For immediate release:
BROWNING, Mont. Dec. 20 -- Elouise Cobell, lead plaintiff in the 12-year-old class action lawsuit over the government mismanagement of
Indian Trust accounts, expressed appreciation today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ordered a speedy hearing in the case.
The court's order, released late Friday, indicates that oral argument is likely to be heard this spring.
The order instructs the court clerk to set oral arguments in the case "on the first appropriate date" after both the Indian plaintiffs
and the government have filed all of their briefs with the appeals court.
The first briefs are to be filed on Jan. 21 and the last by April 7 under the order.
"It is rare that such request for an expedited hearing is approved, particularly where, as here, the government has opposed our request in order to continue to delay a fair resolution on the merits" she said after learning of the appeals court decision. "We are relieved that the United States Court of Appeals understands the urgency of our case."
At issue is a District Court order that awarded $455.6 million to the Indian plaintiffs. The plaintiffs view the order as
disappointing, saying it disregards Supreme Court and DC Circuit Court rulings that are binding on the district court, including rulings on governing trust law.
The government has also appealed the ruling saying that the plaintiffs are due nothing because it is immune from accountability. Both the appeals court and the district court have ruled that the government egregiously breached its trust responsibility to an estimated 500,000 Indians who had individual Indian Money Accounts managed by both the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Treasury, each of whom has been held in contempt in this litigation.
contact: Bill McAllister 703 385-6996
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