Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-11
COURT DECIDES
OLD APEX CASE
Nevada Judge in Round Mountain
Suit Gives an Opinion Ad-
verse to Plaintiff
VICTOR WILL SEEK DAMAGES
Ore Taken from Within Sphinx
Boundary by Neighbor ES-
timated at 100000

As the result of the decision of Judge
Theron Stevens in the Nevada case
of the Round Mountain Mining COM
pany against the Round Mountain
Sphinx Mining company, it is probable
that suit for heavy damages VIII pc
instituted by the SPHINX. 1t is esu-
mated that between $300,OOO and $4OO'-
900 in ore has been extracted from the
disputed ground by the other company.
The decision is considered one OF the
most important ever handed down from
a district court in the annals OF min
ing litigation. 1t involves law points
and complicated features upon which
there has never been precedent estab-
lished by ruling. The opinion was au-
verse to the Round Mountain Mining
company and the case pertains to the
time-worn apex trouble and side lines.
J. p LOTUS, vice president of the
Round Mountain company, is reported
as saying that an appeal will be taken
at once from the decision of Judge
Stevens, but that the result of this
decision will not in any way affect
mine operations, production and divi-
dends.
The Sphinx company will, 1t is said,
move for an injunction restraining the
other company from working outside
the west side line of the Sunnyside
claim No. 1, which is part of the
disputed ground.
NEW POINTS ABOUT APEX
The ruling, says the Goldfeld Trib
une, involves numerous new points of
law that have never been raised in the
compleXity of apex litigation and is
certain to be cited by attorneys in
other mining districts where similar
issues are involved. The case will
undoubtedly be appealed in spite of
the warning of some of the best min
ing lawyers in the country who have
always advised their clients to COM
promise rather than face the possibility
of illimitable litigation.
Colorado has been sorely afflicted
with apex and side line litigation, and
the experience has been rather cost
ly, but it is hoped that in the present
instance the biggest Little Mine" Of
Nevada will not be forced to suspend
dividends or to stop operations. The
ruling has another and more important
bearing on mineral locations in gen.
eral in accordance with the question
of oil locations, and, that is, that min
eral of any character depends on the
actual discovery and not the presence
of an infinitesimal portion of the al
legged contents discovered in the course
of development.
The principal points of law decided
in this case are as follows:
First: That a valid location of a
mining claim can only be based upon
a discovery of mineral within the boun-
daries of the claim sought to be locat-
ed, and upon the unapprOpriated min
eral lands of the United States.
CANNOT LOCATE TWICE
Second: Whenever, after discov-
cry, a mining location has been made
and the ground included within the
boundaries of such claim has been
segregated from the unapprOpriated
mineral lands of the United States, no
valid location can be made of any
claim based upon discovery made
within the boundaries of a claim thus
segregated.
Third: A failure to advertise an ap-
plication made for patent on a SEN
for location by a junior location, does
not stop such junior locator frOm Ques-
tioning the validity of the location of
the claim under which the senior To-
Gator seeks to enforce extra-lateral
rights as against such junior locator
Fourth: The invalidity of such pa
tent may be pleaded as a defense in
any action brought for the possession
of land and may be tried upon the
same principle as an original bill in
equity.
Fifth: Where the original location
certificate of a claim declares that the
location was made entirely within the
boundaries of other claims the bur-
den of proof is upon the locator to
show that the claims upon which such
locations were made were invalid.
Sixth: That where a cross-Yein de-
parts from the side lines of a loca-
tion, such side lines become the end
lines for the purpose of determining
the eXtra-lateral rights of the locator,
and beyond such side lines be-
come the end lines as they
extend downward vertically, the To-
Gator cannot follow the vein, and could
not enter upon or into premises which
are shown to be outside of the YER
tical planes drawn downward through |
those lines.