View source for Bicknell v. Comstock

{{more citations needed|date=July 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox SCOTUS case
  |Litigants=Bicknell v. Comstock
  |SubmitDate=January 8
  |SubmitYear=1885
  |DecideDate=January 19
  |DecideYear=1885
  |FullName=Bicknell v. Comstock
  |USVol=113
  |USPage=149
  |ParallelCitations=5 S. Ct. 399; 28 [[L. Ed.]] 962
  |Prior=
  |Subsequent=
  |Holding=
  |Majority=Miller
  |JoinMajority=''unanimous''
  |LawsApplied=
}}

'''''Bicknell v. Comstock''''', 113 U.S. 149 (1885), was an action to recover the cost paid for a tract of land in [[Iowa]] and the value of the improvements made by the defendant. The complaint alleged a [[Conveyancing|conveyance]] by Bicknell to one Bennett, the subsequent transfer to the defendant by sundry mesne conveyances, valuable improvements on the premises made by Bennett and his grantees, and a failure of title in Bicknell, when the deed was made by reason of a superior title in the State of Iowa under a land grant. Judgment below for plaintiff, to reverse which this writ of error was brought.<ref>{{ussc|name=Bicknell v. Comstock|113|149|1885}}.</ref>

The mutilation (without the consent and against the protest of the grantee) of a [[land patent]] for public land by the Commissioner of the [[United States General Land Office]], after its execution and transmission to the grantee, and the like mutilation of the record thereof, do not affect the validity of the patent. A state [[statute of limitations]] as to real actions begins to run in favor of a claimant under a patent from the United States on the issue of the patent and its transmission to the grantee.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-02 |title=Time Limits in Patent Infringement Lawsuits |url=https://www.justia.com/intellectual-property/patents/infringement/time-limits-in-patent-infringement-cases/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Justia |language=en}}</ref>

The lapse of time provided by a statute of limitations as to real actions vests a perfect title in the holder.

==See also==
* ''[[Fussell v. Gregg]]'': 1885 case regarding a disputed land patent in Ohio
* ''[[Wilcox v. Jackson]]'': 1839 case regarding a disputed land patent in Illinois
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 113]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{caselaw source
 | case = ''Bicknell v. Comstock'', {{ussc|113|149|1885|el=no}}
 | courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/91270/bicknell-v-comstock/
 | googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12626497795141428120
 | justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/113/149/
 | loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep113/usrep113149/usrep113149.pdf
 }}

[[Category:1885 in United States case law]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases of the Waite Court]]
[[Category:United States property case law]]
[[Category:Legal history of Iowa]]
[[Category:United States General Land Office]]

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