Patchak v. Salazar

Decision Date19 August 2009
Docket NumberCivil Action No. 08-1331(RJL).
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Columbia
PartiesDavid PATCHAK, Plaintiff, v. Ken L. SALAZAR, Secretary of the Interior, and Larry Echo Hawk, In his official capacity as Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs,<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> Defendants, and Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, Intervenor-Defendant.

Tobey B. Marzouk, Marzouk & Parry, Washington, DC, Bruce A. Courtade, Gregory G. Timmer, Rhoades McKee, Grand Rapids, MI, for Plaintiff.

Gina L. Allery, Patricia Miller, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

Conly J. Schulte, Shilee Therkelsen Mullin, Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP, Omaha, NE, Demian Shipe Ahn, Ethan G. Shenkman, Seth P. Waxman, Wilmer Cutler Pickering, Hale & Dorr LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor-Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION [# 19, # 20, # 36, # 41, # 46, # 52]

RICHARD J. LEON, District Judge.

Plaintiff David Patchak brings this lawsuit challenging the Secretary of the Interior's ("Secretary" or "United States") decision to take into trust two parcels of land in Allegan County, Michigan, on behalf of intervenor-defendant Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (the "Tribe") pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act ("IRA"), 25 U.S.C. § 465. Plaintiff seeks an injunction barring the Secretary from taking the land into trust on the basis that the Tribe was not under Federal jurisdiction in June 1934, as required by the IRA. (Compl. ¶ 28 [Dkt. # 1].) Presently before the Court is the United States' Motion to Dismiss [Dkt. # 20], the Tribe's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Dkt. # 19], and plaintiffs motions for preliminary injunctive relief [Dkt. # s 36, 46]. Because plaintiff fails to establish prudential standing, the Court will GRANT the Motion to Dismiss and Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and will DENY the motions for preliminary injunctive relief.

BACKGROUND

In May 2005, the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of Interior announced that it would take 147 acres of land in Wayland Township, Michigan, (the "Bradley Property") into trust for the Tribe pursuant to section 5 of the IRA, (Compl. ¶ 21), which authorizes the Secretary to take land into trust "for the purpose of providing land for Indians."2 Notice of Final Agency Determination to take Land into Trust Under 25 C.F.R. Part 151, 70 Fed.Reg. 25,596 (Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior, May 13, 2005). The Tribe had petitioned Interior in 2001 to take the property into trust, and the Tribe plans to construct and operate a casino on the property to promote economic self-sufficiency and advance its members' economic well-being. (Compl. ¶ 20); see generally Michigan Gambling Opposition v. Kempthorne, 525 F.3d 23, 26 (D.C.Cir.2008) ("MichGO II").

Shortly after Interior's announcement, the non-profit membership organization Michigan Gambling Opposition ("MichGO") filed a lawsuit in this district in an effort to obstruct the proposed casino.3 MichGO alleged that Interior's approval of the casino violated both the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ("IGRA"), 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq., and the National Environmental Protection Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq. MichGO also contended that section 5 of the IRA was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants in February 2007, Michigan Gambling Opposition v. Norton, 477 F.Supp.2d 1, 22 (D.D.C.2007) ("MichGO I"), and our Court of Appeals affirmed in April 2008, MichGO II, 525 F.3d at 26. MichGO's petition for rehearing en banc review was subsequently denied in July 2008.4 Michigan Gambling Opposition v. Kempthorne, No. 07-5092 (D.C.Cir., Order filed July 25, 2008) ("MichGo III").

Plaintiff filed the present lawsuit shortly thereafter, on August 1, 2008, pursuant to § 702 of the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"). Plaintiff alleges that the Tribe was not under Federal jurisdiction in June 1934, when the IRA was enacted, and therefore Interior lacks authority to take the Bradley Property into trust for the Tribe under section 5 of the IRA. (Compl. ¶¶ 25-33.) Plaintiff further alleges that if the property is taken into trust, his rural lifestyle and community will be adversely affected by the proposed casino.5 (Compl. ¶ 9.) The catalyst for plaintiffs lawsuit— filed three years after Interior's announcement of its decision to take the land into trust—was the Supreme Court's grant of a petition for a writ of certiorari in February 2008 to review the First Circuit's unrelated decision in Carcieri v. Kempthorne, 497 F.3d 15 (1st Cir.2007), certiorari granted in part, ___ U.S. ____, 128 S.Ct. 1443, 170 L.Ed.2d 274 (2008).6 (See Compl. ¶¶ 29-30, 33). In Carcieri, the First Circuit had held that Interior had the authority to take land into trust for the Narragansett Indian Tribe in Rhode Island under section 5 of the IRA despite the fact that the tribe was not under Federal jurisdiction when the IRA was enacted.7 Carcieri, 497 F.3d at 34.

On October 6, 2008, both the United States and the Tribe filed Rule 12 motions seeking judgment in their favor on the basis that plaintiff lacks prudential standing.8 While the United States' and the Tribe's motions were pending, plaintiff filed two motions for preliminary relief seeking orders enjoining Interior from taking the land into trust if, and when, the Supreme Court denied MichGO's petition for a writ of certiorari.9 The Court heard oral argument on plaintiffs motions for preliminary injunctive relief on January 26, 2009, at which time the Court denied plaintiffs request for a temporary restraining order and took plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction under advisement.10 For the following reasons, the Court agrees that plaintiff, at a minimum, lacks prudential standing to challenge Interior's authority pursuant to section 5 of the IRA.

ANALYSIS

The United States and the Tribe argue that plaintiff's interests are fundamentally at odds with the purpose of the IRA and therefore plaintiff does not fall within the IRA's "zone of interests" and lacks prudential standing. I agree.

Standing to pursue a claim encompasses two components: constitutional and prudential. Hazardous Waste Treatment Council v. EPA, 861 F.2d 277, 281 (D.C.Cir.1988). As to the former, a plaintiff must allege "that he has suffered injury in fact, that the injury is fairly traceable to the actions of the defendant, and that the injury will likely be redressed by a favorable decision." Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 162, 117 S.Ct. 1154, 137 L.Ed.2d 281 (1997) (internal quotation marks omitted). As to the latter, the "plaintiff's grievance must arguably fall within the zone of interests protected or regulated by the statutory provision or constitutional guarantee invoked in the suit." Id. (citing Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 751, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984)); Nat'l Ass'n of Home Builders v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 417 F.3d 1272, 1287 (D.C.Cir.2005). If a plaintiff's claim fails either component, the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the lawsuit.

While the prudential standing requirement is "not meant to be especially demanding," it excludes plaintiffs whose interests are "so marginally related to or inconsistent with the purposes implicit in the statute that it cannot reasonably be assumed that Congress intended to permit the suit." Clarke v. Sec. Indus. Ass'n, 479 U.S. 388, 399-400, 107 S.Ct. 750, 93 L.Ed.2d 757 (1987); Hazardous Waste Treatment Council, 861 F.2d at 283 (prudential standing test "demands less than a showing of congressional intent to benefit but more than a `marginal relationship' to the statutory purposes" (internal alteration omitted)). Indeed, the idea behind the requirement is "a presumption that Congress intends to deny standing to `those plaintiffs whose suits are more likely to frustrate than to further statutory objectives.'" Hazardous Waste Treatment Council v. Thomas, 885 F.2d 918, 922 (D.C.Cir.1989) ("Thomas") (quoting Clarke, 479 U.S. at 397, n. 12, 107 S.Ct. 750). Where, as here, a plaintiff's claim is brought pursuant to the judicial review provisions of the APA, the Court looks to interests protected by the substantive provisions of the underlying statute. See Bennett, 520 U.S. at 175, 117 S.Ct. 1154; see also Mova Pharm. Corp. v. Shalala, 140 F.3d 1060, 1074 (D.C.Cir.1998) ("The first step in the prudential standing analysis is to identify the interests protected by the statute.").

Plaintiff, without a doubt, is not an intended beneficiary of the IRA. The purpose and intent of the IRA is to enable tribal self-determination, self-government, and self-sufficiency in the aftermath of "a century of oppression and paternalism." Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 U.S. 145, 152, 93 S.Ct. 1267, 36 L.Ed.2d 114 (1973) (citing H.R.Rep. No. 1804, 73d Cong.2d Sess., 6 (1934)). As the Supreme Court itself noted, "[t]he overriding purpose of [the IRA] was to establish machinery whereby Indian tribes would be able to assume a greater degree of self-government, both politically and economically." Morton v. Mancari, 417 U.S. 535, 542, 94 S.Ct. 2474, 41 L.Ed.2d 290 (1974); see also MichGO II, 525 F.3d at 32 (overall purpose of the IRA is to "advance[e] economic development among American Indians"); Feezor v. Babbitt, 953 F.Supp. 1, 5 (D.D.C. 1996). In addition, Section 5's grant of authority to the Secretary to take land into trust at his discretion for Indians and Indian tribes serves the specific purpose of reversing the consequences of the federal government's previous allotment policy, which had resulted in many tribal lands being lost. See MichGO II, 525 F.3d at 31-32 (discussing section 5's role as part of a "broad effort to promote economic development among American Indians, with a special emphasis on preventing and recouping losses of land...

To continue reading

Request your trial
8 cases
  • Patchak v. Salazar, 09–5324.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia)
    • 28 Marzo 2011
    ...“at a minimum, lacks prudential standing to challenge Interior's authority pursuant to section 5 of the IRA.” Patchak v. Salazar, 646 F.Supp.2d 72, 76 (D.D.C.2009). The court reasoned that Patchak's “interests do not only not fall within the IRA's zone-of-interests, but actively run contrar......
  • Sierra Club v. Trump, 19-16102
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
    • 3 Julio 2019
    ...an Indian, nor [did] he purport to seek to protect or vindicate the interests of any Indians or Indian tribes." Patchak v. Salazar , 646 F. Supp. 2d 72, 77 (D.D.C. 2009). And in Air Courier Conference of America v. American Postal Workers Union , 498 U.S. 517, 111 S.Ct. 913, 112 L.Ed.2d 112......
  • Patchak v. Zinke, 16–498.
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • 27 Febrero 2018
    ...standing to bring it. The District Court granted the Secretary's motion to dismiss, but the D.C. Circuit reversed. Patchak v. Salazar, 646 F.Supp.2d 72 (D.D.C.2009), rev'd, 632 F.3d 702 (2011). This Court granted certiorari and affirmed the D.C. Circuit. Match–E–Be–Nash–She–Wish Band of Pot......
  • Patchak v. Zinke
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • 27 Febrero 2018
    ...standing to bring it. The District Court granted the Secretary's motion to dismiss, but the D.C. Circuit reversed. Patchak v. Salazar, 646 F.Supp.2d 72 (D.D.C.2009), rev'd, 632 F.3d 702 (2011). This Court granted certiorari and affirmed the D.C. Circuit. Match–E–Be–Nash–She–Wish Band of Pot......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • AGAINST CONGRESSIONAL CASE SNATCHING.
    • United States
    • 1 Febrero 2021
    ...late for the Bradley Property to be put into trust for the band under the terms of the IRA. Id. (168.) Id. (169.) Patchak v. Salazar, 646 F. Supp. 2d 72, 76 (D.D.C. 2009), rev'd, 632 F.3d 702 (D.C. Cir. 2011). (170.) Patchak v. Salazar, 632 F.3d 702, 704-07 (D.C. Cir. 2011), aff'd, 567 U.S.......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT