Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Ind. v. New York
| Decision Date | 30 May 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-CV-1114.,No. 82-CV-783.,No. 89-CV-829.,82-CV-783.,82-CV-1114.,89-CV-829. |
| Parties | The CANADIAN ST. REGIS BAND OF MOHAWK INDIANS, Plaintiff, The United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. The State of NEW YORK, George E. Pataki, as Governor of the State of New York,<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> the County of St. Lawrence, the County of Franklin, the Village of Massena, the Town of Massena, the Town of Bombay, the Town and Village of Fort Covington, Farmers National Bank, n/k/a Key Bank of Northern New York, N.A., Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Niagara Mohawk Power Co., Walsh Realty Corp. and Canadian Railways, Defendants. The Canadian St. Regis Band Of Mohawk Indians, Plaintiff, The United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. The State of New York, George E. Pataki, as Governor of the State of New York, St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., David W. Oberlin, Niagara Mohawk Power Co., and Power Authority of the State of New York, Defendants. The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council and the People of the Longhouse at Akwesasne, by The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs, Plaintiffs, The United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. The State of New York, George E. Pataki as Governor of the State of New York, County of St. Lawrence, County of Franklin, Village of Massena, Town of Massena, Town of Bombay, Town and Village of Fort Covington, Key Bank of Northern New York, N.A., Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Niagara Mohawk Power Co., Canadian National Railways, Power Authority of the State of New York; et al. individuals, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
Sonosky Chambers Sachse & Endreson (Harry R. Sachse, of counsel), Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.
Indian Law Resource Center (Steven M. Tullberg, June Lorenzo, of counsel), Washington, DC, for Plaintiff The People of the Longhouse of Akwesasne by the Mohawk National Council of chiefs.
Hobbs Straus Dean & Walker (Hans Walker, Jr., Marsha K. Schmidt, of counsel), Washington, DC, for Plaintiff The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council.
Daniel J. French, United States Attorney, Syracuse, NY, for U.S.
United States Department of Justice-Environment & Natural Resources Division (Charles Jakosa, of counsel), Washington, DC, for Plaintiff-Intervenor The United States of America.
Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York (David B. Roberts, Howard L. Swickel, Asst. Attorneys General, of counsel), Albany, NY, for Defendants State of New York and the Governor of the State of New York.
David E. Blabey (Arthur T. Cambouris, Eileen P. Flynn, of counsel), New York City, for Defendant Power Authority of State of New York.
Hiscock & Barclay, LLP (Judith M. Sayles, of counsel), Syracuse, NY, for Defendants County of St. Lawrence, County of Franklin, Village of Massena, Town of Massena, Town of Bombay, Town and Village of Fort Covington, Key Bank of Northern New York, N.A., Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Niagara Mohawk Power Co., Canadian National Railways, and for Defendant Class.
In this protracted land claim litigation, plaintiff tribes, as self-described descendants of the Village of St. Regis, seek a declaration of ownership and the right to possess approximately 12,000 acres of land in northern New York, plus damages for almost 200 years of dispossession. The tribes and plaintiff-intervenor the United States principally contend that the subject land was reserved to the Indians of the Village of St. Regis in the Treaty with the Seven Nations, 7 Stat. 55 (1796), and that defendant State of New York's acquisition of the subject lands during a period from 1816 to 1845 contravened the Indian Nonintercourse Act, 25 U.S.C. § 177.2 The tribes and the United States claim that title to the disputed property never properly passed to the State and, in turn, never properly passed to the other named defendants and members of the defendant class.
Defendants' instant Rule 12(b)(1) and (6) motions to dismiss variously assert that some or all of the claims alleged must be dismissed on a variety of grounds, including: (1) sovereign immunity, (2) lack of standing, (3) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, (4) the equitable doctrine of laches, and (5) the doctrines of res judicata or collateral estoppel. For the reasons that follow, the motions to dismiss are granted to the extent that res judicata bars the United States and the St. Regis Tribe from asserting any Nonintercourse Act claims involving the 1824 conveyance. The motions to dismiss are denied in all other respects.
Familiarity with the considerable history of these consolidated land claim actions is assumed but, for the sake of clarity and to refresh the parties' and the court's recollection, a review of the relevant procedural history and facts of each case is in order.
On July 27, 1982, the Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians, by their duly elected chief and council (Canadian Band or tribe),3 commenced this class action seeking a declaration that the descendants of the Village of St. Regis own and are entitled to possess certain land reserved to them in the Treaty with the Seven Nations of Canada, 7 Stat. 55 (1796) (attached as Exh 1 to Dkt. No. 191). The claimed lands include a six-mile square tract located in northern New York State, as well as land on or near the Grasse River (see Amended Complaint, Dkt. No. 13, ¶¶ 24-25 & Exh A.). The amended complaint alleges that various appropriations of the subject land by defendant State of New York (the State) violate the Nonintercourse Act. The Canadian Band also asserts a claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that it was deprived of rights, privileges and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States because the claimed land was taken under color of law. In addition to recovering possession of the subject land, the Canadian Band seeks damages from the State for alleged waste, and against all defendants for alleged trespass and unlawful exclusion from the land. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(1)(B), the court certified a defendant class in this action.4
Several months after filing 82-CV-783, the Canadian Band brought this action5 against the State defendants, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and the New York Power Authority (the NYPA), among others,6 seeking a declaration that it owns and is entitled to possess certain islands located in the St. Lawrence River. Specifically, the Canadian Band seeks to recover possession of the Croil Islands and Barnhart Island (see Amended Complaint, Dkt. No. 5, ¶¶ 21-23 and Prayer for Relief, ¶ 3), in addition to compensation for those submerged lands which were formerly part of Croil Island .7 The amended complaint asserts that the State's acquisition of the islands violated the Indian Nonintercourse Act and the Treaty of Ghent, 8 Stat. 218 (1814). The Canadian Band also asserts a § 1983 claim, alleging illegal deprivation of its rights under the United States Constitution, and a Fifth Amendment takings claim against the NYPA, the current possessor of the islands. In addition to the above stated relief, the Canadian Band seeks trespass damages for the alleged period of dispossession.
On June 30, 1989, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council (the St. Regis Tribe or tribe), and the People of the Longhouse at Akwesasne, by the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs (the Longhouse or tribe), commenced this defendant class action against the State and Municipal defendants, the NYPA and various individuals. Like the Canadian Band, the St. Regis Tribe and Longhouse land claims are predicated on violations of the Nonintercourse Act and the Treaty of Ghent, among others. The complaint seeks a declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 declaring that the conveyances of land reserved in the Treaty of 1796, and the conveyances with respect to Croil, Barnhart and Long Sault Islands, among others, are null and void with no legal effect.
In addition, the St. Regis Tribe and the Longhouse claim a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the subject lands were taken under color of law, depriving them of the rights, privileges and immunities secured by the United States Constitution and the various treaties. The complaint also seeks injunctive relief ejecting defendants from the above claimed lands, and damages for (1) fair market rental value, (2) the value of minerals and resources, and (3) waste, pollution and flooding.
In July 1989, the Canadian Band moved pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 42(a) to consolidate 82-CV-783 and 82-CV-1114 with the St. Regis Tribe's and Longhouse's then-newly filed action, 89-CV-829. In October of that same year, the State, the NYPA and the Municipal defendants filed pre-answer motions to dismiss in all three of these actions — 82-CV-783, 82-CV-1114 and 89-CV-829. Thereafter, in August 1991, the court consolidated the three actions. Following consolidation, the court granted a series of stays in order to facilitate ongoing negotiations between the parties. Negotiations broke down, however, and the stay was lifted in September 1996.
In November 1996, by joint motion, the above defendants renoticed their respective motions to dismiss the complaints in all three actions, supplementing the previously filed papers supporting the motions. Thereafter, at the request of the parties, the court stayed the litigation pending the Supreme Court's decision in Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho v. State of Idaho, 42 F.3d 1244 (9th Cir.1994), cert. granted, 517 U.S. 1132, 116 S.Ct. 1415, 134 L.Ed.2d 541 (1996). As a result of the stay, defendants withdrew their motions to dismiss.
In August 1997, after the Supreme Court rendered its decision in Coeur d'Alene, 521 U.S. 261, 117 S.Ct. 2028, 138...
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