Tohono O'Odham Nation v. U.S.

Decision Date16 March 2009
Docket NumberNo. 2008-5043.,2008-5043.
PartiesTOHONO O'ODHAM NATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

Before NEWMAN, LINN, and MOORE, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge LINN. Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge MOORE.

LINN, Circuit Judge.

This case concerns the application of 28 U.S.C. § 1500, the statute that divests the United States Court of Federal Claims of jurisdiction over "any claim for or in respect to which the plaintiff or his assignee has pending in any other court any suit or process against the United States." Applying § 1500, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed an action brought by the Tohono O'odham Nation (the "Nation") alleging that the United States breached certain fiduciary duties as trustee of funds and property owned by the Nation. Tohono O'odham Nation v. United States, 79 Fed. Cl. 645, 646 (2007). Because we conclude that the Nation's complaint in the Court of Federal Claims seeks relief that is different from the relief sought in its earlier-filed district court action, we reverse.

I. BACKGROUND

The Nation is a federally recognized Indian tribe of approximately 26,000 members, located in Arizona. Tohono O'odham Nation, 79 Fed.Cl. at 646. Collectively, the Nation's reservations consist of nearly three million acres of land. Id. The United States manages the Nation's land and holds income derived from that land in trust, including income from the sale of natural resources and income from leases and other conveyances to third parties. Id. Additionally, the United States holds in trust money awarded to the Nation as a result of legal judgments, including $26 million that the United States paid to the Nation to settle a takings and trespass action in 1976. Id.

On December 28, 2006, the Nation brought an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the Secretary of the Interior, the Special Trustee for American Indians, and the Secretary of the Treasury, alleging that the United States had breached certain fiduciary duties in connection with its management of the Nation's trust assets. See Tohono O'odham Nation v. Kempthorne, No. 1:06-CV02236, Doc. 1, at 1 (D.D.C Dec. 28, 2006) ("District Court Complaint"). Specifically, the Nation presented in two counts "an action to seek redress of breaches of trust by the United States, acting by and through the defendants, in the management and accounting of trust assets, including funds and lands, belonging to the plaintiff . . . and to compel the defendants to provide a full and complete accounting of all trust assets belonging to the Nation and to correct the balances of the Nation's trust fund accounts to reflect accurate balances." Id. at 1-2. The Nation's prayer for relief requested nine remedies:

1. For a decree construing the trust obligations of the defendants to the Nation, including, but not limited to, the duty to provide a complete, accurate, and adequate accounting of all trust assets belonging to the Nation and held in trust by the defendants.

2. For a decree that the United States, acting through the defendants, has been in breach of its trust obligations since the inception of this trust and continues to be in breach of those duties today, specifically including, inter alia, its fiduciary duty to provide a complete, accurate, and adequate accounting of all trust assets belonging to the Nation and held in trust by the United States.

3. For a decree that the AA Reports do not constitute the complete, accurate, and adequate accounting that the defendants are obligated to provide to the Nation.

4. For a decree delineating the fiduciary duties owed by the defendants to the Nation with respect to the management and administration of the trust assets belonging to the Nation.

5. For a decree directing the defendants (1) to provide a complete, accurate, and adequate accounting of the Nation's trust assets, including, but not limited to, funds under the custody and control of the United States and (2) to comply with all other fiduciary duties as determined by this Court.

6. For a decree providing for the restatement of the Nation's trust fund account balances in conformity with this accounting, as well as any additional equitable relief that may be appropriate (e.g., disgorgement, equitable restitution, or an injunction directing the trustee to take action against third parties).

7. For a decree requiring the defendants to provide to the Nation all material information regarding the management and administration of the trust assets belonging to the Nation and held in trust for its benefit by the defendants.

8. For an award of the Nation's costs of suit, including, without limitation, attorneys' fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act and other statutes as well as general equitable principles, and the fees and costs of expert assistance.

9. For such other and further relief as the Court, as a Chancellor sitting in equity, may deem just and proper.

Id. at 18-19.

On December 29, 2006—one day after it filed its district court complaint—the Nation brought a second action in the Court of Federal Claims. The complaint characterized that second action as "an action for money damages against the United States, brought to redress gross breaches of trust by the United States . . . as trustees and trustee-delegates of land, mineral resources and other assets held by them for the benefit of the Tohono O'odham Nation." Tohono O'odham Nation v. United States, No. 06-CV-944, Doc. 1, at 1, (Ct. Fed.Cl. Dec. 29, 2006) ("Court of Federal Claims Complaint"). In its Court of Federal Claims action, the Nation asserted four counts, entitled "Damages Resulting from the United States' Breach of Fiduciary Duty with Respect to the Management of the Nation's Mineral Estate," "Damages Arising from the United States' Breach of Fiduciary Duty with Respect to the Management of the Nation's Non-Mineral Estate," "Damages Arising from the United States' Breach of Fiduciary Duty with Respect to the Management of Judgment Funds," and "Damages Arising from the United States' Breach of Fiduciary Duty with Respect to Deposit and Investment of Trust Funds." Id. at 9-12. In its prayer for relief, the Nation asked:

1. For a determination that the Defendant is liable to the Nation in damages for the injuries and losses caused as a result of Defendant's breaches of fiduciary duty;

2. For a determination of the amount of damages due the Nation plus interest as allowed by law;

3. That the costs of this action, including reasonable attorneys fees, be awarded to the Nation;

4. For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and appropriate.

Id. at 13.

The United States moved to dismiss the Nation's action in the Court of Federal Claims for lack of jurisdiction in light of 28 U.S.C. § 1500. Tohono O'odham Nation, 79 Fed.Cl. at 646. The Court of Federal Claims concluded that the Nation's claim "arises from the same operative facts and seeks the same relief as the claim in district court." Id. at 659. As a result, the Court of Federal Claims held that it lacked jurisdiction under § 1500, and it granted the United States' motion to dismiss. Id.

The Nation timely appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(3) (2006). "We review the Court of Federal Claims's dismissal for lack of jurisdiction de novo." Sacco v. United States, 452 F.3d 1305, 1308 (Fed.Cir.2006).

II. DISCUSSION

Section 1500 provides:

The United States Court of Federal Claims shall not have jurisdiction of any claim for or in respect to which the plaintiff or his assignee has pending in any other court any suit or process against the United States or any person who, at the time when the cause of action alleged in such suit or process arose, was, in respect thereto, acting or professing to act, directly or indirectly under the authority of the United States.

28 U.S.C. § 1500 (emphasis added).

Following a series of cases in which this court interpreted the meaning of "claim" in § 1500, see, e.g., Johns-Manville Corp. v. United States, 855 F.2d 1556 (Fed.Cir. 1988); UNR Indus., Inc. v. United States, 962 F.2d 1013 (Fed.Cir.1992) (en banc), the Supreme Court addressed the issue in Keene Corp. v. United States, 508 U.S. 200, 113 S.Ct. 2035, 124 L.Ed.2d 118 (1993), aff'g UNR, 962 F.2d 1013. The Supreme Court remarked that § 1500 "requires a comparison between the claims raised in the Court of Federal Claims and in the other lawsuit." Keene, 508 U.S. at 210, 113 S.Ct. 2035. The Supreme Court also recognized, however, that § 1500 does not define the critical term "claim" and that "[t]he exact nature of the things to be compared is not illuminated . . . by the awkward formulation of § 1500." Id.

In Keene, the Supreme Court held that "the comparison of the two cases for purposes of possible dismissal would turn on whether the plaintiff's other suit was based on substantially the same operative facts as the Court of Claims action, at least if there was some overlap in the relief requested." Id. at 212, 113 S.Ct. 2035. The Supreme Court expressly left open "whether two actions based on the same operative facts, but seeking completely different relief, would implicate § 1500." Id. at 213 n. 6, 113 S.Ct. 2035.

The dissent treats the Supreme Court's analysis in Keene as the final word on the matter. See Dissenting Op. at 1293, 1293-96. However, shortly after Keene, this...

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