Northern District of Oklahoma – Page 10

Now before the Court are the following motions: Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. # 22), Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike (Dkt. # 27), and Plaintiff’s Motion for Jurisdictional Discovery (Dkt. # 36). Defendant Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) argues that it has sovereign immunity from suit because all of its members are federally-recognized Indian tribes and AVCP was created to provide governmental services for its members. Plaintiff Eaglesun Systems Products, Inc. responds that AVCP is a non-profit corporation organized under state law, and it is not entitled to sovereign immunity as an Indian tribe or as a tribal organization. Plaintiff also requests leave to conduct jurisdictional discovery before the Court rules on defendant’s motion to dismiss.

Federal Court Certifies Class in Osage Headrights Accounting Suit

February 3, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the new materials in Fletcher v. United States (N.D. Okla.):

1148 Motion to Certify Class

1154 US Response

1196 DCT Order Certifying Class

This case is on remand from the Tenth Circuit; post here.

Tort Claim against Quapaw Tribe and Casino Dismissed

September 20, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Martin v. Quapaw Tribe (N.D. Okla.):

20 DCT Amended Order Dismissing Complaint

Tenth Circuit Rules in Favoring of Trust Accounting Claims of Osage Headright Holders

September 18, 2013September 17, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the materials in Fletcher v. United States:

CA10 Opinion

Fletcher Opening Brief

Interior Answer Brief

Fletcher Reply Brief

An excerpt:

After settlers displaced the Osage Nation from its native lands, the federal government shunted the tribe onto the open prairie in Indian Territory, part of what later became the State of Oklahoma. At the time, the government had no idea those grasslands were to prove a great deal more fertile than they appeared. Only years later did the Osages’ mammoth reserves of oil and gas make themselves known. When that happened, the federal government appropriated for itself the role of trustee, overseeing the collection of royalty income and its distribution to tribal members. That role continues to this day. In this lawsuit, tribal members seek an accounting to determine whether the federal government has fulfilled the fiduciary obligations it chose to assume. The district court
dismissed the tribal members’ claims. We reverse.

Lower court materials here and here.