Northern Valley Indian Health, Inc. v. United States

Opinion

AHdoabmbs ,P S. tBraauilse,y D (eCaAn &B aWr Nalok.e 2r,7 L82L0P8 ) 1903 21st St., 3rd Floor Sacramento, CA 95811 Phone: (916) 442-9444 Fax: (916) 442-8344 Email: abailey@hobbsstraus.com

Attorneys for Plaintiff

United States Attorney Assistant United States Attorney 501 I Street, Suite 10-100 Sacramento, CA 95814 E-mail: joseph.frueh@usdoj.gov Telephone: (916) 554-2702 Facsimile: (916) 554-2900

Attorneys for Defendants

NORTHERN VALLEY INDIAN HEALTH, No. 2:24-CV-02154-DJC-DMC INC., AMENDED JOINT STATUS REPORT, Plaintiff, STIPULATION, AND ORDER FOR STAYING v. ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.,1 in his official capacity as Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, et al., Defendants.

1 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was sworn in as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services on February 13, 2025. Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, he should be substituted automatically for Xavier Becerra as the defendant in this action. AMENDED JOINT STATUS REPORT, STIPULATION, AND PROPOSED ORDER Pursuant to the Court’s Order (ECF 15) dated June 17, 2025, the parties provide this status report and stipulate, subject to Court approval, that this action be stayed while the parties work toward consummating their settlement in principle; and that the parties file a Joint Status Report on or before January 23, 2026. The reasons for this stipulation are as follows. 1. A court may stay proceedings as part of its inherent power “to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also, e.g., Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997) (“The District Court has broad discretion to stay proceedings as an incident to its power to control its own docket.”). 2. This case involves claims for “contract support costs” associated with program income that a Tribal organization expends on health programs that it has contracted to operate under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (“ISDEAA”), 25 U.S.C. §§ 5301–5423. Plaintiff filed this action shortly after the Supreme Court recognized such claims as cognizable under the ISDEAA in Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, 602 U.S. 222 (2024). 3. The parties reached a settlement in principle on or about August 5, 2025. The settlement was supported by the Acting United States Attorney and the Indian Health Service within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. 4. The United States Attorney’s Office forwarded the parties’ proposed written settlement agreement to the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice on August 5, 2025. The Federal Programs Branch is charged with transmitting the proposed written settlement agreement to the United States Attorney General’s designee for final review and approval. 5. The Federal Programs Branch advises that final review and approval of the settlement has been delayed because of significantly reduced staffing and an extremely high volume of litigation involving the Federal Programs Branch. As of September 8, 2025, the Federal Programs Branch anticipated that final review and approval of the proposed written settlement agreement likely would take an additional 60 days. 6. The parties propose filing a Joint Status Report on or before January 23, 2026. Dated: September 15, 2025 HOBBS, STRAUS, DEAN & WALKER, LLP By: /s/ Adam P. Bailey (authorized 9/15/2025) ADAM P. BAILEY Attorneys for Plaintiff Dated: September 16, 2025 ERIC GRANT United States Attorney By: /s/ Joseph Frueh Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for Defendants

Dated: September 16, 2025 /s/ Daniel J. Calabretta THE HONORABLE DANIEL J. CALABRETTA UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE