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Wichita & Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma v. Hodel

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit · Civil Procedure

Civil ProcedureRule 19Indispensable PartiesTribal ImmunityAdministrative LawRule 19indispensable partiesrequired parties

Facts

In 1963 the Department of the Interior restored land for the use and benefit of the Wichita and Affiliated Bands, whose original unified tribal entity had been succeeded by the Wichitas, the Caddos, and the Delawares. For roughly fifteen years the three tribes agreed to divide income from the land equally, but after that agreement collapsed the Department and then the IBIA addressed how trust income should be distributed. The IBIA held that current and future funds should be distributed according to the tribes' current relative populations at the time the funds accrue, and that past equal distributions should not be retroactively reallocated because the tribes had acquiesced in that scheme. The Assistant Secretary later froze population figures as of the date of the IBIA decision rather than providing for future readjustments, and the Caddos sought retroactive relief through a cross-claim that would reduce the future shares of the other tribes.

Issue

Whether the Caddos' cross-claim for retroactive redistribution could proceed when the Wichitas and Delawares had not expressly consented to be parties to that cross-claim and were protected by tribal immunity; whether the IBIA lawfully chose a current population-based distribution method rather than equal or 1891-based shares; and whether the Assistant Secretary could freeze population figures at a single date despite the IBIA's directive.

Rule

Indian tribes may consent to suit, but the consent must be unequivocally expressed and is not implied from participation in related litigation. Under Rule 19, a party whose interest in the subject matter would as a practical matter be impaired by the litigation is required, and if that party cannot be joined because of tribal immunity, the court must dismiss the claim if in equity and good conscience the absent party is indispensable. An agency must implement an IBIA ruling consistently with that ruling, and where the IBIA requires allocation based on current relative populations at the time funds accrue, the agency may not permanently freeze population figures at one date.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

A federal agency manages royalties from restored land for three successor tribes in New Mexico. The Mesa Azul Tribe sues the agency in federal court over the formula for future distributions, and the Red Willow Tribe voluntarily intervenes as a defendant to protect its current share; later, the Sand Creek Tribe files a cross-claim seeking retroactive credits from future distributions that would reduce Red Willow's share, and Red Willow objects on tribal-immunity grounds.

Should the federal court hear the Sand Creek Tribe's cross-claim against the agency without Red Willow as a party to that cross-claim?

Explanation. The majority held that a tribe may waive immunity by unequivocal express consent, including voluntary intervention as a defendant, but that waiver is claim-specific. Intervention in the original suit does not automatically waive immunity as to a later cross-claim seeking relief that would diminish the tribe's share. Because competing beneficiaries to a common trust fund are required parties, and because relief for one tribe would necessarily reduce the others' percentages, the absent tribe is indispensable under Rule 19(b); the cross-claim must be dismissed.