United States v. Navajo Nation Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

[00:00:00]in United States versus Navajo Nation we'll see whether the federal government had a fiduciary obligation to the Navajo Nation during coal Lee's negotiations under the Indian mineral leasing act Indian tribes May lease Indian land for mining purposes coal leases are subject to the authority of tribal councils and must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior in 1964 the Navajo Nation entered into a lease with Peabody Coal Company that allowed Peabody to mine coal on the tribe's land under the terms of the lease the tribe would receive a maximum royalty of 37.5 cents per ton of coal near the end of the lease the tribe's royalty was equal to about 2 percent of Peabody's gross proceeds this rate was substantially lower than the minimum permissible royalty for coal mined on federal lands in 1985 the tribe and Peabody amended the lease and agreed to a royalty of 12.5 percent of monthly gross proceeds a customary royalty for leases on Indian lands at the time during the negotiations between Peabody and the tribe there were ex-party Communications between Secretary of the Interior Donald holder and Peabody that weren't disclosed to the tribe as a result of the ex-party communications the secretary withdrew an administrative decision that would have likely given the Navajo Nation higher royalties than the tribe ultimately obtained in the amended lease the secretary approved the amended lease in 1987. in 1993 the Navajo Nation sued the United States the tribe claimed that the secretary's approval of the amended lease constituted a breach of trust the district court found in favor of the United States however the Court held that the secretary flagrantly Dishonored the federal government's fiduciary obligations to the tribe because the secretary acted in the best interests of Peabody the tribe appealed the court of appeals reversed holding that the tribe was entitled to damages because the secretary's actions violated the federal government's fiduciary obligations the United States appealed the United States Supreme Court granted cert