Cobell settlement comes too late for beneficiaries who passed

Thursday, November 29, 2012  

The $3.4 billion settlement to the Cobell trust fund lawsuit was announced in December 2009 but payments were delayed amid opposition in Congress and appeals from a small number of beneficiaries.

In the meantime, an estimated 12,000 beneficiaries passed on without seeing their share of the settlement. That includes lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, who died in October 2011 after a battle with cancer.

But now that the appeals have been cleared, the settlement will be transferred to a court-approved bank. The first round of payments -- $1,000 to settle historical accounting claims -- is expected before Christmas.

Get the Story:
Too late for some (The Missoula Independent 11/29)

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