43 Anniversary of Durfee v. Duke, 375 U.S. 106, or " What you can do, we can do better"

Some swamp land is worth fighting for, even across state boundaries.  The dispute begins on the border of Nebraska and Missouri.  The river forms the border.  When the river moves, the border moves.  Durfee filed suit in Nebraska to quiet title, securing her claim through a tax foreclosure deed issued by Nebraska.  Duke claimed her title through a "swamp land patent" from the State of Missouri and through adverse possession.    The Nebraska Supreme Court, surprisingly, found that a Nebraska tax deed trumps a Missouri swamp land patent.  Durfee v. Keiffer, 95 NW 2d 618, (Neb. 1959).

Duke responded by filing suit in Missouri.  The case was removed to Federal Court where it was decided that the land was actually in Missouri, but since the issue of ownership had already been decided by the Nebraska Supreme Court, it could not rule on the issue of ownership.  The Appeals Court disagreed, saying that the issue of ownership could be retried in Missouri because Nebraska never had subject matter jurisdiction: the land was in Missouri.

The U.S. Supreme Court jumped into the fray on the issue of "The Doctrine of Jurisdictional Finality."  Durfee v. Duke, 375 U.S. 106 (1963).  In other words, if you fully and fairly litigate the jurisdictional issues to conclusion, even in a district that does not have jurisdiction, the final ruling will stick.