Judge awards Alaska Native family $4.9M for breach of trust case

Wednesday, February 9, 2011  

A federal judge says the federal government owes an Alaska Native family $4.9 million in a breach of trust case.

Judge Nancy Firestone of the Court of Federal Claims previously ruled that the Bureau of Indian Affairs breached its trust responsibility to the Oenga family. The agency allowed BP to use the family's land for oil development without authorization.

"In the last two years, BP has pumped $35 million worth of oil from Raven, a lot more than what we are owed," Tony Delia, one of the Oenga family members, told The Anchorage Daily News.

The land is located on the North Slope. Raven produced about 25,000 barrels of oil in the month of November 2010, the paper reported.

Get the Story:
Slope family awarded almost $5 million for BP use of land (The Anchorage Daily News 2/9)

Court of Federal Claims Decisions:
Oenga v. US (December 21, 2010) | Oenga v. US (September 18, 2008)

Related Stories:
Alaska Native family wins money damages in breach of trust case (1/6)
Alaska Native family sues BIA over oil development (5/18)
BIA tells oil company to stop drilling on Inupiat land (1/19)