Confederated Bands of Ute Indians v. United States

117 Ct. Cl. 433, 1950 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 32, 1950 WL 5001
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJuly 13, 1950
DocketNos. 45585, 46640, 47564, 47566
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 117 Ct. Cl. 433 (Confederated Bands of Ute Indians v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Confederated Bands of Ute Indians v. United States, 117 Ct. Cl. 433, 1950 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 32, 1950 WL 5001 (cc 1950).

Opinion

The Reporter’s statement of the case:

In an opinion in Case No. 45585 (100 C. Cls. 413, 420) the Court of Claims decided that under the terms of tlie Jurisdictional Act of June 28, 1938 (52 Stat. 1209), plaintiffs in that case were entitled to recover just compensation for all lands in Colorado north of and including township 35 north, held by the United States for disposal under Section 3 of the Act of June 15, 1880, at the time of approval of the 1938 Act, subject, however, to the deduction of offsets, if any, and reserving the determination of the amount of the recovery and the amount of such offsets, if any, for fur[434]*434ther proceedings, as provided by Buie 39 (a) of the Court of Claims. See also the opinion of the Court (112 C. Cls. 123) on defendant’s motion for instructions to the Commissioner of the Court, which motion was denied.

Following the taking of voluminous testimony in Case No. 45585, stipulations were filed in Cases Nos. 45585, 46640, 47564, and 47566. Upon such stipulations and a memorandum report of a Commissioner in each case, the Court on July 13, 1950, entered judgments as set forth below, as follows:

No. 45585

ORDER OP FINAL JUDGMENT

This case comes before the Court on a joint motion of plaintiffs and defendant for final judgment pursuant to a stipulation signed on behalf of plaintiffs by Ernest L. Wilkinson, their attorney of record, and on behalf of defendant by A. Devitt Vanech, Assistant Attorney General, and Marvin J. .'Sonosky, attorney. A memorandum report has been filed by the commissioner to whom the case was referred, recommending entry of judgment based on the stipulation, and that the printing of the record be waived.

The petition was filed on November 22, 1941, pursuant to the Act of June 28, 1938 (52 Stat. 1209). On October 4, 1943, an interlocutory judgment was entered holding that plaintiffs were entitled to recover just compensation for all lands in Colorado north of and including township 35, north, held by the United States for disposal under Section 3 of the Act of June 15, 1880, at the time of approval of the Act of June 28, 1938, Chap. 776, 52 Stat. 1209, subject, however, to the deduction of offsets, if any, and reserving the determination of the amount of the recovery and the amount of such offsets, if any, for further proceedings, as provided by Buie 39 (a) of the Court of Claims.

By their stipulation the parties have agreed that:

(1) Judgment shall be entered for plaintiffs and against the defendant in the sum of $24,296,127.24, plus interest on $16,822,112.69 thereof at the rate of four percent (4%) per annum from July 10,1950, to the date of payment of the $24,296,127.24.
[435]*435(2) Judgment so entered shall be in full settlement and payment for the complete extinguishment of plaintiff’s right, title, interest, estate, claims and demands of whatsoever nature in and to the land and property in western Colorado ceded by plaintiffs to defendant by the Act of June 15, 1880 (21 Stat. 199), which on June 28,1938, had not been disposed of by the United States. (Two schedules were attached to the stipulation containing legal descriptions of (a) 4,403,935.87 acres of surface and subsurface rights and (b) 787,056.86 acres of subsurface rights only, which “so far as the parties with diligence have been able to determine” represent all of the land undisposed of on June 28, 1938).
(3) Judgment so entered shall be after all allowable credits and offsets except 52 percent of the value, if any, of the subsurface of 427,015 acres of land added to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation by the Act of March 11, 1948 (62 Stat. 72), as to which defendant may claim in other suits 17 percent of such value as against the White River Band, and 35 percent as against the Uncompahgre Band, no reservation of claimed offsets being made against the Southern and Ute Mountain Ute Band. (Defendant reserves the right' to claim in other suits offsets against the Uintah Band of Ute Indians of 48 percent of the value of the surface and 48 percent of the subsurface value, if any, of the 427,015 acres of Utah land).
(4) Questions which plaintiffs may present respecting the division of the judgment among the plaintiff bands shall be reserved for future determination as the Court may direct without prejudice to defendant’s right to present any jurisdictional or other objection thereto.

Now, therefore, it is adjudged, this 13th day of July 1950, that the joint motion of the parties for final judgment, pursuant to their stipulation, be allowed; that final judgment, after all allowable credits and offsets except as provided in the stipulation and as summarized above, be entered for plaintiffs in the sum of $24,296,127.24, plus interest on $16,822,112.69 thereof at the rate of 4 percent per annum from July 10,1950, to date of payment of said $24,296,127.24; that such judgment be in full settlement and payment for the complete extinguishment of plaintiffs’ right, title, interest, estate, claims and demands, of whatsoever nature in and to the land and property in western Colorado ceded by plaintiffs to the defendant by the Act of June 15,1880, which, [436]*436on June 28, 1938, had not been disposed of by the United States; and that such judgment be full and final adjudication of all issues between plaintiffs and defendant in this case. It is so ordered.

It is further ordered that questions which plaintiffs may present respecting the division of the judgment among the plaintiff bands be reserved for future determination without prejudice to defendant’s right to present jurisdictional or other objections thereto; and that the printing of the record be dispensed with.

By the Court,

Marvin Jones, Chief Judge.

No. 46640

ORDER OF FINAL JUDGMENT

This case comes before the Court on a joint motion of plaintiffs and defendant for final judgment pursuant to a stipulation signed on behalf of plaintiffs by Ernest L. Wilkinson, their attorney of record, and on behalf of defendant by A. Devitt Yanech, Assistant Attorney General, and Marvin J. Sonosky, attorney. A memorandum report has been filed by the commissioner to whom the case was referred, recommending entry of judgment based on the stipulation, and that the printing of the record be waived.

The original petition in the above-entitled case was filed October 15, 1945, and the amended petition filed March 19, 1947, pursuant to the Act of June 28, 1938 (52 Stat. 1209), as amended by Acts of July 15, 1941 (55 Stat. 593), June 22, 1943 (57 Stat. 160), June 11, 1946 (c. 378, 60 Stat. 255), and Sections 1, 2, 11, and 25 of the Act of August 13, 1946 (c. 959, 60 Stat. 1049).

By their stipulation the parties have agreed as follows:

Subject to the approval of the Court, a judgment, after all allowable offsets, for $6,037,567.72 plus interest on $2,939,847.31 thereof at the rate of four percent (4%) per annum from July 10,1950, to the date of payment of said $6,037,567.72 shall be entered in this cause as full settlement and payment for the complete extinguish[437]*437ment of plaintiffs’ right, title, interest, estate, claims and demands of whatsoever nature in and to the land and property in western Colorado ceded by plaintiffs to defendant by the Act of June 15, 1880 (21 Stat.

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Bluebook (online)
117 Ct. Cl. 433, 1950 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 32, 1950 WL 5001, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/confederated-bands-of-ute-indians-v-united-states-cc-1950.