Salt v. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedJune 26, 2023
Docket3:22-cv-08139
StatusUnknown

This text of Salt v. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (Salt v. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Salt v. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation, (D. Ariz. 2023).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

9 Evelyn Salt, No. CV-22-08139-PCT-DJH

10 Plaintiff, ORDER

11 v.

12 Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation, 13 Defendant. 14 15 The parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment. (Docs. 17; 19).1 16 Plaintiff Evelyn Salt (“Plaintiff”) seeks relief from a denial of relocation assistance 17 benefits under the Navajo–Hopi Settlement Act by Defendant Office of Navajo and Hopi 18 Indian Relocation (“ONHIR” or “Defendant”). The Court must decide whether Plaintiff 19 was a resident of the Hopi Partitioned Lands (“HPL”) when she became head of 20 household in August of 1975. She was not. The Court accordingly grants Defendant’s 21 Motion for Summary Judgment and denies Plaintiff’s Motion. 22 I. Background 23 Plaintiff is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. (Doc. 1 at ¶ 5). She was 24 relocated from her home on the HPL2 to the Navajo Partitioned Lands (“NPL”) as a result 25 of the Navajo–Hopi Settlement Act (“Act”), 25 U.S.C. § 640d et seq. (Id.) Congress 26 created ONHIR, an independent federal agency, to carry out the relocation of Navajo and

27 1 The matter is briefed. Plaintiff filed a Response (Doc. 21), and Defendant filed a Reply (Doc. 23). 28 2 Plaintiff’s HPL site is also referred to as Red Lake. 1 Hopi Tribal Members who resided on land that was partitioned to the other tribe, and to 2 provide relocation assistance benefits for all households required to relocate. (Id. at ¶ 6). 3 Plaintiff’s family moved from the HPL to the NPL in 1976. (Id. at ¶ 23). 4 On April 22, 2009, Plaintiff applied for relocation benefits under 25 C.F.R. § 5 700.138. (Id. at ¶ 7). Her application was denied. (Id. at 8). Plaintiff filed an appeal, 6 and a hearing was held on April 29, 2016. (Doc. 1 at ¶ 9–10). 7 The Independent Hearing Officer (“IHO”) issued a decision on July 8, 2016, 8 upholding ONHIR’s denial of relocation benefits. (Id. at ¶ 12). The IHO found that as of 9 December 22, 1974, Plaintiff “was a legal resident of the Red Lake Chapter, whose 10 cornfield was later partitioned for the use of the Hopi Indians,” and on that date, Plaintiff 11 “was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico and attending a free vocational school.” (Doc. 12 13 at 262). He concluded that Plaintiff was not a self-supporting head of household on 13 December 22, 1974, because “she was living in a school dormitory where her basic 14 personal needs for food and shelter were provided by others.” (Id.) 15 However, the IHO ultimately concluded that Plaintiff’s legal residence transferred 16 to Albuquerque “upon her completion of her vocational education in 1975.” (Id.) The 17 IHO therefore denied Plaintiff’s appeal. (Id.) ONHIR then issued its Final Agency 18 Action affirming the IHO’s denial determination. (Doc. 1 at ¶ 12). 19 On July 28, 2022, Plaintiff filed her Complaint, requesting this Court to reverse 20 ONHIR’s decision and find Plaintiff eligible for relocation assistance benefits. (Id.) 21 II. Legal Standard 22 Under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), an aggrieved party may sue to 23 set aside a final non-discretionary agency action that is arbitrary or capricious, an abuse 24 of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law. See 5 U.S.C. §§ 702, 25 706(2)(A), (2)(E). “[T]he reviewing court can reverse only if the agency action was 26 arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not in accordance with law, or unsupported 27 by substantial evidence.” Bedoni v. Navajo–Hopi Indian Relocation Com’n, 878 F.2d 28 1119, 1122 (9th Cir. 1989). 1 An agency action is arbitrary and capricious “if the agency has relied on factors 2 which Congress has not intended it to consider, entirely failed to consider an important 3 aspect of the problem, offered an explanation for its decision that runs counter to the 4 evidence before the agency, or is so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a 5 difference in view or the product of agency expertise.” Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S. 6 v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43 (1983). “The arbitrary and capricious 7 standard is highly deferential, presuming the agency action to be valid and [requires] 8 affirming the agency action if a reasonable basis exists for its decision.” Kern County 9 Farm Bureau v. Allen, 450 F.3d 1072, 1076 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal citation omitted). 10 When the court conducts judicial review under the APA, “summary judgment is 11 an appropriate mechanism for deciding the legal question of whether the agency could 12 reasonably have found the facts as it did.” Occidental Eng’g Co. v. I.N.S., 753 F.2d 766, 13 770 (9th Cir. 1985). However, the agency is the fact finder and the court’s role “is to 14 determine whether or not as a matter of law the evidence in the administrative record 15 permitted the agency to make the decision it did.” Id. at 769. 16 III. Discussion 17 Plaintiff raises two arguments: (1) The IHO failed to properly apply the 18 “temporarily away” policy in determining that Plaintiff was not a legal resident of the 19 HPL; and (2) the IHO erred in discrediting Plaintiff’s testimony about her return visits to 20 Red Lake. (Doc. 17 at 8–18). Plaintiff thus contends ONHIR’s denial of relocation 21 benefits was arbitrary and capricious and unsupported by substantial evidence. (Id.) 22 A. Objection to Extra-Record Document 23 As a threshold matter, Defendant objects to the extra-record documents attached as 24 Exhibit A to Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. 17-1 at 1–11). 25 A reviewing court generally may not consider extra-record documents. See Lands 26 Council v. Powell, 395 F.3d 1019, 1030 (9th Cir. 2005). However, “narrowly construed 27 and applied exceptions” permit a court to admit extra-record documents: (1) if admission 28 is necessary to determine whether the agency has considered all relevant factors and has 1 explained its decision, (2) if the agency has relied on documents not in the record, (3) 2 when supplementing the record is necessary to explain technical terms or complex 3 subject matter, or (4) when plaintiffs make a showing of agency bad faith. Id. (quotations 4 and citations omitted); Fence Creek Cattle Co. v. U.S. Forest Serv., 602 F.3d 1125, 1131 5 (9th Cir. 2010). 6 Here, Exhibit A includes ONHIR’s relocation benefits application evaluation for 7 Plaintiff’s brother. (Doc. 17-1 at 1–11). Plaintiff argues the Exhibit shows that her 8 brother returned to the HPL while attending Northern Arizona University “during breaks 9 and school holidays during the school years,” which was less often than Plaintiff’s return 10 visits to Red Lake when she was in Albuquerque. (Doc. 21 at 12). Plaintiff further 11 maintains that despite her brother having fewer visits than Plaintiff, ONHIR certified 12 Plaintiff’s brother as eligible for relocation benefits. (Id.) Although Plaintiff fails to 13 articulate which narrow exception applies, the Court interprets her assertions as an 14 argument that admission is necessary to determine whether ONHIR has considered all 15 relevant factors and has explained its decision. 16 Defendant argues the Court should reject Plaintiff’s Exhibit under Tso v. Off. of 17 Navajo & Hopi Indian Relocation because the Exhibit offers “only a limited snapshot 18 into the administrative record.” (Doc.

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Salt v. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/salt-v-office-of-navajo-and-hopi-indian-relocation-azd-2023.