Tooahnippah Goombi v. Hickel

• Decision Date: 27 April 1970
• Docket Number: No. 300,300
• Citation: 397 U.S. 598,90 S.Ct. 1316,25 L.Ed.2d 600
• Parties: Julia TOOAHNIPPAH (GOOMBI) et al., Petitioners, v. Walter J. HICKEL, Secretary of the Interior, et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

397 U.S. 598

90 S.Ct. 1316

25 L.Ed.2d 600

Julia TOOAHNIPPAH (GOOMBI) et al., Petitioners,

v Walter J. HICKEL, Secretary of the Interior, et al.

No. 300.

Argued Jan. 14, 1970.

Decided April 27, 1970.

Omer Luellen, Hinton, Okl., for petitioners.

Richard B. Stone, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for respondent, Secretary of the Interior, pro hac vice, by special leave of Court.

Houston Bus Hill, Oklahoma City, Okl., for respondent, Dorita High horse.

Mr. Chief Justice BURGER delivered the opinion of the Court.

We granted the writ to review the action of the Court of Appeals holding that the decision of the Regional Solicitor, acting for the Secretary of the Interior, disapproving the will of a Comanche Indian constitutes final and unreviewable agency action. We conclude that such decision is subject to judicial review.¹

George Chahsenah, a Comanche Indian, died on October 11, 1963, unmarried and without a surviving father, mother, brother, or sister. His estate consisted of interests in three Comanche allotments situated in Oklahoma under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior.² Shortly after Chahsenah's death, the value of those interests was fixed at $34,867. On March 14, 1963, Chahsenah had made a will devising and bequeathing his estate to a niece, Viola Atewooftakewa Tate, and her three children, petitioners herein. Chahsenah had resided with this niece a considerable portion of the later years of his life. His will made no mention of a surviving daughter, but stated that he was leaving nothing to his 'heirs at law * * * for the reason that they have shown no interest in me.'

The beneficiaries under the will sought to have it approved by the Secretary of the Interior, as required by 25 U.S.C. § 373.³ A hearing was had before an Examiner of Interitance, Office of the Solicitor, Department of the Interior. Dorita High Horse, claiming as sole surviving issue, and certain nieces and nephews of the testator contended that the will was not entitled to departmental approval, arguing that due to the effects of chronic alcoholism, cirrhosis of the liver, and diabetes, George Chahsenah was incompetent to make a will. Pursuant to the provisions of § 5 of the Act of February 28, 1891, 26 Stat. 795, 25 U.S.C. § 371, if Chahsenah had died intestate his putative daughter, Dorita High Horse, would have been an heir at law, whether or not her parents were married.

The Examiner found that the will of March 14, 1963, drawn on a form printed by the Department of the Interior for that purpose, was Chahsenah's last will and testament and that it had been prepared by an attorney employed by the Department of the Interior who advised the testator concerning the will. He also found that at the time the will was made the attorney and the witnesses executed an affidavit attesting that the will was properly made and executed, and that the decedent was of sound and disposing mind and memory and not acting under undue influence, fraud, duress, or coercion at the time of its execution. The Examiner found that Dorita High Horse was George Chahsenah's illegitimate daughter and his sole heir at law. He concluded, however, that the evidence presented by the contestants was not sufficient to outweigh the presumption of correctness attaching to a properly executed will, in addition to which were the unimpeached statements of the draftsman and witnesses that Chahsenah possessed testamentary capacity. The Examiner concluded that the testator's failure to provide for Dorita High Horse was not unnatural since there was no evidence of any close relationship between the two during any part of their lives. The will was approved and distribution in accordance with its provisions was ordered.

A petition for rehearing, contending that the evidence did not support the Examiner's conclusion regarding the decedent's competency, was denied. An appeal was taken to the Regional Solicitor, Department of the In- terior, an officer having authority to make a final decision in the matter on behalf of the Secretary. He concluded that although the evidence supported the Examiner's finding that decedent's will met the technical requirements for a valid testamentary instrument, 25 U.S.C. § 373 vested in the Secretary broad authority to approve or disapprove the will. In exercising that discretion, the Regional Solicitor viewed his authority as requiring him to examine all the circumstances to determine whether 'approval will most nearly achieve just and equitable treatment of the beneficiaries thereunder and the decedent's heirs-at-law.' Under this standard he concluded that the decedent, an unemployed person addicted to alcohol⁴ and living on the income he received from his inherited land allotments, had not fulfilled his obligations to his illegitimate daughter and had ceased cohabiting with her mother shortly before Dorita's birth, thus failing to provide her with a 'normal home life during her childhood.' The Reginal Solicitor concluded that although the daughter was a married adult and could not legally claim support monies from her father or his estate, 'it is inappropriate that the Secretary perpetuate this utter disregard for the daughter's welfare * * *.' Accordingly, he found that under the circumstances the Examiner's approval of the will was not a reasonable exercise of the discretioanry responsibility vested in the Secretary. He thereupon set side the Examiner's action, disapproved the will,⁵ and ordered the entire estate distributed by intestate succession to Dorita High Horse as sole heir at law.

The beneficiaries under the will brought an action against the Secretary of the Interior in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma contending that the action of the Regional Solicitor was arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion, and that it exceeded the authority conferred upon the Secretary by 25 U.S.C. § 373. The plaintiffs sought to have the District Court review the Regional Solicitor's action in accord with the standards of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701—706 (1964 ed., Supp. IV), arguing that the District Court had jurisdiction over the matter by virtue of either that Act⁶ or 28 U.S.C. § 1361.⁷ Dorita High Horse was allowed to intervene as a party defendant. Both the Secretary and Dorita High Horse moved for summary judgment, contending that the action of the Regional Solicitor was within the authority conferred upon the Secretary, and, as such, is made final and unreviewable by 25 U.S.C. § 373. They also contended that the Regional Solicitor's decision was in accordance with the evidence, was not arbitrary or capricious, and did not involve an abuse of discretion. Although the Secretary conceded that the District Court had jurisdiction to review the action of the Regional Solicitor, Dorita High Horse contended that neither the Administrative Procedure Act nor 28 U.S.C. § 1361 allowed judicial review.

The District Court held that while there was some question as to whether jurisdiction existed under the Administrative Procedure Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1361 did provide a basis for jurisdiction, 'in order to effectuate the purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act by providing the review function which the act contemplates.'⁸ Atewooftakewa v. Udall, 277 F.Supp. 464, 465 n. 1. The court then reasoned that, unlike § 1 of the Act of June 25, 1910, 36 Stat. 855, 25 U.S.C. § 372,⁹ § 2, 36 Stat. 856, as amended by the Act of February 14, 1913, 37 Stat. 678, 25 U.S.C. § 373, contains no language conferring unreviewable finality upon a decision of the Secretary approving or disapproving an Indian's will. The District Judge concluded that the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701 (1964 ed., Supp. IV), does not preclude judicial review of the Regional Solicitor's action. On the merits he held that Congress had conferred upon adult Indians the right to make a will, limited only by the requirement that it be approved by the Secretary.

The District Court held that the review powers of the Secretary are not so broad as to defeat a plainly expressed and rationally based distribution by one who possessed testamentary capacity. The court concluded that the Regional Solicitor incorrectly viewed the Secretary's powers as authorizing disapproval of any will thought unwise or unequitable, and stated: 'Congress has conferred the right to make a will upon the Indian and not upon the Secretary. The Secretary can no more use his approval powers to substitute his will for that of the Indian than he can dictate its terms.' 277 F.Supp., at 468. The case was remanded to the Secretary with directions to approve the will and distribute the estate in accordance with its provisions.

On appeal the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed the District Court, holding that the Secretary's action under 25 U.S.C. § 373 was unreviewable.¹⁰

Two basic questions are presented here: First, whether the Secretary's action is subject to judicial review; and second, if judicial review is available, whether on this record the Secretary's decision on the validity of the will was within the scope of authority vested in him under 25 U.S.C. § 373.

I

The Administrative Procedure Act contemplates judicial review of agency action 'except to the extent that—(1) statutes preclude judicial review; or (2) agency ac- tion is committed to agency discretion by law. * * *' 5 U.S.C. § 701 (1964 ed., Supp. IV). Earlier in this Term in City of Chicago v. United States, 396 U.S. 162, 164, 90 S.Ct. 309, 311, 24 L.Ed.2d 340 (1969), relying on Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 140, 87 S.Ct. 1507, 1510, 18 L.Ed.2d 681 (1967), we noted that 'we start with the presumption that aggrieved persons may obtain review of administrative decisions unless there is 'persuasive reason to believe' that Congress had no such purpose.'¹¹ Section 2 of the Act of 1910 contains no language displaying a...