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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 901. Claims of bona fide purchasers; establishment of rights
If any person claiming to be a bona fide purchaser of any lands
erroneously patented or certified shall present his claim to the
Secretary of the Interior prior to the institution of a suit to
cancel a patent or certification, and if it shall appear that he is
a bona fide purchaser, the Secretary of the Interior shall request
that suit be brought in such case against the patentee, or the
corporation, company, person, or association of persons for whose
benefit the certification was made, for the value of said land,
which in no case shall be more than the minimum Government price
thereof, and the title of such claimant shall stand confirmed. An
adverse decision by the Secretary of the Interior on the bona fides
of such claimant shall not be conclusive of his rights, and if such
claimant, or one claiming to be a bona fide purchaser, but who has
not submitted his claim to the Secretary of the Interior, is made a
party to such suit, and if found by the court to be a bona fide
purchaser, the court shall decree a confirmation of the title, and
shall render a decree in behalf of the United States against the
patentee, corporation, company, person, or association of persons
for whose benefit the certification was made for the value of the
land as hereinbefore provided. Any bona fide purchaser of lands
patented or certified to a railroad company, and who is not made a
party to such suit, and who has not submitted his claim to the
Secretary of the Interior, may establish his right as such bona
fide purchaser in any United States court having jurisdiction of
the subject matter, or at his option, as prescribed in sections 896
and 897 of this title.
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