Hicks v. Bell
California Supreme Court
3 Cal. 219 (1853)

- Written by Colette Routel, JD
Facts
Charles Hicks (plaintiff) discovered gold on a 200-yard stretch of the Yuba River, and he complied with California law and mining customs to stake out a formal mining claim to this area. While Hicks was excavating the upper portion of his claim, Bell (defendant) entered the lower 90 feet of Hicks’s claim and began extracting gold. Hicks sued Bell in state district court. Bell argued that the gold was found on federal land and that the application of state law and mining custom was therefore improper. Bell argued that as a matter of federal common law, Hicks’s claim to the 90-foot section that Bell was mining should not stand, because Hicks was not occupying the surface of that land. The district court rejected Bell’s arguments, concluded that California state law applied to this dispute, and granted the relief Hicks requested. Bell appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Heydenfeldt, J.)
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