Source: https://openjurist.org/604/f2d/295/fulcher-v-united-states
Timestamp: 2017-10-17 14:25:02
Document Index: 339296267

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 258', '§ 2409', '§ 2409', '§ 258', '§ 2409', '§ 1346', '§ 1347', '§ 1491', '§ 2410', '§ 7424', '§ 7425', '§ 7426', '§ 666']

604 F2d 295 Fulcher v. United States | OpenJurist
604 F. 2d 295 - Fulcher v. United States
604 F2d 295 Fulcher v. United States
604 F.2d 295
Arthur J. FULCHER, Jr., Appellant,
Before BRYAN, Senior Circuit Judge, HALL, Circuit Judge, and WARRINER*, District Judge.
The purpose of condemnation proceedings is to convert the private use of property into some public use for the public good. A necessary consequence of this conversion is the extinguishment of private rights in the property. Norman Lumber Co. v. United States, 223 F.2d 868, 870 (4th Cir.), Cert. denied 350 U.S. 902, 76 S.Ct. 181, 100 L.Ed. 792 (1955). The power of government to extinguish private rights is an attribute of sovereignty and as such is superior to and independent of private rights of property. However, the sovereign right is limited by the Fifth Amendment's requirement of due process and just compensation. Albert Hanson Lumber Co. v. United States, 261 U.S. 581, 587, 43 S.Ct. 442, 67 L.Ed. 809 (1923).
In Schroeder v. City of New York, 371 U.S. 208, 83 S.Ct. 279, 9 L.Ed.2d 255 (1962), the Supreme Court held that due process was not satisfied by publication notice alone where no signs were posted on the property and no personal notice was sent to the owner, although her name was readily ascertainable from both deed records and tax rolls. The Supreme Court never questioned the condemning body's title to the property, but rather limited its discussion to the minimum due process requirements necessary to foreclose an individual's right to be heard on a claim of compensation for taking. See United States v. Chatham, 323 F.2d at 99. Implicit in the Court's careful analysis was its acceptance that condemnation proceedings are proceedings against property and, as such, are an exception to the general rule that no persons are bound by a judgment except those who are parties to the proceeding and have had an opportunity to be heard. See Dupasseur v. Rochereau, 88 U.S. (21 Wall.) 130, 22 L.Ed. 588, 591 (1875). In an In rem proceeding, "all persons having any interest in the thing are deemed parties, and have the right to intervene Pro interesse suo; And if after the lawful publications of notice have been made, they fail to do so, they are considered as having acquiesced in the exercise of jurisdiction." Id.
A condemnation proceeding "is not the taking of rights of designated persons, but the taking of the property itself," and "(w)hen property is condemned, the amount paid for it stands in the place of the property and represents all interests in the property acquired." Eagle Lake Improvement Co. v. United States, 160 F.2d 182, 184 (5th Cir. 1947) (citation and emphasis omitted.) In the recent case of Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 206, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 53 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977), the Supreme Court reaffirmed its holding in Schroeder v. City of New York, supra, and cited with approval to an annotation discussing that case, which begins,
Therefore, we see no reason to look behind the clear terms of § 258a which provide that title passes to the government upon its filing of a declaration of taking and deposit of estimated compensation in the registry of court.3 We think the government's title becomes indefeasible upon the judgment of taking and payment of compensation to the apparent record owner, leaving the true owner only a claim for money damages. See Catlin v. United States, 324 U.S. 229, 241-43, 65 S.Ct. 631, 89 L.Ed. 911 (1945); Norman Lumber Company v. United States, 223 F.2d at 870-71.
In this case, the substance of plaintiff's complaint is that payment was made to the wrong party. If so, then plaintiff may pursue a remedy against the United States for money damages under the Tucker Act but may not pursue a collateral attack under § 2409a upon the final judgment of a condemnation court based solely upon deficiencies in actual notice to owners who are unknown. United States v. Ivie, 163 F.Supp. 138, 143 (N.D.Ga.1957). See United States v. Chatham, 323 F.2d at 100, n. 5; United States v. Haddon, 550 F.2d at 680-681. Finally, the issue of whether a condemning body is charged with knowledge of what a diligent title search would reveal, requiring that actual notice be given before compensation is foreclosed, is a matter properly addressed in federal court only under the Tucker Act in the context of the owner's right to money compensation. See Schroeder v. City of New York, supra; Shaffer v. Heitner, supra.
The statute under which plaintiff seeks relief, 28 U.S.C. § 2409a1, is perfectly suited to his complaint. It may be that for any number of reasons defendant United States will prevail in the suit, but on a motion to dismiss we must recognize that plaintiff alleges he is "the owner and seized in fee simple" of the real property in question. He alleges further that the United States "claims an interest in the said lands adverse to the plaintiff." Finally, he alleges and shows how the claim of the United States constitutes a cloud on his title.
In several cases not involving § 258a it has been held that due process prevents title from passing until payment is received by owners who were known and represented in the proceedings. Cherokee Nation v. Southern Kansas Ry. Co., 135 U.S. 641, 659-60, 10 S.Ct. 965, 34 L.Ed. 295 (1890); Albert Hanson Lumber Co. v. United States, 261 U.S. 581 at 587, 43 S.Ct. 442, 67 L.Ed. 809. These cases do not address our issue of the rights of unknown owners when In rem jurisdiction supports a final judgment of condemnation. See generally Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314-17, 70 S.Ct. 652, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950); Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. at 207-08, 97 S.Ct. 2569
In addition to trust or restricted Indian lands, § 2409a(a) does not apply to or affect actions which may be brought under the following statutory provisions: 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b) (claims against the U.S. for injury or loss of property caused by the negligent or wrongful act of a government employee); 28 U.S.C. § 1347 (civil action for partition commenced by a tenant in common or joint tenant when the U.S. is one of the tenants in common or joint tenants); 28 U.S.C. § 1491 (Court of Claims empowered to hear claims against the U.S.); 28 U.S.C. § 2410(a)(1) (U.S. may be named a party in a civil action or suit to quiet title to real property on which the U.S. has a mortgage or other lien); I.R.C. § 7424 (U.S. may intervene to assert a lien on the property subject to a suit); I.R.C. § 7425(a)(1). (If U.S. is not joined as a party, a judgment with respect to property on which the U.S. has a lien shall be made without disturbing that lien); I.R.C. § 7426(a)(1) (Plaintiff claiming an interest in property subject to wrongful levy may bring action against U.S.); 43 U.S.C. § 666(a) (U.S. may be joined as defendant in suits for adjudication of water rights)