Rex v. United States

Background

A claimant sued for property taken on June 10, 1866, by Black Hawk’s band of the Ute tribe, saying Congress’s 1915 change to an older law let him proceed. The claimant’s relative had earlier filed a claim that the Court of Claims dismissed in 1898 because that Ute band was not in amity with the United States. The 1915 Act removed the defense based on alienage and included provisos about reinstating some dismissed claims; the claimant asked the Court to treat the old case as reinstated or allow the new claim to proceed.

Reasoning

The central question was whether the 1915 amendment revived claims for damage by hostile bands or merely removed the defense that a claimant was not a citizen. The Court found the amendment’s primary purpose was to eliminate the alienage defense and that an express proviso reinstated only claims dismissed for that specific reason. Because the law said nothing about reinstating claims like this one, the Court would not extend the words. Treated as a new suit, the claim was also defeated by the original statute’s three-year limitation.

Real world impact

The decision means claimants cannot use the 1915 amendment to revive old depredation claims dismissed for reasons other than alienage. Only claims dismissed solely for noncitizen status were covered for reinstatement, and time limits in the original law can still bar new suits. The Court affirmed the Court of Claims’ judgment.