Mesa Grande Band Land Claim against US Survives Motion to Dismiss

Here are the materials in Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians v. United States (Fed. Cl.):

7 US Motion to Dismiss

10 Mesa Grande Band Response

11 US Reply

19 DCT Order

An excerpt:

This case concerns property located in the mountains of northeastern San Diego County, California, and turns on events dating back to 1875. The property at issue is an 80-acre tract (the “1926 Tract”) that has had a small spring providing a source of water in an arid area. See Pl.’s Mem. in Opp’n to the United States’ Mot. to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (“Pl.’s Opp’n”) at 1, ECF No. 10. Tracing title back to a congressional enactment in 1926, the Act of May 10, 1926, Pub. L. No. 69-209, 44 Stat. 496 (1926) (“1926 Act”), plaintiff, the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians (“Mesa Grande Band”), claims entitlement to ownership of the subject property. On July 30, 1980, however, a patent for the 1926 Tract was issued by the Department of the Interior to the United States in trust for the Santa Ysabel Band of Mission Indians (“Santa Ysabel Band”), a neighboring band. The Mesa Grande Band did not contemporaneously receive notice of the patent’s issuance.