Banning Co. v. California Ex Rel. Webb
Headline: Tide-lands sale blocked: Court upheld California’s ownership and ruled an early buyer’s application did not create a binding contract, so the later patent to private buyers was void.
Holding: The Court ruled that an early application and surveys did not create a binding contract protected by the Constitution’s contract clause, so payment made after the State withdrew tide lands could not secure title and the patent was void.
- Affirms state ownership of tide lands withdrawn from sale by law.
- Holds that early applications and surveys do not alone secure land title.
- Means buyers must complete payments timely to lock in purchases under old statutes.
Summary
Background
The State of California sued to quiet title to a parcel called location No. 57 of the state tide lands near San Pedro and Wilmington. A private buyer, Phineas Banning, applied in 1866 under an 1863 law, paid for surveys, and later received a favorable judgment in a contest with another applicant, William McFadden. Banning paid an installment in 1880 and received a patent in 1881, but the State claimed the lands had been taken out of sale by later laws and local incorporation.
Reasoning
The Court addressed whether Banning’s early application, surveys, and the contest judgment created a binding contract protected by the Constitution’s contract clause. The Court agreed with the California courts that a purchase right was not perfected until payment of the purchase money. Because the town incorporation and later statutes had withdrawn such tide lands from sale before full payment was made, the early steps did not give a protected, inviolable title and the patent was void as to land below ordinary high tide.
Real world impact
The decision leaves title to these tidal lands with the State when the law withdrew them before final payment. It confirms that filing an application and doing surveys alone do not guarantee federal constitutional protection for a land sale right if the State changes the law before the purchase is completed. Buyers seeking state lands under old statutes must complete the required payments and steps while the sale authority remains in force.
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