From BLT:
The lawyers in the long-running Cobell case have agreed to yet another extension to give the U.S. Senate more time to pass legislation to implement the $3.4 billion settlement resolving the Indian trust suit.
After the House of Representatives on May 28 passed the legislation approving the settlement, the plaintiffs’ lawyers and the Justice Department agreed to push back the deadline for the Senate to vote. That deadline was today. The new deadline is July 9.
“Inasmuch as the House has passed it and the Senate is actively considering legislation, we are hopeful it will be passed,” Kilpatrick Stockton co-managing partner William Dorris said today. Lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell is also represented by D.C. solo practitioner Dennis Gingold.
One issue that is posing a potential roadblock to a Senate vote is an amendment from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) that would cap attorney fees in the case at $50 million. Cobell’s lawyers had agreed with the Justice Department that fees would be capped at about $100 million. The plaintiffs lawyers said they would argue for no lower than $50 million.
It remains unknown whether the Senate will even vote on Barrasso’s amendment. Cobell said in an open letter today to Indian Country that the settlement is terminated if there are any changes to its terms.
“Senator Barrasso knows this and he knows that adoption of his amendment would kill the settlement,” Cobell said in the letter. “Why? He is playing Washington politics because the dirty truth is that he would vote against the current Senate bill even if his amendment is adopted.”
Turtle Talk 