White Mountain Apache Tribe v. United States

46 Fed. Cl. 20, 1999 U.S. Claims LEXIS 272, 1999 WL 1060704
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedNovember 19, 1999
DocketNo. 99-148L
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 46 Fed. Cl. 20 (White Mountain Apache Tribe v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White Mountain Apache Tribe v. United States, 46 Fed. Cl. 20, 1999 U.S. Claims LEXIS 272, 1999 WL 1060704 (uscfc 1999).

Opinion

[22]*22OPINION

FIRESTONE, Judge.

This case comes before the court on defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The dispute arises over the federal government’s alleged breach of trust to plaintiff, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, with respect to certain property, and improvements thereon, held by defendant in trust for the Tribe. The property and improvements involved, known as “Fort Apache” and the Theodore Roosevelt School, are located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in the White Mountains of east-central Arizona. Plaintiff alleges that defendant breached fiduciary obligations owed to plaintiff in failing to maintain, protect, repair and preserve the trust property. Plaintiff seeks damages in the amount of $14,000,000.

Defendant argues that plaintiff fails to state a claim for which relief may be granted, asserting that it owes no trust obligation with respect to the subject property that would give rise to a claim for money damages. Defendant further argues that plaintiffs claim is time barred by the six-year statute of limitations imposed on claims for money damages in this court. After carefully considering the arguments of the parties, the court hereby GRANTS defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted.

FACTS

This controversy involves land and various improvements thereon, known as “Fort Apache,” located within the Fort Apache Indian reservation in east-central Arizona. The United States Army established Fort Apache.in 1870. During the 1920’s, Congress placed the Fort under the control of the Department of the Interior and reserved a portion of the Fort for use as the Theodore Roosevelt Indian Boarding School.1 The school presently continues to operate for a small number of students.2 By Act of March 18, 1960, Congress declared the Fort Apache land, together with the improvements thereon, “be held by the United States in trust for the White Mountain Apache Tribe, subject to the right of the Secretary of the Interior to use any part of the land and improvements for administrative or school purposes for as long as they are needed for that purpose.”3 In November 1965, the Tribe governing council resolved that the area should be placed on the National Historic Register. The National Park Service designated the Fort as a National Historic Site in 1976.

Plaintiff alleges in its complaint that the defendant has allowed the Fort Apache land and improvements to fall into disrepair, and in some cases, buildings have even been demolished, under its use, occupancy, control, supervision, management, and administration. Plaintiff alleges that in 1993, recognizing the extent of the deterioration, it began to take steps to protect the Fort. As part of this effort, plaintiff adopted a master plan for protection, preservation, and restoration of the Fort. Thereafter, in September 1997, the Fort was placed on the World Monument Watch “1998 List of 100 Most Endangered Monuments.” The following year, in November 1998, the Tribe commissioned a study of the buildings and obtained cost estimates for their restoration and preservation. Plaintiff further alleges:mat the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) have failed to perform the necessary maintenance and repairs to the properties.

In the eomplaint filed in this court on March 19, 1999, plaintiff seeks $14,000,000 in [23]*23damages for breach of trust, so that the Tribe can repair and restore the trust property. Plaintiff also seeks unspecified compensation for the “economic loss and value of lease/rental fees for the subject trust corpus.” On May 19, 1999, defendant moved to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted and lack of jurisdiction. In particular, defendant denies that it has any trust responsibility to restore or maintain Fort Apache and the Theodore Roosevelt School in a fashion that could give rise to a money-damages claim. In addition, defendant argues that plaintiffs claim is, in any event, barred by the six-year statute of limitations governing suits filed under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1491 and 1505 because plaintiff knew or should have known of the deteriorated state of the property for more than six years.

The motion has been fully briefed and oral argument was held on November 8, 1999. For the reasons that follow, defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(4) is granted.

DISCUSSION

1. Motion to Dismiss

The standard for deciding a motion to dismiss is well settled. In deciding a motion to dismiss, “whether on the ground of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, or for failure to state a cause of action,” the court must construe the allegations of the complaint most favorably to the pleader. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); see Morris v. United States, 33 Fed.Cl. 733, 741 (1995). In addition, the court must accept as true any undisputed allegations of fact made by plaintiff. See Haberman v. United States, 26 Cl.Ct. 1405, 1410 (1992). Ultimately, however, the burden is on plaintiff to establish jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence. See Reynolds v. Army & Air Force Exch. Serv., 846 F.2d 746, 748 (Fed.Cir.1988).

2. Breach of Trust

Plaintiff bases the court’s jurisdiction over this action on the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a) (1994) and the Indian Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1505 (1994). The Tucker Act grants this court jurisdiction over actions “founded either upon the Constitution, or any Act of Congress or any regulation of an executive department, or upon any express or implied contract with the United States, or for liquidated or unliquidated damages in cases not sounding in tort.” 28 U.S.C. § 1491. Section 1505 confers jurisdiction on this court to hear any tribal claim that “is one which otherwise would be cognizable in the Court of Federal Claims if the claimant were not an Indian tribe____” 28 U.S.C. § 1505.

Neither section 1491 nor section 1505, however, creates a substantive right against the United States for money damages. See United States v. Testan, 424 U.S. 392, 398, 96 S.Ct. 948, 47 L.Ed.2d 114 (1976). These acts are merely jurisdictional. Where plaintiff has alleged a breach of trust, as in the instant case, the court must first decide the threshold issue of whether the statute or regulations cited by plaintiff create a fiduciary duty on behalf of the defendant, the breach of which would give rise to a claim for money damages.

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Bluebook (online)
46 Fed. Cl. 20, 1999 U.S. Claims LEXIS 272, 1999 WL 1060704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-mountain-apache-tribe-v-united-states-uscfc-1999.