Robinson v. U.S.

• Decision Date: 02 November 2009
• Docket Number: No. 07-17052.,07-17052.
• Parties: Dennis ROBINSON; Spencer Robinson, Jr.; Rickie Robinson; Cynthia Robinson; Vickie Robinson, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, as Trustee for the Indians of the Mooretown Rancheria a.k.a. Maidu Indians of California; Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

586 F.3d 683

Dennis ROBINSON; Spencer Robinson, Jr.; Rickie Robinson; Cynthia Robinson; Vickie Robinson, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, as Trustee for the Indians of the Mooretown Rancheria a.k.a. Maidu Indians of California; Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 07-17052.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted April 17, 2009.

Filed November 2, 2009.

Joseph P. Mascovich, Randolph Cregger & Chalfant LLP, Sacramento, CA, for appellants Dennis Robinson, Spencer Robinson, Jr., Rickie Robinson, Cynthia Robinson, and Vickie Robinson.

Tamara N. Rountree, Environment & Natural Resources Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for appellee United States.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Ralph R. Beistline, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-04-00734-RRB/KJM.

Before: D.W. NELSON, Senior Circuit Judge, MARSHA S. BERZON, and RICHARD R. CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.

D.W. NELSON, Senior Circuit Judge:

The Robinsons appeal the dismissal of their complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to the sovereignty of the United States government under the Quiet Title Act. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we vacate the district court's order. We remand so that the district court may determine whether appellants may assert jurisdiction under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In the mid-1970s, Clinton and Lorene Miller and Spencer and Alverda Robinson purchased approximately 620 acres of land in Butte County, California. In 1978, a twenty-foot wide road, known as Alverda Drive, was built across Parcels 2, 3, and 4 of the lot. Alverda Drive connects several of the other parcels with local roads.

In 1979, the Robinsons and the Millers entered into a Road Maintenance Agreement (the "RMA") whereby they both agreed to bear the cost of maintaining "the roadways and drainage facilities." In 1980, the Millers gifted a portion of their land, as well as a sixty-foot "non-exclusive right of way for road and public utilities" over Parcels 2 through 4, to the Robinson family. The RMA was duly recorded.

Through a series of transactions, Parcels 2 through 4 were conveyed to the Indians of the Mooretown Rancheria, also known as the Maidu Indians of California (the "Maidu" or the "Tribe"). All of the grants noted the "60.00 foot right of way for road and public utility purposes" (the "easement"). The Maidu subsequently conveyed the parcels, subject to the easement, to the United States to hold in trust for the Tribe.

In the 1990s, the Maidu constructed homes and a casino on Parcel 4. In 2004, Dennis, Spencer, Rickie, Cynthia, and Vickie Robinson filed suit in the Eastern District of California alleging, inter alia, that an unshored slope caused subsidence and that a curb, concrete walkway, wrought iron fence, and fire hydrant encroached onto the easement. The complaint alleged disruption of lateral and subjacent support, negligence, and nuisance.

Although the Government did not dispute the existence of the easement, it filed a motion to dismiss arguing, inter alia, that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the claim due to sovereign immunity. The district court agreed and dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Robinsons then timely appealed to this court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

"Unless the jurisdictional issue is inextricable from the merits of a case, the court may determine jurisdiction on a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." Kingman Reef Atoll Invs., L.L.C. v. United States, 541 F.3d 1189, 1195 (9th Cir.2008). A district court may "hear evidence regarding jurisdiction" and "resolv[e] factual disputes where necessary." Augustine v. United States, 704 F.2d 1074, 1077 (9th Cir.1983). "[N]o presumptive truthfulness attaches to plaintiff's allegations." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). "Once challenged, the party asserting subject matter jurisdiction has the burden of proving its existence." Rattlesnake Coal. v. E.P.A., 509 F.3d 1095, 1102 n. 1 (9th Cir.2007).

"Subject matter jurisdiction determinations are subject to de novo review." State of Alaska v. Babbitt, 38 F.3d 1068, 1072 (9th Cir.1994) ("Albert"). "A district court's findings of fact relevant to its determination of subject matter jurisdiction are reviewed for clear error." Kingman, 541 F.3d at 1195.

DISCUSSION

Federal sovereign immunity insulates the United States from suit "in the absence of an express waiver of this immunity by Congress." Block v. North Dakota, 461 U.S. 273, 280, 103 S.Ct. 1811, 75 L.Ed.2d 840 (1983).

The Government argues that the Robinsons' suit falls within the purview of the Quiet Title Act ("QTA"), 28 U.S.C. § 2409a, which waives the Government's immunity in actions to quiet title. The QTA's waiver of sovereign immunity, however, "does not apply to trust or restricted Indian lands." Id. § 2409a(a).¹ When the United States "has a colorable claim" that it holds the land in trust for an Indian tribe, courts do not have jurisdiction over a quiet title claim otherwise within the scope of the QTA. State of Alaska v. Babbitt, 182 F.3d 672, 675 (9th Cir.1999) ("Bryant"); Albert, 38 F.3d at 1072-73; Wildman v. United States, 827 F.2d 1306, 1309 (9th Cir.1987). There is no dispute that the Government holds the land in trust for the Maidu. Thus, if the Robinsons' suit falls within the substantive scope of the QTA, their claims must fail for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the QTA "provide[s] the exclusive means by which adverse claimants [can] challenge the United States' title to real property." Block, 461 U.S. at 286, 103 S.Ct. 1811 (emphasis added); cf. Bryant, 182 F.3d at 674 (noting that plaintiffs could not avoid the Indian lands exception of the QTA by claiming jurisdiction under the Administrative Procedure Act).

The Robinsons argue that the QTA does not apply to their suit because theirs is not an action to quiet title; rather, they allege tort claims that fall within the purview of the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b)(1), 2674. Under the FTCA, there is no "Indian lands" exception. See id. Thus, if the QTA would not substantively apply but for the Indian Lands Exception, remand would be appropriate to determine whether jurisdiction over their suit lies under the FTCA.

Under the QTA,

The United States may be named as a party defendant in a civil action under this section to adjudicate a disputed title to real property in which the United States claims an interest, other than a security interest or water rights.

28 U.S.C. § 2409a(a) (emphasis added).

For a court to exercise jurisdiction under the QTA, "(1) the United States must claim an interest in the property at issue, and (2) there must be a disputed title to real property." Leisnoi, Inc. v. United States, 170 F.3d 1188, 1191 (9th Cir.1999). Only the second requirement is at issue in this appeal.

This court has repeatedly held that both disputes over the right to an easement and suits seeking a declaration as to the scope of an easement fall within the purview of the QTA. See, e.g., Skranak v. Castenada, 425 F.3d 1213, 1218 (9th Cir.2005) (dispute over plaintiff's right to an easement over national forest); McFarland v. Norton, 425 F.3d 724, 726-27 (9th Cir.2005) (dispute over plaintiff's right to access a route through a national park); Michel v. United States, 65 F.3d 130, 131-33 (9th Cir.1995) (per curiam) (dispute regarding the scope of easement over national wildlife refuge); Shultz v. Dep't of Army, 886 F.2d 1157, 1159-61 (9th Cir.1989) (dispute arising because the army erected a fence and gate preventing public access to road even though federal land acquisition was "made `subject to valid existing rights'"); Narramore v. United States, 852 F.2d 485, 490-92 (9th Cir.1988) (dispute over whether flooding exceeded the scope of an easement).

The Robinsons argue that unlike the plaintiffs described above, they do not seek a declaration either establishing their right to the easement or determining its scope; rather, they seek relief in tort. That is so. However, although the Robinsons' complaint does not seek a declaration of title as a remedy, resolution of their tort claims may require the court to consider the terms of the easement. Whether such a suit falls within the scope of the QTA is a question of first impression.

We look to the QTA to outline the boundaries of the United States' consent to suit and rely upon our familiar principles of statutory construction. "The purpose of statutory construction is to discern the intent of Congress in enacting a particular statute." United States v. Daas, 198 F.3d 1167, 1174 (9th Cir.1999). "The first step in ascertaining congressional intent is to look to the plain language of the statute." Id. "The plain meaning of the statute controls, and courts will look no further, unless its application leads to unreasonable or impracticable results." Id. "[I]n ascertaining the plain meaning of the statute, the court must [also] look to . . . the language and design of the statute as a whole." Nadarajah v. Gonzales, 443 F.3d 1069, 1076 (9th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). Finally, "[i]f the statute is ambiguous . . . [,] courts may look to its legislative history for evidence of congressional intent." Daas, 198 F.3d at 1174.

We therefore first turn to the text of the statute and the phrase "adjudicate a disputed title." The word "adjudicate" is defined as, inter alia, (1) "to settle finally (the rights and duties of the parties to a court case) on the merits of issues raised"; or (2) "to pass judgment on." WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 27 (1968); see Johnson v. Aljian, 490 F.3d 778, 780 (9th Cir.2007) (following "the common practice of consulting...