Hawley v. Diller

Hawley v. Diller
Decided May 28, 1900
Full case nameRavaud K. Hawley et al., Appellants, v. L. Edgar Diller
Citations178 U.S. 476 (more)
20 S. Ct. 986; 44 L. Ed. 1157
Case history
PriorAppeal from a decree of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Holding
Purchasers from an entryman under the Timber and Stone Act of 1878 acquire only an equitable interest, not legal title, prior to the issuance of a patent by the United States. Purchasers, therefore, are not protected against cancellation of the original entry for fraud or violation of the Act allowing the Land Department to cancel such an entry before patent issuance and issue a new patent to another party.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Melville Fuller
Associate Justices
John M. Harlan · Horace Gray
David J. Brewer · Henry B. Brown
George Shiras Jr. · Edward D. White
Rufus W. Peckham · Joseph McKenna
Case opinion
MajorityHarlan, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
Timber and Stone Act of 1878

Hawley v. Diller, 178 U.S. 476 (1900), is a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. The primary issue was the Timber and Stone Act of 1878, which allowed the equivalent of homesteading on land suitable for logging and quarrying. The Supreme Court held that the government had validly rescinded an earlier grant of property, and Hawley and his colitigants were not protected under the act's bona fide purchaser protection. The case is notable, however, for its inclusion of an apparently erroneous syllabus.