The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation ( Tribes ) responds to

Transcription

1 Case :0-cv-000-JLQ ECF No. filed 0// PageID.0 Page of Jason D Avignon Office of the Reservation Attorney Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation P.O. Box 0 Nespelem, WA (0) - jason.davignon@colvilletribes.com UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON PAUL GRONDAL, a Washington Resident; and THE MILL BAY MEMBERS ASSOCIATION, INC., a Washington Non-Profit Corporation, Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants, vs. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR; BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS; WAPATO HERITAGE, LLC, CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE COLVILLE RESERVATION, FRANCIS ABRAHAM, CATHERINE GARRISON, et al., allottees of Moses Allotment, Defendants/Cross-Defendants/Cross- Claimants/Counter-Defendants. Case No. 0-CV-000-JLQ COLVILLE TRIBES RESPONSE TO THE COURT S ORDER OF JUNE, The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation ( Tribes ) responds to the Court s Order of June, as follows: Page of P.O. BOX 0 Nespelem, WA T: (0)-- F: (0)--

2 Case :0-cv-000-JLQ ECF No. filed 0// PageID.0 Page of. The role, statements, and participation of the Colville Tribes and the Colville Tribal Enterprises Corporation in the 0 mediation and court proceedings. Neither the Tribes nor the Colville Tribal Enterprises Corporation ( CTEC ) were parties to, or participated in, the Chelan County litigation underlying the 0 mediation. See Decl. of James Bellis at ; Decl. of Bruce Didesch at ; see also ECF No. - at (Order Approving Settlement Agreement); ECF No. - at (listing the parties to the settlement agreement). The attorney for the Tribes, Rit Bellis, and the attorney for CTEC, Bruce Didesch, were present for at least the first day of the 0 mediation, but played no active role in them. See Decl. of James Bellis at ; Decl. of Bruce Didesch at. Although they traveled to Seattle for the mediation, they did not participate, and spent their time waiting outside the mediation room in the lobby. See Decl. of James Bellis at ; Decl. of Bruce Didesch at. They made no agreements on behalf of the Tribes or CTEC. See Decl. of James Bellis at ; Decl. of Bruce Didesch at.. The amount of money paid by the Mill Bay Members pursuant to the 0 Settlement Agreement that was passed on to the individual landowners. Wapato Heritage sent checks to landowners immediately following the 0 Settlement Agreement. ECF No. - at. It is unclear to what extent and in what amounts any payments to landowners were made subsequent to these Page of P.O. BOX 0 Nespelem, WA T: (0)-- F: (0)--

3 Case :0-cv-000-JLQ ECF No. filed 0// PageID.0 Page of initial payments. However, it is clear that at some point Wapato Heritage withheld payments to the landowner to offset an alleged prior overpayment to landowners. ECF No. - at. The Tribes is unaware of any change in Wapato Heritage s treatment of the money they receive from the Mill Bay Members Association under the 0 Settlement Agreement.. The existence of any transcript or other record of the Chelan County mediation proceedings and/or the hearing and proceedings before the Chelan County Superior Court. It is the Tribes understanding that the proceedings before the Chelan County Superior Court were not recorded, but minutes were taken during hearings. The Tribes does not have possession of any such minutes. It is also the Tribes understanding that there is presently no transcript or other record of the mediation aside from the resulting agreement itself. Dated this th day of July,. s/ Jason D Avignon JASON D AVIGNON WSBA# Page of P.O. BOX 0 Nespelem, WA T: (0)-- F: (0)--

4 Case :0-cv-000-JLQ ECF No. filed 0// PageID.0 Page of CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on July,, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF System, which caused the CM/ECF participants to be served by electronic means, as more fully reflected on the Notice of Electronic Filing. Joseph P. Derrig usawae-jderrigecf@usdoj.gov Rudolf J Verschoor usawae.rverschoorecf@usdoj.gov mary.f.buhl@usdoj.gov Joseph Cox Finley jos.finley@yahoo.com R Bruce Johnston bruce@rbrucejohnston.com Matthew A. Mensik mam@witherspoonkelley.com James M Danielson jimd@jdsalaw.com Brian C. Huber kristinf@jdsalaw.com jereib@jdsalaw.com Dale Melvin Foreman dale@fahzlaw.com Franklin L Smith Frank@Flyonsmith.com Timothy Michael Lawlor tml@witherspoonkelley.com I hereby certify that I have mailed this document by United States Postal Service, first class postage prepaid, to the following non-cm/ecf participants: Francis Abraham E. Empire Avenue Spokane, WA Francis J Abraham PO Box Spokane, WA - Page of Michael H. Palmer PO Box Nespelem, WA Paul Wapato, Jr. Forest Estates Drive Spokane, WA P.O. BOX 0 Nespelem, WA T: (0)-- F: (0)--

5 Case :0-cv-000-JLQ ECF No. filed 0// PageID.00 Page of Sandra Covington PO Box Omak, WA Linda Saint PO Box Omak, WA - Deborah A. Backwell SE Keegan RD Eagle Creek, OR 0 Catherine Garrison S th St., Apt. Tukwila, WA -0 Gary and Francis Reyes PO Box Newman Lake, WA 0 Mary Jo Garrison PO Box Seattle, WA Enid T. Wippel PO Box Nespelem, WA Judy Zunie PO Box Omak, WA Francis J Reyes PO Box Elmer City, WA -0 Jeffrey M Condon PO Box Omak, WA - Vivian Pierre PO Box Elmer City, WA Arthur Dick PO Box Nespelem, WA -0 Annie Wapato 00 Jones Rd Wapato, WA - Sonia W (Wapato) Vanwoerkom th St. Lewiston, ID 0- Dwane Dick PO Box Nespelem, WA -0 Hannah Rae Dick PO Box Nespelem, WA -0 Kathleen M Dick PO Box Nespelem, WA -0 Lydia A Arneecher PO Box Wapato, WA -0 Page of P.O. BOX 0 Nespelem, WA T: (0)-- F: (0)--

6 Case :0-cv-000-JLQ ECF No. filed 0// PageID.0 Page of Paul G Wapato, Jr. N Sundance Dr. Spokane, WA - Leonard M Wapato PO Box White Swan, WA -0 Stephen T Wapato N Franklin Ave Wenatchee, WA 0- Travis E Dick c/o Hannah Dick (guardian of Travis E Dick) PO Box Nespelem, WA -0 Jacqueline L Wapato PO Box Lapwai, ID 0-0 Dated this th day of July, s/ Jason D Avignon JASON D AVIGNON, WSBA # Office of the Reservation Attorney Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation P.O. Box 0 Nespelem, WA (0) - jason.davignon@colvilletribes.com Page of P.O. BOX 0 Nespelem, WA T: (0)-- F: (0)--