Wolfchild v. Redwood County

112 F. Supp. 3d 866, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74316, 2015 WL 3616058
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Wolfchild v. Redwood County. Read the opinion of the Court — 91 F. Supp. 3d 1093
District Court, D. Minnesota·Decided June 9, 2015·No. Civil No. 14-1597 (MJD/FLN)·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF LAW & ORDER

MICHAEL J., DAVIS, Chief Judge.

I. Summary of Decision

In this case, Plaintiffs seek possessory rights and damages concerning a twelve square mile area of land in southwestern Minnesota. In order to obtain such relief, Plaintiffs sought to eject an Indian Tribe from .reservation lands and seventy-five private landowners, who, together with their ancestors, have possessed the land at issue for over one hundred and fifty years.

Prior to bringing this action, Plaintiffs and them counsel, Erick Kaardal, litigated related claims against the United States before the Court of Federal Claims for over eleven years, which resulted in nine published opinions. A review of those nine opinions demonstrates the breadth and depth of the issues thát weré actually litigated. Those nine opinions also assist in demonstrating that the claims asserted in this case are so completely frivolous and without a factual or legal basis that they had to have been brought in bad faith. ■ As will be discussed in detail below, such conduct warrants severe sanctions against both Plaintiffs and their counsel.

Accordingly, the Court will grant Defendants’ motions for sanctions and order Plaintiffs and their counsel to pay Defendants their reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. In addition, Plaintiffs shall post an appeal bond in the amount of $200,000.

II. Background

On May 20, 2014, Plaintiffs commenced this action seeking damages and possession of certain' lands on behalf of themselves and ’ others • similarly situated. Plaintiffs claim to be- the lineal descendants of a group of Mdewakanton Sioux who -assisted white settlers1 during the Sioux uprising in 1862, and whose conduct was recognized by Congress in Section 9 of the Act of February 16, 1863 (“1863 Act”).

[T]he Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to set apart of the public lands, not otherwise appropriated, eighty acres in severalty to each individual of the before-named bands who exerted himself in , rescuing the whites from the late massacre [by] said Indians. The land so set apart ..... shall,not be aliened or devised, except by the consent of the President of the United States, but shall be an inheritance to said Indians and their heirs-forever.

1863 Act, 12 Stat. at 654.

Plaintiffs further allege that in 1865, the Secretary used his authority under the 1863 Act to set aside a 12 square mile reservation for the loyal Sioux, and as a result, Plaintiffs have the right to exclusive title, occupancy and use and the right of quiet enjoyment to such 12 square mile reservation. The named defendants in this case are those individuals or entities that currently possess lands or hold property rights to land within the 12 square mile: reservation at issue. Plaintiffs allege the proposed class is believed to .exceed 20,000 members.

Despite the fact that Plaintiffs’ claims accrued approximately one hundred and fifty years ago, Plaintiffs asked the Court to eject the defendants from the land and to award Plaintiffs’ trespass damages. In other words, Plaintiffs sought a remedy that would result in private landowners being dispossessed of lands and real property. that they and their ancestors had owned for over a hundred years, an Indian tribe being dispossessed of reservation lands that are held in trust for the tribe by the United States, municipalities losing the ability to obtain reimbursement in the form of taxes and assessments for the building of roads and- other improvements, and a church being forced to move from [871]*871land that was transferred to the Reverend Henry Whipple, Episcopal Bishop, from Andrew Good Thunder for the sum of $1.00.

By Order dated March 5, 2015, this Court granted Defendants’ motions to dismiss this action with prejudice. The Court found that not only did Plaintiffs fail to assert a claim for relief, but that the action had to be dismissed for the equitable reason that Plaintiffs had waited too long to bring an action with respect to the property at issue. In addition, the Court found that it had no subject matter jurisdiction to address the claims against the Lower Sioux Indian Community (the “Community”) as the Community was entitled to sovereign immunity against the claims asserted. Plaintiffs have filed a notice of appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals h

This'matter is now before the Court on the Defendants’ motions for sanctions pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and this Court’s inherent authority on the grounds that'Plaintiffs and their counsel knowingly commenced and prosecuted this frivolous action on legal theories that are not supported by existing law or that involve a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying or reversing existing law' or to establish new law.

The Defendants also move the Court to order Plaintiffs to post an appeal bond covering the costs of the appeal itself -and the potential damages to-be incurred by Defendants as a result of having the titles on their property clouded by the pending appeal. Also before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion to take judicial notice arid the Municipal Defendant’s motion to review taxation of costs.

III. Sanctions

A. Standard

Pursuant to Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, when filing a complaint, motion or other pleading, the attorney:

certifies to the best of the person’s knowledge, infonnation, and belief, formed after, an inquiry reasonable un.der the circumstances:
(1) it is not being presented for any improper, purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation;
(2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law;
• • (3) the factual contentions have evi-dentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery

“If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the court determines that Rule 11(b) has been violated, the court may impose .an appropriate sanction on any attorney, law firm, or party that violated the rule or is responsible for the [872]*872violation. Absent exceptional circumstances, á law firm must be held jointly responsible for a violation committed by its partner, associate, or employee.” Rule 11(c)(1).

Rule 11 further provides:

A motion for sanctions must be made separately from any other motion and must describe the specific conduct that allegedly violates Rule 11(b).

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Wolfchild v. Redwood County, 112 F. Supp. 3d 866, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74316, 2015 WL 3616058 (mnd 2015).

112 F. Supp. 3d 866 (Wolfchild v. Redwood County) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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