Oneida Indian Nation of New York v. New York, 574-CV-187 LEK/DRH.

• Decision Date: 21 May 2007
• Docket Number: No. 574-CV-187 LEK/DRH.,574-CV-187 LEK/DRH.
• Citation: 500 F.Supp.2d 128
• Parties: The ONEIDA INDIAN NATION OF NEW YORK, The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, and The Oneida of the Thames, Plaintiffs, and The United States of America, and The New York Brothertown Indian Nation, Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. The State of NEW YORK, The County of Madison, New York, and The County of Oneida, New York, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

500 F.Supp.2d 128

The ONEIDA INDIAN NATION OF NEW YORK, The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, and The Oneida of the Thames, Plaintiffs, and The United States of America, and The New York Brothertown Indian Nation, Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. The State of NEW YORK, The County of Madison, New York, and The County of Oneida, New York, Defendants.

No. 574-CV-187 LEK/DRH.

United States District Court, N.D. New York.

May 21, 2007.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Caroline A. Judge, William W. Taylor, III, Michael R. Smith, Zuckerman, Spaeder Law Firm, Arlinda Faye Locklear, Office of Arlinda Locklear, Washington, DC, Meghan Murphy Beakman, Peter D. Carmen, Oneida Indian Nation, Verona, NY, Rowan D. Wilson, Cravath, Swaine Law Firm, Carey R. Ramos, Paul, Weiss Law Firm, Robert S. Smith, Office of Robert S. Smith, New York City, Daan Braveman, Nazareth College, Rochester, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Steven Miskinis, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, William H. Pease, Office of the United States Attorney, Syracuse, NY, Marilyn Ward Ford, Quinnipiac Law School, Hamden, CT, for Plaintiffs-Intervenors.

Christopher W. Hall, David B. Roberts, Office of Attorney General, Albany, NY, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER

KAHN, District Judge.

This action is brought by three Oneida tribal groups — the Oneida Indian Nation of New York ("New York Oneidas"), the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, and the Oneida of the Thames (collectively, the "Oneidas" or "Plaintiffs"). Plaintiffs seek redress for allegedly unlawful transfers of approximately 250,000 acres of land in central New York. The United States intervened as a plaintiff in this action in March, 1998. Presently before the Court is a Motion for summary judgment submitted on behalf of defendants, the State of New York (the "State") and the Counties of Oneida and Madison (the "Counties") (collectively, "Defendants"). See Defts' Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 582).

I. Historical Background

At the time of the American Revolution, the Oneida Indian Nation, of which Plaintiffs are direct descendants, was one of the six nations of the Iroquois, or Haudenosaunee, Confederation, which was then the most powerful Indian tribe in the Northeast. County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y., 470 U.S. 226, 230, 105 S.Ct. 1245, 84 L.Ed.2d 169 (1985) ("Oneida II"). The Oneidas actively aided the colonists during the Revolution, even while most of the Iroquois sided with the British. Id. at 231, 105 S.Ct. 1245. In recognition of this vital aid, the United States guaranteed certain lands to the Oneidas. Id. The 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua was one of a series of treaties in which "the National Government promised that the Oneidas would be secure in the possession of the lands on which they settled." Id.

In 1788, the Oneidas ceded most of their six (6) million acre homeland to the State, reserving only 300,000 acres for themselves. Joseph Singer, Nine-Tenths of the Law: Title Possession & Sacred Obligation, 38 Conn. L.Rev. 605, 612 (2006). Commentators note that while the Oneidas made the decision to proceed with the transfer of their aboriginal lands, they likely did so under great duress. Id. The Oneidas bring this action to vindicate their tribal rights in approximately 250,000 acres of land located generally in the Counties; this land comprises a small fraction of their original lands and was specifically guaranteed to the Oneidas "use and cultivation" by the Treaty of Canandaigua. See id; Amended Complaint (Dkt. No. 582, Attach.6, Ex. A) at ¶ 1; Plntfs' Stat. of Mat. Facts (Dkt. No. 599, Attach.2) at ¶ 1.

Plaintiffs allege that the claimed land was wrongfully acquired or transferred from them by the State through a series of transactions in violation of the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, codified as 25 U.S.C. 177 (the "Nonintercourse Act"), the Treaty of Canandaigua, and federal common law. Id. This action and other related Indian land claims have a long and tortured procedural history; familiarity with the history and the detailed factual record in this case is presumed.¹

Plaintiffs are the heirs and political successors to the aboriginal Oneida Indian Nation that occupied the claimed land from time immemorial. Id. at ¶ 11. Plaintiffs are also the heirs to a long and proud history; a history that is filled with a number of betrayals. As part of that history, Plaintiffs inherited the legal claim to right the historic wrongs born of actions that can only be seen as grave injustices. The courts have held themselves open to Plaintiffs' land claims for generations, however, recent legal developments raise the possibility that this Court might be compelled to close its doors now. The Court does not believe that the higher courts intended to or have barred Plaintiffs from receiving any relief; to do so would deny the Oneidas the right to seek redress for long-suffered wrongs. For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants Defendants' Motion for summary judgment in part and denies the Motion in part.

II. Background Related to Present Motion

Defendants argue that recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit mandate dismissal of the claims asserted by the Oneidas (and the United States on their behalf) in the instant case. Defts' Mem. of Law (Dkt. No. 582, Attach.3) at 2-3. In March, 2005, the Supreme Court issued its decision in City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, 544 U.S. 197, 125 S.Ct. 1478, 161 L.Ed.2d 386 (2005). In Sherrill, the Supreme Court held that equitable principles barred the New York Oneidas from reasserting tribal sovereignty over land they had purchased that was within the boundaries of the Oneidas' former reservation area. Id. Following the Sherrill decision, the Second Circuit held in Cayuga Indian Nation of New York v. Pataki, 413 F.3d 266 (2d Cir.2005), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 126 S.Ct. 2021, 2022, 164 L.Ed.2d 780 (2006), that disruptive possessory land claims are subject to the equitable doctrines, specifically laches, applied in Sherrill. Id. at 275. Defendants assert that the heart of Plaintiffs' case is the claim that they have a current possessory interest in the claim area that dates back to time immemorial, which was recognized by the United States in the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, and that has never been extinguished. Defts' Mem. of Law (Dkt. No. 582, Attach.3) at 16. Accordingly, Defendants suggest that Plaintiffs' claims are foreclosed by Sherrill and Cayuga and must be dismissed. Plaintiffs respond that: (1) Defendants have ignored the Oneidas' non-possessory claim to compel the State of New York to pay fair compensation for the Oneidas' land based on its value when the State acquired it; and (2) their trespass damages claims cannot be barred by laches without further discovery of facts related to the delay in bringing the claims and the prejudice that may result from those claims. Plntfs' Mem. of Law (Dkt. No. 599, Attach.1) at 1-2.

III. Discussion

A. Standard of Review

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment is proper when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Courts applying this standard must "resolve all ambiguities, and credit all factual inferences that could rationally be drawn, in favor of the party opposing summary judgment." Brown v. Henderson, 257 F.3d 246, 251 (2d Cir. 2001) (quoting Cifra v. Gen. Elec. Co., 252 F.3d 205, 216 (2d Cir.2001)).

Once the moving party meets its initial burden by demonstrating that no material fact exists for trial, the nonmovant "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (citations omitted). The nonmovant "must come forth with evidence sufficient to allow a reasonable jury to find in her favor." Brown, 257 F.3d at 251 (citation omitted). Bald assertions or conjecture unsupported by evidence are insufficient to overcome a motion for summary judgment. Carey v. Crescenzi, 923 F.2d 18, 21 (2d Cir.1991); W. World Ins. Co. v. Stack Oil, Inc., 922 F.2d 118, 121 (2d Cir.1990).

B. Laches Bar Plaintiffs' Possessory Land Claims

1. Reconsideration of Defendants' Laches Defense

Defendants assert that the Cayuga decision, which dismissed land claims brought by the Cayuga Nation, means that the Second Circuit has already determined that the very claims at issue in this case are barred by laches. Defts' Mem. of Law (Dkt. No. 582, Attach.3) at 19. Relying on Supreme Court and Second Circuit precedent, this Court struck Defendants' laches defense in its March, 2002 Memorandum-Decision and Order. Oneida 2002, 194 F.Supp.2d at 124. In their Memorandum of Law, Defendants urge the Court to reconsider its prior decision regarding the laches defense. Defts' Mem. of Law (Dkt. No. 582, Attach.3) at 7. As discussed below, in light of the Cayuga and Sherrill decisions, the Court now holds that Defendants can assert a laches defense against Plaintiffs' possessory land claims.

Courts retain the inherent authority to modify or adjust all interlocutory orders prior to the entry of a final judgment. Parmar v. Jeetish Imports, Inc., 180 F.3d 401, 402 (2d Cir.1999) (citing FED.R.CIv.P. 54(b); United States v. Lo-Russo, 695 F.2d 45, 53 (2d Cir.1982)). Typically, on a motion by a party, a court may justifiably reconsider its previous ruling when there is an intervening change in the controlling law. Delaney v. Selsky, 899 F.Supp. 923, 925 (N.D.N.Y.1995) (McAvoy, C.J.) (citing Doe v. New York City Dep't of Soc....