Federal Judge Gregory Frizzell is set to make a ruling in Fletcher v. United States and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear is in support of the case.
Standing Bear said even though the Osage Nation does not have an official role in the case he and his wife are shareholders and the case is for the benefit of Osage shareholders.
“As far as I’m concerned if the Fletcher team needs costs for the case, I’m not talking about attorney fees, costs such as mailing costs to Osage shareholders, I think the Osage Nation should assist,” Standing Bear said. “That may not sound like much of a contribution but as an attorney, but I can tell you any help you can get in litigation like this, when you are representing thousands of people, is appreciated.”
Since 2002 the Fletcher Case has languished in federal court, changing directions several times. It has seen seven dismissals, three amended complaints, a first and second successful appeal to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Court of Appeals sent it back to district court. The case started out with five plaintiffs and all but two have died during the course of the lawsuit. The only plaintiff left is William Fletcher, of Hominy.
The Fletcher Case has not received support from the Osage Nation or the Osage Minerals Council. However, after an Oct. 23 hearing attorneys for the shareholders are expecting Judge Frizzell to issue a ruling that protects the interests of the Osage shareholders.
“The judge did not order the U.S. to account yet and we do not yet know the scope of that accounting. But, it sounded to me that the Judge was going to order the USA to account,” said lead attorney Jason Aamodt of Indian & Environmental Law Group, PLLC. “We don’t know how far back the judge is going to require them to account for exactly. It could include lease income or bonuses, how much oil and gas was produced over time, whether the money received was handled reasonably, or whether interest was collected; those are the kinds of things that will be considered.”
Also possible is the judge could request an accounting going all the way back to 1906.
The Fletcher Case is a class-action lawsuit, with more than 5,000 plaintiffs – all Osage shareholders. The case is different than the Osage Trust Case, which was settled with the U.S. Government for $380 million in 2011. The Trust Case asked for damages for the United States not obtaining the highest posted price for oil production. The Fletcher Case asks whether the right payment was made to the right people. Non-Indians, entities and institutions have received royalty payments from the Osage Mineral Estate for decades, and the Fletcher legal team contends they shouldn’t have been.
Defunct corporations and entities are still receiving royalty payments from the Osage Mineral Estate, but until the Bureau of Indian Affairs is forced to do an accounting of the payments it is unknown where the royalties are going.
“We really think Judge Frizzell is working to bring justice in this case,” Aamodt said.
By
Shannon Shaw Duty
Original Publish Date: 2015-10-28 00:00:00
