Appeals court upholds
public access to Yuba
Sac Bee Excloo
MARYSVILLE 7/18/02 (YSN) - The historic miners road that has meandered through the moonscape Yuba Goldfields since 1851 is a public thoroughfare and Western Aggregate, Inc. may not bar people from using it, a state court has ruled.
The ruling published Wednesday by the 3rd District Court of Appeal upholds Yuba County Superior Court Judge David Wasilenko's November, 2000 decision that the old cargo and stage route called the Marysville-Nevada Road still existed.
In the "quiet title" court action Western Aggregates v. Yuba County, the mining firm tried unsuccessfully to show that the road had fallen out of use and was therefore no longer open to the public.
After a long, detailed examination of the history of the road, the growth of the Goldfields from upstream hydraulic mining operations, Wasilenko rejected Western's case.
Western appealed on several grounds including claims that it did not get a fair trial and that the lower court judge had merely "rubberstamped" the county's arguments.
"Western's argument founders on the facts and burden of proof. The general rule is: "'Once a highway, always a highway,'" the ruling stated.
The appeals court returned the case to Wasilenko to determine where, exactly the road will be placed, since over time it has followed varying paths after being "torn up dredged through, rerouted, blocked and gated," the ruling stated.
"The road will not be exactly as shown on the 1861 Yuba County map. This does not deprive the People of the right to a road, particularly since most, if not all, of the cause was due to Western and its predecessors." The opinion stated.
William Calvert's 100-acre cattle ranch lies in the midst of the Goldfields near the Hammonton ghost town some 12 miles east of Marysville. He went to war with Western in 1988 when the firm put a gate across his only road home and locked him out.
Calvert and the five families in the area successfully sued to get keys to the gate, but continuing problems kept the anger bubbling. This ruling, if finalized, should put the matter to rest, lawyers said.
"I'm as happy as a pig in poop. I turn 68 Saturday and I consider this ruling my birthday extraordinaire," he said, adding a French curl to the word for emphasis.
The locked gate became a thorn in the side of Goldfields residents, anglers, hunters, and business and labor groups hoping to open up additional mining operations.
Labor pickets who cut a lock and chain off the Hammonton-Smartville gate wee arrested and later filed a civil rights suit claiming they were illegally arrested for being on a public road. That case is pending.
Calvert was separately arrested and charged with vandalism when he broke the lock to get home on day. A court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1 in that criminal case.
I light of the appeals ruling, "A letter mentioning 'malicious prosecution', I think, is on its way to the district attorney," the happy Calvert said.
"Yuba County citizens won big on this one, " said Chuck Smith who is both a leader of the Yuba Goldfields Access Coalition and a representative of Operating Engineers, Local 3 which made Oakland labor lawyer David Rosenfeld available to the county for the case.
According to Smith, the ruling opens 10,000 acres and nine-miles of Yuba Riverfront to recreational uses.
Just as importantly, it opens up the Goldfields to additional businesses. Currently Western and Wild Two Hunting Club are about all there is out there.
The aggregates -- sand, gravel, pebbles and rocks used in construction - in the Goldfields are considered some of the best industrial quality aggregates anywhere in the US and represent a vast resource, Smith said.
"I'm ecstatic - but not surprised. It will bring in more activities, more business and more jobs," Yuba County Supervisor Mary Jane Griego said of the ruling. the principal mercantile operations in the Goldfields.
The ruling, written by Associate Justice Fred K. Morrison, was 46 pages long and unusual for its comprehensive review of the arcane history of mining and transportation law in California.
"This case involves a gravel moonscape left by hydraulic mining in the 19th Century; in the background it features ferries, stage coaches, gold dredging, abandoned towns, access to the Yuba River and millions of dollars worth of high-quality construction aggregates (sand and gravel)," the ruling began.
It went on to trace mining customs and laws back to those that were in force when Spain ruled California.
It touched on famous legal figures such as Stephen Field, the Marysville lawyer and legislator who wrote the 1866 law that resolved how mining disputes are settled and then went on to become the first member to the U.S. Supreme Court from the Golden State.
The care the justices put into the ruling strongly indicated they expected it to serve as a precedent in the future.
The ruling noted that the ease with which roads could be established under the federal policies of the 19th century means that thousands of old mining road still lace the California mountains.
"There'll only be a few of these (road disputes) be this ruling will be a precedent," said David Rosenfeld, the lawyer who represented Yuba County in this case.
Western Aggregates and the lawyer who represented the firm were unavailable for comment Thursday. The company may appeal to the state Supreme Court hear its case, and probably will, Rosenfeld said.
But the ruling is so tightly written and complete it will in probably stand. "Everything is there," Rosenfeld said.
public access to Yuba
Sac Bee Excloo
MARYSVILLE 7/18/02 (YSN) - The historic miners road that has meandered through the moonscape Yuba Goldfields since 1851 is a public thoroughfare and Western Aggregate, Inc. may not bar people from using it, a state court has ruled.
The ruling published Wednesday by the 3rd District Court of Appeal upholds Yuba County Superior Court Judge David Wasilenko's November, 2000 decision that the old cargo and stage route called the Marysville-Nevada Road still existed.
In the "quiet title" court action Western Aggregates v. Yuba County, the mining firm tried unsuccessfully to show that the road had fallen out of use and was therefore no longer open to the public.
After a long, detailed examination of the history of the road, the growth of the Goldfields from upstream hydraulic mining operations, Wasilenko rejected Western's case.
Western appealed on several grounds including claims that it did not get a fair trial and that the lower court judge had merely "rubberstamped" the county's arguments.
"Western's argument founders on the facts and burden of proof. The general rule is: "'Once a highway, always a highway,'" the ruling stated.
The appeals court returned the case to Wasilenko to determine where, exactly the road will be placed, since over time it has followed varying paths after being "torn up dredged through, rerouted, blocked and gated," the ruling stated.
"The road will not be exactly as shown on the 1861 Yuba County map. This does not deprive the People of the right to a road, particularly since most, if not all, of the cause was due to Western and its predecessors." The opinion stated.
William Calvert's 100-acre cattle ranch lies in the midst of the Goldfields near the Hammonton ghost town some 12 miles east of Marysville. He went to war with Western in 1988 when the firm put a gate across his only road home and locked him out.
Calvert and the five families in the area successfully sued to get keys to the gate, but continuing problems kept the anger bubbling. This ruling, if finalized, should put the matter to rest, lawyers said.
"I'm as happy as a pig in poop. I turn 68 Saturday and I consider this ruling my birthday extraordinaire," he said, adding a French curl to the word for emphasis.
The locked gate became a thorn in the side of Goldfields residents, anglers, hunters, and business and labor groups hoping to open up additional mining operations.
Labor pickets who cut a lock and chain off the Hammonton-Smartville gate wee arrested and later filed a civil rights suit claiming they were illegally arrested for being on a public road. That case is pending.
Calvert was separately arrested and charged with vandalism when he broke the lock to get home on day. A court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1 in that criminal case.
I light of the appeals ruling, "A letter mentioning 'malicious prosecution', I think, is on its way to the district attorney," the happy Calvert said.
"Yuba County citizens won big on this one, " said Chuck Smith who is both a leader of the Yuba Goldfields Access Coalition and a representative of Operating Engineers, Local 3 which made Oakland labor lawyer David Rosenfeld available to the county for the case.
According to Smith, the ruling opens 10,000 acres and nine-miles of Yuba Riverfront to recreational uses.
Just as importantly, it opens up the Goldfields to additional businesses. Currently Western and Wild Two Hunting Club are about all there is out there.
The aggregates -- sand, gravel, pebbles and rocks used in construction - in the Goldfields are considered some of the best industrial quality aggregates anywhere in the US and represent a vast resource, Smith said.
"I'm ecstatic - but not surprised. It will bring in more activities, more business and more jobs," Yuba County Supervisor Mary Jane Griego said of the ruling. the principal mercantile operations in the Goldfields.
The ruling, written by Associate Justice Fred K. Morrison, was 46 pages long and unusual for its comprehensive review of the arcane history of mining and transportation law in California.
"This case involves a gravel moonscape left by hydraulic mining in the 19th Century; in the background it features ferries, stage coaches, gold dredging, abandoned towns, access to the Yuba River and millions of dollars worth of high-quality construction aggregates (sand and gravel)," the ruling began.
It went on to trace mining customs and laws back to those that were in force when Spain ruled California.
It touched on famous legal figures such as Stephen Field, the Marysville lawyer and legislator who wrote the 1866 law that resolved how mining disputes are settled and then went on to become the first member to the U.S. Supreme Court from the Golden State.
The care the justices put into the ruling strongly indicated they expected it to serve as a precedent in the future.
The ruling noted that the ease with which roads could be established under the federal policies of the 19th century means that thousands of old mining road still lace the California mountains.
"There'll only be a few of these (road disputes) be this ruling will be a precedent," said David Rosenfeld, the lawyer who represented Yuba County in this case.
Western Aggregates and the lawyer who represented the firm were unavailable for comment Thursday. The company may appeal to the state Supreme Court hear its case, and probably will, Rosenfeld said.
But the ruling is so tightly written and complete it will in probably stand. "Everything is there," Rosenfeld said.
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