1
general::
Phrase(s): lay claim to something
to place a claim on something. • Do you really think you can lay claim to that money after all these years? • Someone came by and laid claim to the wallet you found.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Assert one's right to or ownership of, as in "What claim lays she to thee?" (Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, 3:2). [Late 1500s] Also see STAKE A CLAIM.
American Heritage Idioms