Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Farms v. United States Internal Revenue Service

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Settles IRS Dispute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

News article here (prior legal materials here) (h/t Pechanga and Indianz):

The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe has settled its tax debt with the Internal Revenue Service and lined up a loan that will enable it to buy back the 11 square miles of land the IRS sold at auction in December, the tribal chairman said.

A stipulation filed in court last week indicates the tribe will dismiss its lawsuit, which sought to prevent the IRS from selling the Hyde County land. That will cancel a May 4 trial.

The IRS took the unusual step of seizing and selling the land because the tribe refused to pay $3.12 million in employment taxes, penalties and interest it racked up since 2001.

At $2.58 million, the winning bid did not fully satisfy the debt. But tribal chairman Brandon Sazue, who met with government officials in Washington last week, said the IRS is forgiving what’s left.

“We don’t owe the IRS anything at this point in time, as long as we drop the lawsuit,” Sazue said. Continue reading →

Federal Court Denies TRO in Crow Creek Land Tax Sale Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is that order: DCT Order Denying TRO

The motion is here.

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Fails to Save LeMaster Ranch

Matthew L.M. Fletcher9 Comments

Here is the news article on the IRS plans to auction off the LeMaster Ranch, formerly owned by the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. And here is the Tribe’s motion for a TRO that apparently failed yesterday:

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Motion for TRO

An excerpt from the article:

The Internal Revenue Service plans to auction land on one of America’s poorest Indian reservations today, after efforts Wednesday to block the sale in U.S. District Court failed.

According to a federal lawsuit filed by the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, the IRS intends to auction the land to settle delinquent federal employment taxes it maintains are owed by the tribe.

On Wednesday, a judge denied the restraining order seeking to block the sale, but, according to Terry Pechota, the attorney for Crow Creek Tribal Farms, the judge indicated that he would set the case for trial.

The auction will occur, but no land would change hands until after a court date in late March, said Duane St. John, a member of the tribal council.

The tribe has been planning to develop wind energy, and “this is our prime wind energy land,” St. John said. “So that’s going to be another big hurt to us.”