Skip to content

Volume 94 · 1711

Public Law 96–404

To authorize the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation to file in the Court of Claims any claims against the United States for damages for delay in payment for lands claimed to be taken in violation of the United States Constitution, and for other purposes.

Approved October 9, 1980

Statutory text

An Act

To authorize the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation to file in the Court of Claims any claims against the United States for damages for delay in payment for lands claimed to be taken in violation of the United States Constitution, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1.

Notwithstanding sections 2401 and 2501 of title 28, United States Code, and section 12 of the Indian Claims Commission Act of August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1052; 25 U.S.C. 70k), and notwithstanding the lapse of time, statutes of limitations, or the defense of res judicata or collateral estoppel, or any other provisions of law, jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the Court of Claims to hear, determine, and render judgment on any claim filed by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation within one year from the date of this Act for the taking under the fifth amendment of the Constitution of the nine million eight hundred and forty-six

USC prec. title 1.

thousand one hundred eighty-six and ninety-three one-hundredths acres of land defined as the territory of the Three Affiliated Tribes in the Treaty of Fort Laramie of September 17, 1851 (11 Stat. 749), to which the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation and the United States were parties, being the same land determined by the Court of Claims to have an average value of 50 cents per acre for a total of $4,923,093.47 in Fort Berthold Indians versus United States (71 Ct. Cl. 308) (1930) (hereinafter “prior case”): Provided, That the value of the land fixed at an average of 50 cents per acre in the prior case shall be binding on the parties in any suit brought under this Act.

Sec. 2.

If the Court of Claims determines that the claimant is

Award.

entitled to just compensation under the fifth amendment, the Court shall enter an award computed on the basis of established judicial precedent: Provided, however, That as a measure of just compensation

Interest.

the Court shall compute interest at the rate of 5 per centum per annum. No offsets, including gratuities, subsequent to the terminal

Offsets.

date of the accounting in the prior case shall be allowed or deducted from any judgment entered under authority of this Act, except that the United States shall be entitled to an offset, against any judgment entered under authority of this Act, of the sum of money, if any, awarded as a judgment in the prior case.

Sec. 3.

The provisions of section 15 of the Act of August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1053; 25 U.S.C. 70n) shall be applicable with respect to any claim filed pursuant to this Act in the same manner and to the same extent as if such claim were pending before the Indian Claims Commission except that the functions of the Commission shall be performed by the Court of Claims.

Sec. 4.

The provisions of the Act of November 4, 1968 (77 Stat. 301:

25 USC 70n–1–70n–7.

25 U.S.C. 70n–1–7), shall be applicable with respect to any claim filed pursuant to this Act in the same manner and to the same extent as if such claim were pending before the Indian Claims Commission except that reference to the Commission shall be deemed to be to the Court of Claims.

Approved October 9, 1980.

Parsed from the official Statutes at Large USLM XML in 94.xml