Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael

209 F.R.D. 470, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16857, 2002 WL 31013017
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Mexico
DecidedAugust 28, 2002
DocketNo. CIV.83-1888 MV/LFG
StatusPublished

This text of 209 F.R.D. 470 (Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael, 209 F.R.D. 470, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16857, 2002 WL 31013017 (D.N.M. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

VAZQUEZ, District Judge.

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Defendants’ Motion to Set Aside “Order of Dismissal” [Doc. No. 179], filed January 23, 2001, and Defendants’ Motion to Extend Time Limits for Notice of Appeal and for Filing a Motion for Attorney’s Fees and for Filing a Motion to Amend Counterclaim [Doc. No. 181], filed January 30, 2001. The Court, having considered the motions, briefs, relevant law and being otherwise fully informed, finds that Defendants’ motions are not well-taken and will be DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Pueblo of Santo Domingo (the “Pueblo”) commenced the instant action in 1983 to quiet title to three tracts of land located within the Diegos Gallegos Grant, a Spanish land grant that was originally made in 1735, and which the Pueblo purchased in 1748 from the widow of the original grantee. In its complaint, the Pueblo alleged that the three parcels of land owned by Defendants were within the boundaries of the Diego Gallegos Grant, and that the patents to Defendants or their predecessors from the United States were void.

In their answer to the complaint, Defendants asserted a counterclaim, seeking damages for slander of title. Plaintiff filed a motion to dismiss the counterclaim. In a Memorandum Opinion and Order dated June 6, 1984, the Court granted Plaintiffs motion, holding that the counterclaim was barred by the Pueblo’s sovereign immunity as an Indian tribe.

Following various other pre-trial rulings, including a grant of partial summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff on the issue of the validity of the Pueblo’s title, a jury trial was held, which resulted in a judgment in favor of the Pueblo quieting its title against Defendants as to the three tracts of land (the “Judgment”). Defendants filed an appeal with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming as error most of the Court’s rulings. On appeal, Defendants did not raise the issue of the Court’s dismissal of their counterclaim.

In an Order and Judgment dated July 20, 1989, the Tenth Circuit vacated the Judgment, holding that the Pueblo’s position in the instant case was inconsistent with its position in Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. United States, Dkt. No. 355 (Ct.Fed.Cl.) (“Claims Court Action”). The Claims Court Action, brought under the Indian Claims Commission Act, was then pending in the United States Court of Federal Claims and involved the same land area at issue here. The Tenth Circuit remanded the instant case to the Court, directing that it remain pending until resolution of the Claims Court Action. The appellate decision did not address any issue related to Defendants’ counterclaim.

In May 2000, the parties to the Claims Court Action reached a settlement, which included the land at issue in the instant case. Congress approved the settlement, enacting the Santo Domingo Pueblo Claims Settlement Act of 2000, Pub.L. No. 106-425. As part of the settlement, the Pueblo agreed to a dismissal, with prejudice, of its claims in the instant case.

On November 20, 2000, Plaintiffs counsel wrote to Defendants’ counsel, asking that he concur in a motion to dismiss the instant case. Defendants’ counsel did not respond to the letter, and when Plaintiffs counsel contacted him by telephone, Defendants’ counsel [472]*472stated that he did not have the authority to concur in the motion without first speaking with his clients. Thereafter, on December 20, 2000, Plaintiff served a Motion to Dismiss upon Defendants.

When Defendants did not to respond to the Motion to Dismiss within the time prescribed by the Court’s local rules, Plaintiff filed the Motion to Dismiss. On January 11, 2001, the Court signed an Order of Dismissal, dismissing with prejudice the complaint herein. Thereafter, on January 23, 2001 and January 30, 2001, respectively, Defendants filed their Motion to Set Aside “Order of Dismissal” (“Motion to Set Aside”), and their Motion to Extend Time Limits for Notice of Appeal and for Filing a Motion for Attorney’s Fees and for Filing a Motion to Amend Counterclaim (“Motion to Extend”).

DISCUSSION

A. Defendants ’ Motion to Set Aside

Defendants allege that they were not allowed adequate time to respond to Plaintiffs Motion to Dismiss, and that, pursuant to Rules 59 and 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Order of Dismissal should be set aside. In their supporting memorandum of law, however, Defendants provide no legal authority to support their claim for relief under either Rule 59 or Rule 60.

Rule 59 sets forth the procedure for seeking a new trial or amending or altering a judgment within ten days after entry of such judgment. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 59. As Defendants seek neither a new trial nor an alteration or amendment of a prior judgment, Rule 59 is irrelevant to this case.

Rule 60(b) gives the Court authority to grant relief from a final judgment or order “for the following reasons: (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence ... (3) fraud, ... misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged ...; or (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b). District courts have “substantial discretion in connection with a Rule 60(b) motion.” Pelican Prod. Corp. v. Marino, 893 F.2d 1143, 1146 (10th Cir.1990). Defendants do not advance any particular ground on which they believe relief from judgment is warranted. The Court, therefore, will address each of the enumerated grounds in order to determine whether any of them provides a valid basis upon which to set aside the Order of Dismissal.

“Rule 60(b)(1) motions premised upon mistake are intended to provide relief to a party in only two instances: (1) when the party has made an excusable litigation mistake or an attorney in the litigation has acted without authority; or (2) when the judge has made a substantive mistake of law or fact in the final judgment or order.” Yapp v. Excel Corp., 186 F.3d 1222, 1231 (10th Cir.1999). There is no claim here that Defendants’ attorney has acted without authority, or that the Court made a substantive legal error in its prior judgment.

Defendants do, however, proffer an explanation for their attorney’s inability to respond to the Motion to Dismiss in a timely manner, which this Court construes as an effort to establish an “excusable litigation mistake.” Defendants’ attorney states that he was unable to find his own file on this case, that when he went to the Clerk’s Office on December 27, 2000 to copy the file, the file was not there, that he had to order the file, and that the file was not available to be picked up until January 16, 2001. In addition, Defendants’ attorney explains that he was in a violent road biking accident on January 13, 2001, which confined him to his bed until January 22, 2001.

The Court is not persuaded that these facts establish an excusable litigation mistake.

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Bluebook (online)
209 F.R.D. 470, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16857, 2002 WL 31013017, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pueblo-of-santo-domingo-v-rael-nmd-2002.