Cobell attorneys provide update on settlement amid complaints

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Indian beneficiaries demand release of Cobell settlement funds. Photo from Katherine Ware-Perosi / Change.Org

Attorneys in the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement are offering more information to Indian beneficiaries who are still waiting on the final payment in the historic case.

Checks for the Trust Administration Class were expected in December 2013. That date was pushed to early 2014 but now it appears the payment won't be made for several more months.

Several complex factors are contributing to the delay, according to the Cobell legal team. The large number of people who are eligible for the payment, appeals from people who believe they are eligible, estate cases from beneficiaries who have passed on and shoddy federal records, an issue of concern in Oklahoma, have all affected the schedule.

In hopes of moving forward, the Cobell team will be filing a motion next week to offer a plan to distribute the Trust Administration Class payment. The following week, they will file a report to summarize what has happened so far regarding implementation of the settlement, according to the website for the settlement.

Then, on May 30, Judge Thomas F. Hogan will hold a hearing to review the settlement and its progress. It will take place at 10am in Courtroom 25A of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Trust Administration Class payment can't be distributed until all members are identified and finalized. Indian beneficiaries have laid blame at the Cobell team, the Interior Department and the Garden City Group, the administrator of the settlement, for the delays.

"The Cobell Settlement has been ongoing for several years, and the process seems to be a history of lies of promises to pay, greed of attorney's, and lack of concern for the people, who by law, are entitiled to the settlement," a petition on Change.Org states.

The first payment of $1,000 covered the Historical Accounting Class of the settlement. Checks were mailed in December 2012.

The Trust Administration Class is more complex. The minimum will be $800 but many people will receive more, based on the level of activity in their Individual Indian Money (IIM) account.

Attorney David Smith will be in Oklahoma on June 2 and in Alaska on June 9 to meet with beneficiaries. Anyone interested in meeting can call 866-383-6554 or email beneficiaryline@kilpatricktownsend.com.