Court Opinion

ID: 9549187
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:14:34.745161+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:19:57.836531
License: Public Domain

*82Thompson, J.,
concurring:
I understand the holding of today’s case to mean that “substantial compliance” with the requirements of the statute governing the mandatory certificate of location will be accorded a broad and liberal meaning in favor of a senior locator in a suit against a bad faith junior locator — but that the same liberality will not prevail if the litigation does not disclose bad faith in the junior locator. Equity demands this result, and I am in accord with it, though I must confess that our liberal construction in this case comes very close to exceeding rational limits. The senior locator posted and recorded a document labeled a “notice of location.” From its contents it cannot be clearly ascertained whether it was intended to be a permissive notice of location or the mandatory certificate of location. It contained more information than required by the permissive notice of location statute, but was deficient in fully satisfying the requirements of the mandatory certificate of location proviso. He also recorded a “proof of labor” which the majority treat (erroneously, I think) as a certificate of location. The information contained in the notice of location and the proof of labor, singly or in combination, does not fully meet the requirements of a certificate of location. Notwithstanding the apparent deficiencies, a court of justice cannot prefer a junior locator, who has acted in bad faith, over a senior locator who has been guilty of no greater sin than inadvertence. Were this not the situation before us, I would not hesitate to declare that the statute governing the mandatory recording of a certificate of location had not been substantially complied with.