9th Circuit rejects Bishop Paiute Tribe's lawsuit over land claim

Tuesday, March 15, 2011  

The Bishop Paiute Tribe cannot pursue a land claim in California, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday.

The tribe sued the city of Los Angeles for the loss of 1,030 acres. The city responded by saying the case could not proceed without the federal government, which gave the tribe's land to the city in 1941.

Since the federal government enjoys sovereign immunity, a federal judge dismissed the case. On appeal, the 9th Circuit agreed that the United States is a necessary party.

However, the court noted that Congress waived the federal government's immunity through the Indian Claims Commission Act in 1946. But the tribe didn't file the lawsuit until 2006, long past the 1951 deadline set by the law.

"The ICCA created an executive tribunal, the Indian Claims Commission, to hear and determine all tribal claims against the United States that accrued before August 13, 1946," the decision stated.

"According to Plaintiff’s complaint, it had a ripe claim against the United States by 1941, when the United States finalized its land exchange with the City, yet Plaintiff failed to file a claim with the Commission before 1951, the year in which the ICCA’s statute of limitations expired," the decision continued. "In those circumstances, the ICCA states unequivocally that no court may adjudicate Plaintiff’s claim."

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community v. City of Los Angeles.

Get the Story:
Half-Century Wall Blocks Tribe's Territory Claim (Courthouse News Service 3/14)

9th Circuit Decision:
Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community v. City of Los Angeles (March 14, 2011)