POHNPEI SUPREME COURT REPORTS
VOL. 1
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Ct. R 171]
IN THE MATTER OF LAND TRACT NO. 73153
LOCATED IN PALIKIR, SOKEHS IOKO LUIS,
Appellant
PACILIO HELGEN,
Appellee
PCA No. 165-84
TRIAL DIVISION OF THE POHNPEI SUPREME COURT
JUNE 11, 1985
Appeal from determination of the Ponape Land Commission entered in favor of Appellee as rightful entryman on public trust land. The determination of the Land Commission was based mainly on evidence produced by the Public Lands Authority. The Trial Division of the Pohnpei Supreme Court, EDWEL H. SANTOS, Chief Justice trying the case de novo after granting appellant's motion so to do, set aside the determination and remanded the case to the Land Commission with directives to survey the land and delineate the three-hectare entitlement of appellant and appellee by virtue of their respective developments on the land.
1. Appeal and Error - Courts - Power
Upon appeal from determination of the Pohnpei Land Commission as to who is the rightful entryman on public trust land the Trial Division may at its discretion decide the matter solely on the record and appeal documents, affirming, reversing or remanding the case to the lower court or Land Commission for further proceedings, or it may grant a trial de novo within the Trial Division of the Pohnpei Supreme Court (S.L. 2L-160-82, s.50)
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Ct. R 172]
2. Public Trust Lands - Eligible Entryman - Requirements.
For one to become an eligible entryman on public trust land
First, he must be a "qualifying
beneficiary" of Pohnpei Public Trust Lands as defined in S.L. 2L-43-80,
section 3(2). To be a qualifying beneficiary one must meet the following
requirements:
A.
be a legal resident of Pohnpei
B.
be 18 years old or over, and
C.
must have actually resided in or maintained
legal residence of Pohnpei for not less than 15
years.
Second, he must have received a written
leasehold interest or use right in public land, or he must have been
issued a written application to lease or use public land before January 1,
1958, that date being the cut-off date by which the issuance of the
so-called Navy Leases came to a haft. (Sec. 3(1).
Third, the entryman must have been
granted authorized permission to enter the property by either the
government of Japan in the case of Japanese Lease Lands, or the Trust
Territory Government, including the United States Naval Administration, in
the case of Navy Lease. (Sec. 3(1)).
Fourth, the entryman or his successor
must show continuous possession of the property. (Sec.
3(3)).
Fifth, the entryman or his successor
must satisfy a minimum standard of development. (Sec.
3(4))
3. Public Trust Lands - Transfer of Title to Eligible Entryman or Successor - Procedure
(1) An eligible entryman or his successor may apply to the Public Lands Authority to transfer title to the property to him or to his designee. The application must be lodged with the Authority
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Ct. R 173]
on or before November 12, 1983. (S.L. 2L-43-80, s. 4, as amended by S.L.2L-145-82)
(2) Upon receipt of the application, the Authority shall determine the eligibility of the applicant based on the criteria for determining an eligible entryman. If satisfied the Authority shall issue a certificate of eligibility in favor of the applicant.
(3) Following the issuance of a certificate of eligibility, the Authority shall determine the applicant's development compliance pursuant to the statutory minimum development standard. (Sec. 3(4)). N satisfied, the Authority shall then issue a certificate of compliance. (Sec. 5(1)).
(4) Following the issuance of a certificate of compliance, the jurisdiction of the Pohnpei Land Commission, and the Registration Team for the Municipality in which the land is located, is invoked to hear and adjudicate all claims of right, title, or interest in the land, and to issue the Commission's determination of ownership. If such determination is in favor of the Public Lands Authority and the entryman, or eligible designee, the Authority shall issue a quitclaim deed to the entryman or the eligible designee. (Sec. 5(2)).
4. Public Trust Lands - Land under Singular Leasehold or Use Permit under One Original Entryman - Eligibility of Persons to Receive Title to Portions.
Where more than one person is found eligible to receive title to portions of the same land under singular leasehold or use permit under one original entryman, (Sec. 4(5)) the Land Commission shall issue its determination indicating who the parties are and what common interests are owned by them in the land, and the Public Lands Authority shall then issue a quitclaim deed to these parties as tenants in common in proportion to their entitlement to the land.
5. Public Trust Lands-Same Parcel of Land or Portion of Same Land-Adverse Claims - Determination of Rights of Claimants.
In instances where more than one entryman shall assert adverse claims to the same parcel of land or a portion of such land the Land Commission shall determine the rights of the adverse claimants using the principle of equity and justice as the tool to arrive at such determination. (See 4(6j)
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Ct. R 174]
6. Public Trust Lands - Rightful Entryman
Where appellee did not file his homestead application on or before January 1,1958, as statutorily mandated he could not be found a rightful entryman, and the Land Commission is in error to conclude that appellee was. (S.L.2L-43-80)
7. Evidence - Documentary Evidence - Record Supplied by Public Lands Authority - Good Faith.
In order to establish that record supplied by Public Lands Authority in connection with appellee's homestead application were prepared in good faith the court may thoroughly examine the documentary evidence on their faces, reconciling them with the testimony of witnesses before it, and also consider the report prepared by court official after the on-site inspection of the area in question.
8. Evidence - Documentary Evidence - Record supplied by Public Lands Authority - Absence of Good Faith.
Where the record supplied by Public Lands Authority in connection with appellee's homestead application were not prepared in good faith and is contrary to the intent of S.L. 2L-43-80 this cannot be relied upon to form the basis of an equitable and justiciable decision.
9. Contract - Minor - Processing of Homestead Application - Inference to be drawn-Bad Faith Effort- Fraud.
While a contract with a minor under common law is voidable, the homestead permit transaction between the Trust Territory Government represented by the District Government and the appellee who was a minor is unheard of, and the inference could be drawn that some government official was exerting bad faith effort in his processing of the homestead application, or that the process was tainted with fraud.
10. Public Trust Lands - Administration - Public Lands Authority.
To administer the so-called public trust lands in Pohnpei pursuant to S.L. 2L-43-80, the Public Lands Authority and its employees are expected to adhere to the principles of fair play and honesty.
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Ct. R 175]
Counsel for Appellant: Matt Mix
Counsel for Appellee: Kletus James
EDWEL H.SANTOS, Chief Justice
This is an appeal from. determination of the Pohnpei Land Commission entered on August 1, 1984, in favor of the Appellee, Pacilio Helgen as rightful entryman on the captioned tract of land. The determination of the Land Commission was based mainly on the documentary evidence produced by the Public Lands Authority. The Appellant on November 27,1984, appealed that determination, grounding her appeal thusly:
"The commission erred as a matter of law in finding the Appellee the rightful entryman when the evidence presented by the Appellee himself makes it positive that he did not apply for the parcel in question until 1960 while the statute requires that an entryman have [sic] applied on or before January 1, 1958. "
[1 ] On Motion of the Appellant, trial de novo was granted and had. (Article 10, Section 4,(4) PN. Constitution).
On appeal the Trial Division may at its discretion decide the matter solely on the record and the appeal documents, affirming, reversing or remanding the case to the lower court or Land
[1 P. S.
Ct. R 176]
Commission for further proceedings or it may grant a trial de novo within the Trial Division of the Pohnpei Supreme Court (S.L. 2L-160-82, Sec. 50)
Pretrial conference was held on February 22, 1985, and trial on April 11,1985, concluding with an on-site inspection of the area in question on April 19, 1985.
STIPULATION
The parties stipulate to the following, and the same were admitted in evidence.
1. Exhibit No. I, a sketch depicting the tract 73152 in the name of appellant loko Luis, Tract 73153 in question in the names of appellee Pacilio Helgen and Kadalino. Elisa Sale is written across Tracts 73152 and 73513. Elisa Sale, who died in 1969, was the mother of appellant.
2. Exhibit No. II, a four columned sheet showing a list of certain tracts of land, drawing numbers and occupants. Tract No. 73153, the tract in question, is listed in this exhibit as being shown in Sketch No. 240, and the name Kadalino is listed as occupant.
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3. Exhibit III. Adjudication Form by Lands Registration Team in English and Pohnpeian dated July 27, 1984. The English version lists Ponape State Public Land Authority as owner of Tract No. 73152. In the Ponapean version the Ponape State Public Lands Authority is listed as owner and loko Luis as the rightful entryman. In addition to the stipulation above, I made the following findings of fact:
1. Prior to the time of aerial photo survey program conducted in this area c.1974, the areas now designated as Tract Nos. 73152 and 73153 were constituent parts of a greater parcel, and loko Luis was working on said greater parcel. In about 1974, the Land Management Office, through its aerial photo survey program, divided this greater parcel into two tracts, which now form T-73152 and T-73153, respectively, and T-73153 was then designated for Appellee Pacilio Helgen, who indicated in his testimony that he performed some farming work on said tract up to 1974 when loko Luis's son met him on the land and told him to stop working on the land because it was for loko Luis.
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2. An on-site inspection was conducted on April 19,1985, with the parties, their counsel, and a representative of the Court. The on-site inspection revealed that the parties cannot agree on their boundaries. With the boundary dispute, it was difficult to conduct an inventory to verify "development" of the parcel pursuant to the statutory definition of development as found in Section 3(4) of the Public Trust Lands Distribution Act of 1980, S.L. 2L-43-80, as amended. This puts in question the trustworthiness of the Public Lands Authority's May 27, 1983 Land Commission Certified Record of the Appeal, Documents Nos. 11 and 12 (Certificate of Compliance and of Eligibility, respectively issued in favor of the appellee).
3. Appellee made an application through one Tonio Sohl, a former employee of the Ponape District Land Management Office, for entry to homestead public land, and his application is supported by a form appli-
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Ct. R 179]
cation for entry to Homestead, dated March 5, 1960, requesting a3-hectares area in Tamatamensekir, Palikir, Sokehs Municipality.
4. Appellee was born in 1949 and in 1960 when he made his application, the appellee was eleven (11) years old.
5. At some points prior to the hearing before the Land Commission, both parties did perform some work on the land in question.
ANALYSIS
While the appeal raises the question of appellee Pacilio Helgen's qualification as an "entryman" pursuant to Section 3 of S.L. 2L-43-80, to be eligible to receive the privileges granted to eligible beneficiaries of public trust land held by Pohnpei Public Lands Authority, hereinafter Authority, the evidence produced at the Land Commission's hearing and the trial before this Court justify some discussion as to the procedures required by S.L. 2L-43-80 for development and transfer of title to public trust land held by the Authority.
[2] To become an eligible entryman on public trust land held by the Authority, one must satisfactorily meet certain criteria.
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First, he must be a "qualifying beneficiary" of Pohnpei Public Trust Lands held by the Authority, as that term (qualifying beneficiary) is defined in S.L. 2L-43-80, Section 3(2). To be a qualifying beneficiary one must meet the following requirements:
A. be a legal resident of Pohnpei;
B. be 18 years old or over, and
C. must have actually resided in or maintained legal residence of Pohnpei for not less than 15 years.
Second, he must have received a written leasehold interest or use right in public land, or he must have been issued a written application to lease or use public land before January 1,1958, Sec. 3(1), January 1,1958 being the cut-off date by which the issuance of the so-called Navy Leases came to a halt.
Third, the entryman must have been granted authorized permission to enter the property by either the government of Japan, in the case of Japanese Lease Lands, or the Trust Territory Government, including the United States Naval Administration, in the case of Navy Lease. Sec. 3(1).
Fourth, the entryman or his successor must show continuous possession of the property; Sec. 3(3).
Fifth, the entryman or his successor must satisfy a minimum
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Ct. R 181]
standard of development. Sec. 3(3).
[3] If steps 1 through 5 above are satisfied, an entryman or his successor may apply to the Public Lands Authority to transfer title of the property to him or to his designee. It should also be noted here that the entryman's application to the Authority for the transfer of title must be lodged with the Authority on or before November 12,1983, Section 4, S.L. 2L-43-80, as amended by S.L. 2L-145-82 of November 1, 1982.
Upon receipt of the application, the Authority shall determine the eligibility of the applicant based on criteria 1 through 4 above. If satisfied, the Authority shall issue a certificate of eligibility in favor of the applicant, Sec. 5(1). Following this step, the Authority shall then determine the applicant's development compliance pursuant to the statutory minimum development standard, Section 3(4). If satisfied, the Authority shall then issue a certificate of compliance. Sec. 5(1).
Following the issuance of a certificate of compliance, the jurisdiction of the Ponape Land Commission, and the Registration Team for the Municipality in which the land is located, is invoked to hear and adjudicate all claims of right, title, or interest in the land
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and to issue its determination of ownership. If such determination is in favor of the Public Lands Authority and the entryman, or eligible designee, the Authority shall issue a quitclaim deed unto the entryman or the eligible designee, Sec. 5(2).
[4] For purposes of clarity, it is worthy to note that there will be instances where more than one person may be found eligible to receive title to portions of the same land under a singular leasehold or use permit under one original entryman, Sec. 4(5). When the Land Commission or the Land Registration Team finds a situation like this, it shall issue its determination indicating who the parties are and what common interests are owned by them in the land. The Public Lands Authority shall then issue a quitclaim deed to these parties as tenants in common in proportion to their entitlement to the land.
[5] Additionally, there will be instances where more than one entryman shall assert adverse claims to the same parcel of land or a portion of such parcel. In this situation, the Land Commission shall determine the rights of the adverse claimants using the principle of equity and justice as the tool to arrive at such determi-
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nation, Sec. 4(6).
Turning back to the issue on appeal, that the appellee Pacilio Helgen could not be found a rightful entryman on tract 73153, because he did not file his application on or before January 1,1958, as is statutorily mandated in S.L. 2L-43-80, I find the appellant's contention here to be supported by the evidence produced before me and in the Land Commission's certified record.
[6] Pacilio Helgen testified that he was born on November 29, 1949 and that in 1960, he filed his application to homestead the area now designated as T-73153. (See L.C. certified record Document No. 15.) The Public Trust Lands Distribution Act of 1980 (S.L. 2L-43-80) requires an application for homestead to be made at any time before January 1,1958, in order to be considered in the determination as to whether the applicant is an entryman who is a qualifying beneficiary. Pacilio Helgen did not satisfy this requirement, and I find the Land Commission in error to conclude that he did although Pacilio Helgen had made some agricultural development within the compound of T-73153. This error was premised on the Land Commission's reliance on the documentary evidence supplied by the Public Lands Authority. e.g. Document No. 8,
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Memorandum by Dopi Helgenberger of the P.L.A; Document No. 11, Certificate of Compliance; Document No. 13, Inspection Inventory.
[7 -8] A thorough examination of these documentary evidence on their faces, and reconciling them with the testimony of witness before me, and reading the report prepared by Assistant Clerk of Courts, Nelson Joseph, after the on-site inspection of the area in question, afford me no alternative choice but to conclude that the record supplied by the Public Lands Authority to the Land commission were not prepared in good faith, is contrary to the intent of S.L. 2L-43-80, and therefore cannot be relied upon to form the basis of an equitable and justiciable decision.
[9-10] It shall also be noted that in 1960, Pacilio Helgen was eleven (11) years old having been born in 1949. To be eligible for a homestead permit one must have attained the age of 18 or over. 67 TTC 203. While a contract with a minor like in the instant case is voidable at the instance of the minor under common law, this transaction of 1960 between the Trust Territory Government represented by the District Government and the appellee Pacilio Helgen is unheard of. I can only infer that some government official
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was exerting bad faith effort in his processing of his homestead application or that the process was tainted with fraud. To administer the so-sacred Public Trust Lands in Pohnpei pursuant to S.L. 2L-43-80, the Public Lands Authority and its employees are expected to adhere to the principles of fair play and honesty.
On the basis of the foregoing, I find appellee, Pacilio Helgen to have not met the legal requirement to be treated as an entryman or as a designee as mandated under S.L. 2L-43-80, for the transfer of title to T-73153, at Palikir, Sokehs. Instead he may be eligible for homestead in accordance with Section 6 of S.L. 2L-43-80.
I shall now discuss the right of the appellant loko Luis over Tract 73153.
loko Luis claimed that T-73153 and T-73152, were constituent parts of a parcel which her mother Elisa Sale had applied for in 1954. That after her mother died, she re-applied for the entire parcel which now constituted Tract T-73153 and Tract 73152. The Land Commission's record shows that Tract T-73152 is shown as the tract which loko Luis is entitled to, and according to testimony produced before me, the said Tract 73152 had been determined in favor of loko Luis. What is not known is the actual land areas of
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73152 and 73153. If T-73152 has an area of 3 hectares, then loko Luis's appeal, if successful, cannot grant her any more interest than 3 hectares, this being a Navy lease. S.L. 2L-43-80, Sec. 4(3). But if T-73152 is less than 3 hectares, and loko Luis has a valid claim to T-73153, which I found she has, then a survey of the areas designated as T-73152 and T-73153 is warranted to determine the actual land areas of each tract.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED as follows:
1. The Pohnpei Land Commission's Determination of Interest to Public Land held in Trust dated August 1, 1984, relating to T 73513, in favor of Pacilio, also spelled Basilio, Helgen, is hereby vacated and set aside.
2. The Pohnpei Public Lands Authority is directed to conduct survey of the area comprising the tracts of land designated as T-73152 and T-73513, in the presence of appellant and appellee. Said survey shall first delineate a 3 hectares area pursuant to development made by appellant loko Luis, and second, the survey shall determine the land area thus far developed by the appellee Pacilio Helgen.
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3. Upon completion of the task under 2 above, the Public Lands Authority may amend its earlier designations of T-73152 and T-73153 as necessary, and shall issue a quitclaim deed to loko Luis covering an area not exceeding 3 hectares pursuant to S.L. 2L-43-80. The Authority shall also issue a permit to homestead the remainder of the said land to appellee Pacilio Helgen in accordance with Section 6 of S.L. 2L-43-80.
4. The Pohnpei Public Lands Authority shall within 30 days after completion of the transaction called for under 3 above file a copy of the Quitclaim Deed and Permit to Homestead with the Court to form parts of the record of this case.
5. Each party shall bear his own cost.