Cermak v. Babbitt

• Citation: 234 F.3d 1356
• Parties: (Fed. Cir. 2000) STANLEY F. CERMAK, SR. and RAYMOND CERMAK, SR., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary of Interior, Defendant-Appellee. 00-1098 DECIDED:
• Decision Date: 13 December 2000
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Page 1356

234 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2000)

STANLEY F. CERMAK, SR. and RAYMOND CERMAK, SR., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary of Interior, Defendant-Appellee.

00-1098

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

DECIDED: December 13, 2000

Appealed from: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota Senior Judge David S. Doty

Lawrence H. Crosby, Crosby & Associates, of St. Paul, Minnesota, argued for plaintiffs-appellants.

David J. Lazerwitz, Attorney, Environmental & Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice, of Washington, DC, argued for defendant-appellee. With him on the brief were Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General; and David C. Shilton, Attorney.

Before MAYER, Chief Judge, LOURIE, and SCHALL, Circuit Judges.

SCHALL, Circuit Judge.

Stanley Francis Cermak, Sr. and Raymond Cermak, Sr. (collectively, the "Cermaks") are, respectively, the grandson and great-grandson of John Cermak. In 1944, the Department of the Interior (the "Department") assigned two parcels of land to John Cermak through the issuance of two Indian Land Certificates. After John Cermak's death in 1989, the Department canceled the land assignments. The Department asserted that the Cermaks have no rights in the parcels and that the Department instead holds the land in trust for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

The Cermaks sued the Department in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ("district court" or "court"), claiming that the Department had wrongfully deprived them of their rights in the two parcels of land. The Cermaks' complaint asserts that they have a right to occupy the land described in the Certificates and asks the court to order the Department to place the land into an Indian Land Certificate in their favor. The Cermaks also seek, in the alternative, damages in excess of $50,000 for the taking of their property.

The Department challenged the district court's jurisdiction over the Cermaks' claims. The Cermaks' complaint cites 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346 and 1353 as the basis for the district court's jurisdiction over their claims. The district court determined that 28 U.S.C. § 1346 does not confer it with jurisdiction over the claims because the Cermaks were seeking more than $10,000 in damages. Cermak v. Babbitt, No. 98-1248, slip op. at 5 (D. Minn. July 12, 1999) (order). The court also determined that 28 U.S.C. § 1353 does not confer it with jurisdiction over their claims because their claims do not concern an allotment of land, as required by that statute. Id., slip op. at 6. The court therefore held that it did not have jurisdiction over the Cermaks' claims, and transferred the case to the United States Court of Federal Claims. Id. The Cermaks appealed the transfer to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which transferred the appeal to this court. Cermak v. Babbitt, No. 99-3135 (8th Cir. Nov. 17, 1999) (judgment). We have jurisdiction over the Cermaks' appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(d)(4)(A).

We agree with the district court that neither 28 U.S.C. § 1346 nor 28 U.S.C. § 1353 confer it with jurisdiction over the Cermaks' claims. As the district court noted, § 1346 confers district courts with jurisdiction over claims against the United States that do not exceed $10,000. Because the Cermaks assert that they have been damaged in excess of $50,000, § 1346 does not provide a basis for the district court's jurisdiction over their claims. Section 1353 confers district courts with jurisdiction over civil actions "involving the right . . . to any allotment of land under any act of Congress or treaty." 28 U.S.C. § 1353. However, because we hold that the Indian Land Certificates at issue did not effect "allotments" of land, this statute also fails to provide a basis for the district court's jurisdiction over the Cermaks' claims. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's order transferring the Cermaks' case to the United States Court of Federal Claims.

BACKGROUND

I.

After the Sioux uprising in 1862, Congress terminated the trust status of the Sioux Reservation in Minnesota. Brewer v. Acting Deputy Assistant Sec'y - - Indian Affairs (Operations), 10 I.B.I.A. 110, 113-14 (1982). At the same time, it permitted some members of the Mdewakanton Sioux (the "friendly Sioux") to remain in Minnesota. Id. at 115. Pursuant to several acts of Congress, the Department purchased land in Minnesota and issued Indian Land Certificates to certain of the friendly Sioux, including John Cermak. See id. at 115-117.

Each Certificate at issue states:

It is hereby certified that John Cermak, a member of the Mdewakanton band of Sioux Indians residing in Minnesota, has been assigned the following described tract of land . . . in Scott County, Minnesota, containing 25 acres, more or less.

It is also certified that the said John Cermak and his heirs are entitled to immediate possession of said land, which is to be held in trust, by the Secretary of the Interior, for the exclusive use and benefit of the said Indian, so long as said allottee or his or her heirs occupy and use said land. If said land should be abandoned for two years by the allottee, then said land shall be subject to assignment by the Secretary of the Interior to some other Indian . . . .

It is also declared that this certificate is not transferable, and that any sale, lease, transfer or incumbrance [sic] of the said land, or any part thereof to any person or persons whomsoever, except it be to the United States, and as herein provided, is and will continue to be utterly void and of no effect. It is further declared that said land is exempt from levy, taxation, sale, or forfeiture, until otherwise provided by Congress.

When John Cermak died in 1989, his heirs asked the Department to probate his will. The Department refused, stating that it would probate estates only if the deceased Indian possessed an ownership interest in Indian Trust Lands, and asserting that John Cermak did not possess such an interest in the land at issue. The Department explained that the land encompassed by the Certificates was not individually owned land, but instead was land owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (the "Community") and held in trust by the United States for the Community's benefit.

In July of 1990, at the request of the Community, the Department canceled the Certificates that had been issued to John Cermak. The heirs of John Cermak pursued separate challenges of the Department's actions. In May of 1994, Sharon Gitchel, acting as conservator for three of John Cermak's grandchildren, petitioned the Department to place the grandchildren in possession and occupancy of the land. When the Department denied the petition, Gitchel appealed to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals ("IBIA"). The IBIA affirmed the agency's decision, determining that the Certificates did not give John Cermak any inheritable interest in the land. Gitchel v. Minneapolis Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 28 I.B.I.A. 46 (1995).

In July of 1996, Raymond Cermak, Sr. petitioned the Department to reopen the issue of the Cermaks' rights to the land. The Department denied Mr. Cermak's petition, explaining that the Indian Land Certificates conveyed only "life use" rights that could not be inherited. The Department also cited the IBIA decision in Gitchel and the IBIA's determination that the land at issue was not individually owned, but was held in trust for the Community. Mr. Cermak appealed this decision to the IBIA, which dismissed the appeal.

II.

The Cermaks brought this suit in the district court on April 27, 1998. Their complaint sets forth two causes of action. The first cause of action alleges that the Department "breached its trust responsibility" to the Cermaks by not allowing them full use of the land described in the Certificates. The Cermaks assert that this breach deprived them of their land "without compensation and in derogation of the explicit language" of the Certificates. The Cermaks allege that they were harmed "in excess of $50,000" by the loss of their rights in the land. The second cause of action alleges that the Department violated the Takings Clause of the United States Constitution by participating in the taking of a property interest from the Cermaks without providing compensation. The Cermaks assert that the Department should be ordered to place the land at issue into an Indian Land Certificate in their favor or, in the alternative, to compensate the Cermaks for the loss of the use of the land.

The Department moved to dismiss the Cermaks' complaint for lack of jurisdiction. In considering this motion, the court determined that the gravamen of the Cermaks' complaint is that the Department has "unlawfully taken their property and given it to the Community." Cermak, slip op. at 3. The court noted that the Cermaks sought an Indian Land Certificate in their favor or, alternatively, compensation for losses which they value at more than $50,000. Id. at 4.

The court noted that 28 U.S.C. § 1346 gives it jurisdiction over certain takings claims against the United States. Id. However, the court determined that there are two relevant limitations on the takings claims which it may entertain. Id. First, the relief available is limited to just compensation, and does not include equitable remedies. Id. Second, regional district courts do not have jurisdiction over claims for compensation greater that $10,000; those claims must be brought in the Court of Federal Claims. Id. at 4-5. In view of these limitations, the court held that § 1346 does not give it jurisdiction over the Cermaks' claim for injunctive (equitable) relief or for compensation in excess of $50,000. Id. at 5.

The court also considered whether 28 U.S.C. § 1353 gives it jurisdiction over the Cermaks' claims. This statute provides, in relevant part, that "[t]he district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil...