Plaintiffs’ complaint in Davilla et. al. v. Enable Midstream Partners here.
Enable was ordered by the BIA in 2010 to either negotiate with landowners over use of a natural gas pipeline or remove the pipeline. It has refused to do either and the Plaintiffs claim they have not been paid since at least 2009.
Here is Friday’s opinion in Jicarilla Apache Nation v. U.S. Dep’t of Interior.
An excerpt:
Jicarilla Apache Nation (Jicarilla) challenges the denial of its claim for additional royalties for natural gas leases in force from January 1984 through June 1995. After the United States Department of the Interior (Interior) rejected the claim, Jicarilla filed this suit in the district court. The district court denied Jicarilla’s motion for summary judgment and, on its own motion, granted summary judgment to Interior. Jicarilla Apache Nation v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 604 F.Supp.2d 139 (D.D.C.2009). Because we are persuaded Interior failed to consider an important aspect of the problem when it retrospectively applied regulations intended to have only prospective effect and failed to engage in reasoned decisionmaking when it made an unacknowledged volte-face on the applicability of the Jicarilla methodology, we reverse in part and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Lower court materials here.
Turtle Talk 