This action is, in form, ejectment. It was brought May 17, 1886, in the superior court of the county of Los Angeles, Cal., by Ana J. Dominguez De Guyer and others, to recover the possession of a certain island, known as 'Mormon Island,' in the inner bay of San Pedro, Cal. At mean high tide the island has an area of less than 1 acre; at mean low tide, about 18.88 acres. The area of the bay, including the island, is 1,100.59 acres.
The defendant, Banning, filed an answer, in which he denied the allegations of the complaint; also, a cross complaint asserting title in himself, and asking a judgment declaring him to be the owner, and of right in possession, of the premises in controversy.
A jury having been waived, and the cause having been tried by the court, judgment was rendered that the plaintiffs take nothing by their action, and that the defendant was the owner, seised in fee and entitled to the possession, of the lands described in the pleadings. That judgment was reversed by the supreme court of California. 25 Pac. 252. Three of the members of that court, as then constituted (Justices Fox, Sharpstein, and Paterson), were of opinion that the island, as well as the whole of the inner bay within the exterior lines of a grant alleged to have been made by the Mexican government to Christobal Dominguez, belonged to the claimants under that grant, and that the title was vested in the plaintiffs. Mr. Justice Thornton was of opinion that the plaintiffs were entitled to recover the island and such other portion of the land sued for as contained 18.88 acres, and was not covered by the navigable waters of the inner bay. Chief Justice Beatty and Justice McFarland dissented.
Upon a rehearing, the court, then constituted of Chief Justice Beatty and Justices De Hayen, McFarland, Harrison, Garoutte, and Sharpstein, unanimously affirmed the judgment of the inferior court. 91 Cal. 400, 27 Pac. 761.
The present appeal was prosecuted by the Los Angeles Terminal Land Company and George Carson, trustee; they having, after the final decision in the state court, become vested with all the right, title, and interest of the original plaintiffs.
The case has been twice orally argued in this court, and we have, in addition, the benefit of a brief, filed by leave of court, on behalf of the United States, in support of the judgment below; the solicitor general having stated that the government has a deep interest in the result of the litigation, by reason of the fact that it has heretofore expended vast sums of money in improving the navigation of the inner bay of San Pedro, and the entrance thereto, and that this bay is regarded as one of the most important points on the Pacific coast as a harbor of refuge.
The history of the title to the lands in controversy, as shown by acts of congress, public documents, and records, is substantially as follows:
By the act of congress of March 3, 1851 (9 Stat. 631, c. 41), provision was made for the appointment of a board of commissioners to ascertain and settle private land claims in California.
That act declared that every person claiming lands in that state by virtue of any right or title derived from the Spanish or Mexican government should present the same to that board, together with such documentary evidence and testimony of witnesses as the claimant relied upon in support of his claim; the decision, when rendered, to be certified, with the reasons on which it was founded, to the district attorney of the United States for the district in which it was rendered. Section 8. In case of the rejection or confirmation of a claim, provision was made for a review of the decision by the district court of the district in which the land was situated, and an appeal was allowed from the judgment of that court to the supreme court of the United States. Sections 9, 10. When deciding on the validity of any claim, the board, as well as the courts, were to be governed by the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo; the law of nations; the laws, usages, and customs of the government from which the claim was derived; the principles of equity; and the decisions of the supreme court of the United States, as far as they were applicable. Section 11.