Published: Aug 25, 1996, 12:00 a.m. MDT
By Deseret News
A federal court will hear a case brought by Ute Distribution Corp. that seeks tribal water rights for mixed-blood Ute Indians who were terminated from tribal rolls 42 years ago.
U.S. District Chief Judge David K. Winder recently denied motions by Ute Tribe attorneys to dismiss the case on the grounds the tribe has sovereign immunity from such actions.Robert S. Thompson, Ute Tribe attorney, says the tribe will appeal the ruling "on the grounds that we're immune from suit."
At issue is an attempt by UDC to assert a right of joint management over approximately 27 percent of the water rights now held by the Ute Indian Tribe. UDC already manages 27 percent of the proceeds from the "indivisible" assets - such as lease payments for gas, oil and mineral rights - along with real property given to the 490 mixed-blood Utes upon their termination from tribal rolls in 1954.
UDC attorney Max Wheeler says the group is simply asking for a declaration of its right to jointly manage the undivided property assets, which they maintain should include water rights. Along with those water rights comes millions of dollars in potential revenue for the terminated Utes.
In rendering his ruling on the tribe's motion to dismiss, Judge Winder agreed with Wheeler's claim that "Congress limited the tribe's sovereign immunity with respect to the adjudication of issues concerning the joint management of indivisible assets under the Ute Partition Act." He also denied the tribe's claim that the action is barred by the statute of limitations and disagreed that UDC should have filed its claims in tribal court prior to pursuing the matter at the federal court level.
With a pending appeal, Thompson predicts it could take years for the case to appear on the court docket for resolution.