Facts

In 1876, Maria A. Burton, Nellie Burton, and Henry H. Burton were granted a tract of land in San Diego County via land patent. Precisely what the Burtons or their heirs did with title to the property after that is unclear, but there is recorded title evidence that others subsequently owned and conveyed portions of it by 1913. Included in that tract were three acres along the north side of present-day Highway 94, located approximately a 15-mile drive northwest of the United States-Mexico border along Highway 94 ("Three Acres").

By 1996, the Three Acres had become part of a 3,210-acre tract in the Lawrence A. Daley Trust, which leased it to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP used the Three Acres as a Border Patrol immigration checkpoint. Then, in 2001, the State of California acquired the Three Acres as part of an acquisition from the Daley Trust. California continued to lease the Three Acres to CBP until September 6, 2022, when the United States filed a condemnation action against the Three Acres, California, and the unknown heirs or devisees of the Burtons. On September 7, 2022, the United States filed a Declaration of Taking and deposited $19,500 in the court's registry.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: The plaintiff contended that CBP had leased the Three Acres continually from 1996, first from the Daley Trust, then from California; that during that time, no one had challenged CBP's right to lease or occupy the Three Acres; that California was the sole owner of the Three Acres; that, as owner of the Three Acres, California was the sole party entitled to compensation for the taking of the Three Acres; that $19,500 was just compensation for the taking of the Three Acres; and that the money deposited with the court's registry should be distributed to California.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: The State of California stipulated to all the plaintiff's contentions. No parties contending to be the heirs of the Burtons responded to the suit, nor did the Three Acres file any response.

Result

The court found that the State of California was the sole owner of the Three Acres and $19,500 was just compensation for the taking.