Opponents of the $3.4 billion settlement to the Indian trust fund lawsuit won't have to post a bond as part of the appeal process, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

Six notices of appeal were filed after Judge Thomas Hogan approved the settlement in a written order on July 27. The Cobell plaintiffs wanted each objector to post an $8.3 million bond, citing the delays in payments to Indian beneficiaries.

But Hogan said there was no precedent to require the bond. In a 16-page decision, he took the Cobell lawyers to task for overstating their case.

"The court recognizes that sometimes a litigant's resort to persuasive writing versus objective writing leads to unwitting overzealousness in the presentation of arguments, but the plaintiffs' motion and reply brief go beyond fair advocacy and border on misrepresentation," Hogan wrote.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to expedite challenges to the settlement. But the briefing schedule will run into early 2012, meaning the payments won't go out by Christmas as had been anticipated.

Get the Story:
Judge Chides Plaintiffs' Lawyers In Indian Trust Class Action (The Blog of Legal Times 10/6)
Ruling Clears Way for Appeals of Indian Trust Deal (AP 10/6)
Judge removes hurdle to challenge of $3.4 billion Indian lands settlement (Cronkite News 10/6)
Alison Frankel's On the Case: D.C. judge chides Cobell lawyers for trying to squelch appeal (Thomson Reuters 10/6)

Relevant Documents:
Order Granting Final Approval To Settlement | Exhibit A and Exhibit B

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