trust relationship

Feds, Suquamish, and Muckleshoot Reach Consent Decree in CERCLA Suit against Polluters of the Duwamish River

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the consent decree in United States v. General Recycling of Washington LLC (W.D. Wash.):

Consent Decree.pdfDownload

Federal Circuit Rejects Chemehuevi Trust Breach Claims over Parker Dam

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Chemehuevi Indian Tribe v. United States.

Briefs:

Chemehuevi Opening Brief.pdfDownload
Federal Answer Brief.pdfDownload
Reply.pdfDownload

Lower court materials here.

Court of Federal Claims Decision re Wildfire Breach of Trust and Fifth Am. Takings [Yakama]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are materials in Yakama Nation v. United States (Fed. Cl.):

ECF 41_Rev. MTD

ECF 42_Rev. Response MTD

ECF 43_Rev. Reply MTD

ECF 48_Order

CFC Allows Colville Trust Breach over Wildfires to Proceed

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials so far in Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation v. United States (Fed. Cl.):

1 Complaint.pdfDownload
7 Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
11 Response.pdfDownload
14 Reply.pdfDownload
23 CFC Order.pdfDownload

CFC Allows Some Navajo Claims to Proceed in Trust Breach Suit

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Navajo Nation v. United States (Fed. Cl.):

7 Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
12 Response.pdfDownload
15 Reply.pdfDownload
20 Federal Supplemental Brief.pdfDownload
21 Navajo Supplemental Brief.pdfDownload
Navajo Nation v. United States (CFC 2024) MTD opinion.pdfDownload

Complaint here.

Alaska Tribes Sue Dept. of Agriculture over Broadband

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Native Village of Unalakleet v. United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utility Service (D. Alaska):

Complaint.pdfDownload

CFC Rules that Federal Police Officer Did Not Shoot Ute Tribal Member [Bad Men Clause Claim]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the trial materials in Jones v. United States (Fed. Cl.):

223 Jones Pre-Trial Brief.pdfDownload
227 US Pre-Trial Pleading.pdfDownload
260 US Post-Trial Pleading.pdfDownload
261 Jones Post-Trial Pleading.pdfDownload
268 Opinion.pdfDownload

Prior post here.

Federal Circuit Allows Some Aspects of Ute Water Rights Breach of Trust Claim to Proceed

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Ute Indian Tribe v. United States:

Opinion.pdfDownload
Opening Brief.pdfDownload
Answer Brief.pdfDownload
Reply.pdfDownload

Lower court materials here.

Oglala Sioux Tribe Sues Over Law Enforcement

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Oglala Sioux Tribe v. United States (D.S.D.):

1 Complaint

Robin Kundis Craig on Sackett + Navajo + Montana

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Robin Kundis Craig has posted “Tribes and Water in the Wake of Navajo Nation and Sackett: Treaties, Winters, Montana, and Rights of Nature,” forthcoming in the William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, on SSRN.

Here is the abstract:

As headlines over the last decade have made clear, people in the United States can no longer afford to take fresh water for granted. In the midst of increasing issues regarding both water quality and water quantity (allocation), Tribes are playing an ever-more-active role in the Nation’s water management. This Article provides an overview of the contemporary legal landscape governing tribal authority over water, emphasizing two recent Supreme Court decisions: Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (May 2023), in which the Supreme Court cut back on the Clean Water Act’s jurisdictional reach, and Arizona v. Navajo Nation, in which the Court held that the federal government has no trust duty to help Tribes get water.

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