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Utah Division of State Lands v. United States

482 U.S. 193 (1987)

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Utah Division of State Lands v. United States

United States Supreme Court
482 U.S. 193 (1987)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD

Facts

When the Bureau of Land Management issued oil and gas leases for land underlying Utah Lake, the Utah Division of State Lands (plaintiff) sued the federal government (defendant) claiming the state owned the lakebed by virtue of Utah’s admission to statehood on equal footing with all other states. The federal government countered that the lakebed was selected as a federal reservoir site before Utah joined the Union. The district court granted summary judgment for the federal government, and the Tenth Circuit affirmed. The Utah Division of State Lands appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (O’Connor, J.)

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