Case Law

We are in the process of adding the text of legal cases that may be of interest to the community. This page will be updated as more cases are added to the index.

Pennoyer v. Neff

Oregon was the setting of one of the most famous legal cases in United States history, and one that is part of the indoctrination of nearly every law student in the United States. Pennoyer v. Neff was a seminal case in United States personal jurisdiction law. It involved a lawsuit over land that was seized to satisfy a judgment for the payment of a debt for legal services and the Supreme Court addressed important issues regarding quasi-in-rem jurisdiction and personal service.

Far more interesting, however, is the history behind the lawsuit and the parties involved. The lawyer who had the land seized for payment of the debt was Oregon Senator John H. Mitchell. Later, while serving his fourth term in the senate, Mitchell was indicted and convicted for his involvement in the Oregon Land Fraud Scandal. Mitchell has the distinction of being one of only five U.S. senators ever convicted of a crime while in office, and like Ted Stevens, Mitchell was not a Democrat.

Grant County cases:

King v. Mitchell - This case involved a personal injury lawsuit arising from a car accident involving an employee of Edward Hines Lumber Company.

Keerins Bros. v. Mauney Part 2 - This case involved a lawsuit in which the plaintiffs attempted to establish ownership of a parcel of land acquired through adverse possession. The plaintiff provided two deeds as evidence that they had acquired title to the land through a tax foreclosure. The court entered judgment against the plaintiffs and denied their petition for rehearing, holding that they had failed to meet their burden of proof.