Walker v. McLoud

Background

A deputy sheriff conducted a sale of railroad buildings allegedly built by a coal company outside its right of way. The sheriff’s son bid $270 for property the opinion describes as worth about $60,000 and gave a note payable on delivery of possession; the note was never paid. The sale was made on credit, though the Choctaw law under which the sheriff acted required a thirty-day advertisement and a cash sale to the highest Choctaw citizen bidder. The Circuit Court of Appeals held that sale void, and the Supreme Court reviewed that single question.

Reasoning

The core question was whether the sheriff’s credit sale complied with the Choctaw statute. The Court concluded it did not and declared the sale absolutely void. The opinion finds no evidence that the coal company or its receivers consented to a credit sale. Claims that the principal chief or the General Council had ratified the sale were rejected: the chief’s asserted ratification was unsupported by facts, and the council’s appropriation to defend lawsuits did not itself ratify an illegal sale. The Court emphasized that those claiming property by statutory sale must follow the statute’s procedures before claiming title.

Real world impact

The ruling protects the coal company and its receivers from losing title based on a sale that violated the statute. It makes clear that unauthorized credit sales by a sheriff cannot divest owners, and that alleged ratification or vague legislative appropriations will not validate an illegal sale. The Court limited its decision to this statutory defect and did not decide other related questions.