1906, George Walker and J. W. Perguson, plaintiff’s assignors, made two alleged placer mining locations in the basin near the gorge. It is now asserted that they then discovered valuable cement clay and gold on the claims. They also posted a notice of appropriation of one thousand cubic feet of water to be diverted from the lake and stream at or near the gorge, the same to be used for mining, manufacturing, electric and power purposes. On or about May 29, 1906, one Larson, predecessor of the defendant corporation, appropriated water from the stream and lake and later made a further appropriation which he followed by extensive surveys. His rights were thereafter transferred by mesne conveyances to the defendant corporation, which prior to the commencement of this action made additional surveys and projected improvements for the
This action was commenced on November 30, 1909, by Spokane Portland Cement Company, a corporation, successor in interest to Walker and Ferguson, against Lewis Larson, John Doe Larson, W. N. Miller, and the Inland Portland Cement Company, a corporation, to recover possession of the two placer mining claims which were not then submerged, but are now submerged by the artificial reservoir. Plaintiff alleged that the claims had been located by its predecessors in interest; that certain labor, including the building of a cabin, had been performed thereon, and that the defendants had wrongfully ousted plaintiff from possession. The defendants denied plaintiff’s alleged rights, denied the alleged ouster, pleaded title to an extensive water right in the defendant corporation, pleaded the improvements made by it, and asked that its title be quieted. On a jury trial, and at the close of plaintiff’s evidence, the motions of the defendants Walker and Miller for a nonsuit and order of dismissal were granted, and at the close of all the evidence the trial judge directed a verdict in favor of the defendant corporation, upon which judgment was entered, quieting its title to its water right and enjoining the plaintiff from interfering therewith. From this judgment and decree, the plaintiff has appealed.
Appellant insists that the trial court erred in granting the nonsuit, in withdrawing the case from the jury, in directing a verdict, and in refusing a new trial. With painstaking caie we have examined the entire record, which is voluminous and intricate.' Many immaterial questions of law and fact have been presented. We only find it necessary to consider whether the appellant corporation had any valid locations upon which to predicate its claim to a possessory right in' and to the alleged placer mining claims. Although its predecessors made an alleged water appropriation, it neither developed the same, nor did it, within the time fixed
“The plain, cleancut question in this case is as to the rights of plaintiff to the two placer locations numbered one and two, at the time the respondents ousted it from possession by backing up the water of Sullivan creek so as to flood these claims.”
It again says:
“A great many pages of the brief [respondents’] are given to water location. Nothing of this kind is involved in this suit. The only water spoken of by appellants is the water necessarily used in placer mining. That was the water spoken of when they said they wanted the water and naturally supposed that respondents’ counsel knew something of placer mining and would understand that water is necessary in such cases.”
These excerpts clearly state the controlling issue, which is whether appellant, at the time of the commencement of this action, held, or was entitled to the possession of, any valid placer mining claims from which it had been wrongfully ousted. We are convinced that it did not have any such rights; that no actual discovery was made; that its alleged locations were not properly perfected; and that labor upon the locations was not done in compliance with the requirements of Rem. & Bal. Code, § 7367. Assuming, however, that appellant’s original locations and labor thereon were at the time sufficient, yet we conclude from all the evidence that their claims were thereafter abandoned. It is conceded that, for more than a year prior to the commencement of this action, no work had been done on any of the alleged claims, and that no application had been made to the forestry department by appellant for permission to develop or work the same. Appellant seeks to excuse these omissions by the contention that it was ousted and prevented from doing any
Appellant further contends that the trial court erred in refusing a new trial, claimed on the ground of newly discovered evidence; or rather, for the discovery of an impor
We find no prejudicial error in the record. The judgment is affirmed.
Mount, C. J., Ellis, Fullerton, and Chadwick, JJ., concur.