Show MORE OIL litigation los angeles financial news decision of the united states district court in los Ane geles which upholds the contention of the government in six of the suits against the southern pacific railway to cancel patents issued to the railroad company for lands which have been found valuable for petroleum will it is declared by the department of justice result in many other suits to be brought in california courts the value of the lands in question is placed at patents for these lands were issued more than six years prior to the institution in 1912 of the first of the suits and thu thi railroad company filed motions to dismiss the governments bills upon the ground that the suits were barred by the statute of limitations tat ions the act of march 2 1896 providing that no suit shall be brought to cancel patents six years after patents were granted the government contended that the patents were secured by fraudulent fraud lent representations of the railroad companas comp anys agents that the lands were not mineral when in fact they were mineral and were known to be so at the time of their selection and at the time of the issue of the patents government also alleged that the railroad company had devised a scheme whereby its fraud in securing the patents was concealed and that such fraud did not be come known until a comparatively short shon time before the bills were filed the court in upholding the governments contentions overruled a point that the government did not sufficiently show that the lands were valuable for their mineral contents commenting on the proposed suits charles lewers of san francisco attorney for the southern pacific is quoted as saying it seems to be the idea that the southern pacific has lost its case and that the patents have been declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction the real fight has just begun the decision of judge bledsoe merely holds that the government has pleaded enough facts in its complaint to establish a cause of action he has passed upon the legal sufficiency of the pleadings merely and not on their truth the press announcements given out by the department of justice in washington seem to assume judge Bled order overruling our demurrer is a final victory for the government many a complaint is good on demurrer which fails later to be sustained by the proofs the government will fail in these cases for the simple reason that the supposed facts alleged in its coin complaint plaint are not facts the railroad company is certain to win wi these cases on their merits because the patents in question were obtain edby it from eight to fifteen years before oil was dincov ered or known to exist exis t in any of the lands sued for the agents of the railroad company had no more power to detect the existence of oil beneath the ground than was possessed by any other than individuals in the country |