Free Joint Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:92-cv-00675-ECH

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Filed 04/11/2008

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendant. ) __________________________________________) CHIPPEWA CREE TRIBE OF THE ROCKY BOY'S RESERVATION, et al.,

No. 92-675 L Judge Emily C. Hewitt April 11, 2008

JOINT STATUS REPORT This Joint Status Report (JSR) is submitted pursuant to the Court's Orders of February 20, 2008 (Doc. # 322) and April 1, 2008 (Doc. # 325). I. BACKGROUND

The Plaintiff Group, consisting of the beneficiaries of the 1964 and 1980 Pembina Judgment Fund ("PJF") Awards and their heirs, descendants, and successors-in-interest, and the Defendant, the United States of America, continue to be engaged in settlement negotiations with the objective of resolving Plaintiffs' PJF trust management claims. II. A. SPECIFIC MATTERS 1964 Award and 1980 Award, Phase I (March 1980 - May, 1988)

These claims have been assigned to Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") proceedings with Judge Eric Bruggink. See Order (¶2) of Aug. 2, 2007 (Doc. # 298). On April 4, 2008, the parties submitted to Judge Bruggink briefs on agreed-upon issues regarding these claims. See ADR Scheduling Order of March 10, 2008 (Doc. # 323). These issues were discussed on April 8, 2008 during an in-person day-long ADR Settlement Conference before Judge Bruggink at the Court of -1-

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Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. See ADR Scheduling Order of February 12, 2008 (Doc. # 320). The next ADR session before Judge Bruggink on these claims is scheduled for June 9, 2008 at the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. See ADR Scheduling Order of April 08, 2008 (Doc. # 326). The Court's Order of February 20, 2008 (¶1) instructed the parties to file a JSR on or before May 1, 2008 regarding the progress of these claims in ADR. (Doc. # 322). Pursuant to that Order, the parties hereby report that they continue to make significant strides on these claims before Judge Bruggink. B. 1980 Award Phase II (May 26, 1988 - September 30, 1992)

These claims also have been assigned to ADR proceedings with Judge Eric Bruggink. See Orders (¶2) of Nov. 19, 2007 (Doc. # 313) and Jan. 18, 2008 (Doc. # 318). As previously reported, the parties conducted an in-person day-long ADR Settlement Conference before Judge Bruggink at the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C on February 12, 2008 on these claims. See JSR of February 19, 2008 (Doc. # 321). The next ADR session before Judge Bruggink on these claims is scheduled for June 10, 2008 at the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. See Scheduling Order of March 10, 2008 (Doc. # 323). Per the Court's February 20, 2008 Order (¶1), the parties will be filing a JSR regarding the progress of these claims on or before June 16, 2008. (Doc. # 322). C. 1980 Award Phase III (October 1, 1992 to December 31, 1995)

As previously reported, on December 7, 2007 the parties exchanged document production requests on Phase III transactions. See JSR of February 19, 2008 (Doc. # 321). On March 7, 2008, as ordered by the Court, the parties provided their responsive documents to the requests. Defendant provided supplemental responses to Plaintiffs on March 19 and 21, 2008. The parties have been -2-

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reviewing and continue to review the responsive documents. On the last Telephone Status Conference ("TSC") with the Court conducted on February 20, 2008, counsel for Plaintiffs stated that, based on the at-that-time anticipated responsive documents, Plaintiffs likely would be able to provide Defendant, by April 28, 2008, a written report summarizing in Plaintiffs' view the validity status of the 113 Phase III potential baseline transactions based upon: 1) the source documents provided in the responsive documents; and 2) Plaintiffs' validity selection criteria as set forth in Plaintiffs' June 2000 Baseline Transactions Report and as adapted over time during the settlement negotiations to date regarding the 1964 Award and the 1980 Award Phases I and II. As discussed during the February 20, 2008 TSC, the parties will use such report to discuss and agree on further steps toward the goal of determining an agreed-upon population of valid Phase III baseline transactions for economic investment modeling purposes. In addition, prior to Plaintiffs' April 28, 2008 report, at Defendant's suggestion, the parties are in the process of scheduling at least one teleconference between themselves to discuss the Phase III baseline transactions. D. 1980 Award Phase IV (January 1, 1996 to present)

With respect to the 1980 Award Phase IV, as reported in the last JSR of February 19, 2008 (Doc. # 321), Defendant now has provided Plaintiffs with the "common data set" for the potential baseline transactions for the Phase IV time period through December 31, 2007. Pursuant to the steps set forth in the Court's February 20, 2008 Order (¶3), the parties have reached an agreed-upon list of potential baseline transactions for this defined time period of 353 transactions. Having agreed upon the 353 potential baseline transactions, the parties are now turning their attention to agreeing upon a scoping proposal to determine for which of these transactions Plaintiffs will seek source documents from Defendant. The parties respectfully request that the Court adopt -3-

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the following dates regarding a Phase IV scoping proposal: 1. On April 18, 2008, Plaintiffs will submit to Defendant their proposal for Phase IV scoping. 2. Defendant will respond to Plaintiff's proposal for Phase IV scoping by May 9, 2008. 3. Plaintiff shall reply to Defendant's response to Plaintiffs' scoping proposal by May 30, 2008. 4. On or before June 20, 2008, the parties shall agree on a final population of potential baseline transactions for Phase IV for which Plaintiffs shall request source documents from Defendant, and a timeline for presenting and responding to such request. In the last JSR of February 19, 2008 (Doc. # 321), the parties noted that they would be discussing the "continuing" nature of Phase IV. The parties will continue to confer and report on their progress in reaching agreement on addressing the "continuing" nature of Phase IV.

Respectfully submitted on this 11th day of April, 2008.

/s/ Melody L. McCoy MELODY L. MCCOY Attorney of Record for Plaintiffs Native American Rights Fund 1506 Broadway Boulder, CO 80302 Tel: (303) 447-8760 Fax (303) 443-7776

/s/ Carol L. Draper CAROL L. DRAPER Attorney of Record for Defendant United States Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resources Division Natural Resources Section P.O. Box 663 Washington, D.C. 20044-0663 Tel: (202) 305-0465 -4-

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Fax: (202) 353-2021

Of Counsel: Elisabeth C. Brandon Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor Teresa E. Dawson Department of the Treasury Office of Chief Counsel Financial Management Service

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