Cobell attorneys criticize Republican bill to restrict fees to $50M

Friday, March 4, 2011  

A bill to limit attorney fees in the Indian trust fund lawsuit to $50 million would kill the settlement, attorney Dennis Gingold said.

Gingold and the other attorneys are asking a federal judge for $223 million. Two Republican leaders, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Washington) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), slammed the request in a bill they introduced on Wednesday.

"Doc Hastings wanted to kill the settlement before, and he wants to kill it now,” Gingold told The Billings Gazette.

H.R.887 also requires the Interior Department to submit a report to Congress on its land consolidation plans, and to potentially identify an alternative to the portion of the settlement that deals with land consolidation.

Get the Story:
Congressmen try to cap Cobell attorney fees (The Billings Gazette 3/4)

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