New Orleans Land Co. v. Brott
Docket: 64 and 86
Court: Supreme Court of the United States; November 12, 1923; Federal Supreme Court; Federal Appellate Court
In the case of New Orleans Land Company v. Brott, the Supreme Court addressed a petitory action regarding land ownership in New Orleans. The Brotts successfully claimed title to the land based on the Swamp Land Act of March 2, 1849, which the Court held had transferred the land from the state to the Brotts' predecessors, except for one parcel that was excluded from the grant due to prior private conveyance before the territory's transfer to the U.S. The New Orleans Land Company argued that all disputed land was privately held at the time of the Swamp Land Act and therefore should not have passed to the state. They contended that the approval process for swamp lands specified by the Act required lands to be free of individual claims. The Land Company sought jurisdiction, claiming the state patent was invalid under the 1803 Treaty with France and U.S. law, but their argument was dismissed based on precedents. The Brotts challenged the validity of the title claims made before the treaty, asserting that the alleged prior ownership had not been confirmed per the requirements established in earlier acts. The Court noted that for the Land Company to succeed, it would have to prove that despite the laws mandating the establishment of titles post-U.S. acquisition, the land did not pass to the state under the Swamp Land grant. Ultimately, the Court dismissed both the Land Company's writ of error and the Brotts' cross-writ, concluding that the state court's interpretation did not undermine the binding effect of the 1805 Act. The decision affirmed the state’s conveyance authority over the lands in question, resulting in the dismissal of both parties' appeals.