Litigation and Legal Support
Past projects include:
Historical Legal Studies
Cobell v. Salazar (re: Indian trust lands management)
(Client: U.S. Department of Justice, Location: U.S.A.)
Project entailed research in national archives and writing a narrative history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs administration of agricultural leases on U.S. Indian trust lands from the 1880s to the present, with particular emphasis on allotted lands. Project research served as the basis for expert historical testimony reports addressing some of the issues presented by the Eloise Cobell class-action lawsuit—the largest class-action case in American history. That lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of Interior for enduring mismanagement of Indian trust lands.
U.S. v. Fallbrook Public Utility District (re: Indian reservation water rights)
(Client: U.S. Department of Justice, Location: California)
Project involved extensive research in primary and secondary documents relating to the establishment and development of the Cahuilla, Pechanga and Ramona Indian Reservations in Southern California. Project research served as the basis for a narrative report that documented historic land and water use by these Indian tribes from the pre-contact era to the present. Report served as expert historical testimony for ongoing water rights litigation in surrounding areas of Southern California. That famed litigation, known as U.S. v. Fallbrook Public Utility District, is currently “the oldest, ongoing civil case in the country.”
Potentially Responsible Party Research (Mining Sites)
U.S. v. ASARCO
(Client: U.S. Department of Justice, Location: Coeur d’Alene mining district, Idaho)
Project entailed researching the history of mining and milling operations, and associated waste disposal, in the Coeur D’Alene mining district—source of the “largest recorded silver production in the world.” Research documented the corporate ownership history of about 500 mine, mill, and waste disposal sites in northern Idaho. The research served as evidence in the United States Department of Justice lawsuit against the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) regarding responsibility for large-scale environmental cleanup costs.
Libby Asbestos Mining Site
(Client: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Location: Libby, Montana)
Project involved researching ownership histories of the many parcels in Libby, Montana that were owned by vermiculite-mining company W.R. Grace or its predecessors in interest. The research informed the EPA’s efforts to determine the extent of asbestos contamination in Libby and to allocate responsibility for costs incurred in extensive remedial actions. During seven decades of ore mining that began around 1920 and ended in 1990, Libby produced some 80% of the world’s supply of vermiculite. At the same time, it became what the federal government called "the worst case of industrial poisoning of a whole community in American history."
Westside Soils Operable Unit Mines
(Client: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Location: Butte, Montana)
Project entailed researching land ownership records for property located west of Butte, Montana (a.k.a. Butte, America, or The Richest Hill on Earth), to determine the current and past owners of tracts of land known as the “Westside Soils Operable Unit.” That unit was part of the EPA’s Clark Fork River Superfund Site, a component of the largest Superfund complex in the western United States. The research also included determining historic land-use over time.
Historical Legal Studies
Cobell v. Salazar (re: Indian trust lands management)
(Client: U.S. Department of Justice, Location: U.S.A.)
Project entailed research in national archives and writing a narrative history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs administration of agricultural leases on U.S. Indian trust lands from the 1880s to the present, with particular emphasis on allotted lands. Project research served as the basis for expert historical testimony reports addressing some of the issues presented by the Eloise Cobell class-action lawsuit—the largest class-action case in American history. That lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of Interior for enduring mismanagement of Indian trust lands.
U.S. v. Fallbrook Public Utility District (re: Indian reservation water rights)
(Client: U.S. Department of Justice, Location: California)
Project involved extensive research in primary and secondary documents relating to the establishment and development of the Cahuilla, Pechanga and Ramona Indian Reservations in Southern California. Project research served as the basis for a narrative report that documented historic land and water use by these Indian tribes from the pre-contact era to the present. Report served as expert historical testimony for ongoing water rights litigation in surrounding areas of Southern California. That famed litigation, known as U.S. v. Fallbrook Public Utility District, is currently “the oldest, ongoing civil case in the country.”
Potentially Responsible Party Research (Mining Sites)
U.S. v. ASARCO
(Client: U.S. Department of Justice, Location: Coeur d’Alene mining district, Idaho)
Project entailed researching the history of mining and milling operations, and associated waste disposal, in the Coeur D’Alene mining district—source of the “largest recorded silver production in the world.” Research documented the corporate ownership history of about 500 mine, mill, and waste disposal sites in northern Idaho. The research served as evidence in the United States Department of Justice lawsuit against the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) regarding responsibility for large-scale environmental cleanup costs.
Libby Asbestos Mining Site
(Client: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Location: Libby, Montana)
Project involved researching ownership histories of the many parcels in Libby, Montana that were owned by vermiculite-mining company W.R. Grace or its predecessors in interest. The research informed the EPA’s efforts to determine the extent of asbestos contamination in Libby and to allocate responsibility for costs incurred in extensive remedial actions. During seven decades of ore mining that began around 1920 and ended in 1990, Libby produced some 80% of the world’s supply of vermiculite. At the same time, it became what the federal government called "the worst case of industrial poisoning of a whole community in American history."
Westside Soils Operable Unit Mines
(Client: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Location: Butte, Montana)
Project entailed researching land ownership records for property located west of Butte, Montana (a.k.a. Butte, America, or The Richest Hill on Earth), to determine the current and past owners of tracts of land known as the “Westside Soils Operable Unit.” That unit was part of the EPA’s Clark Fork River Superfund Site, a component of the largest Superfund complex in the western United States. The research also included determining historic land-use over time.