	Background

First filed in 1996, Cobell v. Salazar involved the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) management of several money accounts. These money accounts, known as IIMs (an abbreviation for Individual Indian Monies) are monies which the federal government holds for the benefit of individual Indians rather than property held for the benefit of an Indian tribe. The conflict in the case emanated from the federal government's trust responsibility with respect to American Indians. In the capacity of trustee, the United States holds title to much of Indian tribal land and land allotted to individual Indians. Receipts from leases, timber sales, or mineral royalties are paid to the federal government for disbursement to the appropriate Indian property owners. The United States has fiduciary responsibilities to manage Indian monies and assets which have been derived from these lands and are held in trust. The Litigation

The Cobell litigation began in 1996, and its docket enumerated over 3,600 documents and over 20 federal district court and court of appeals opinions. December 7, 2009, Settlement

On December 7, 2009, the Secretaries of the Interior and Treasury reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs' class. After a number of failed attempts to approve the settlement, Congress finally authorized the settlement through the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (CRA), which was signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010. However, the settlement also specifically excluded from the release (1) claims related to the payment of the account balances of existing IIM accounts; (2) claims related to the payment of existing amounts in special deposits accounts, tribal accounts, or judgment fund accounts; (3) claims related to the breaching of trust or alleged wrongs after September 30, 2009; (4) claims for damages to the environment other than those claims expressly identified as Land Administration Claims; (5) claims for trespass; (6) claims against tribes, contractors, and other third parties; (7) equitable, injunctive, or non-monetary claims for boundary correction and appraisal errors; (8) money damages arising from boundary or appraisal errors that occur after September 30, 2009; (9) claims arising out of leases, easements, rights-of-way, and similar encumbrances existing as of September 30, 2009; (10) claims related to failure to assert water rights and quantification; and (11) health and mortality claims. The second fund, called the "Trust Land Consolidation Fund," would receive $2 billion. This program is the principal vehicle by which the federal government consolidates fractionated trust and restricted lands. The district court approved the settlement on July 27, 2012. A few members of the class appealed the settlement to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. After the Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari and the appeal period expired, the settlement became final on November 24, 2012.
The settlement reached in Cobell v. Salazar was authorized by the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 on December 8, 2010. Under the terms of the settlement, the United States government will pay $1.4 billion to members of the class who sought to have a historical accounting of their IIM accounts (an abbreviation for Individual Indian Monies). An additional $2 billion will be provided by the government for the purpose of consolidating fractionated trust and restricted lands.
First filed in 1996, Cobell v. Salazar involved the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) management of several money accounts. These money accounts, or IIMs, as distinguished from tribal trust funds, are monies which the federal government holds for the benefit of individual Indians. The conflict in the case traced to the federal government's trust responsibility with respect to American Indians. In the capacity of trustee, the United States holds title to much of Indian tribal land and land allotted to individual Indians. Receipts from leases, timber sales, or mineral royalties are paid to the federal government for disbursement to the appropriate Indian property owners. The United States has fiduciary responsibilities to manage Indian monies and assets which have been derived from these lands and are held in trust. However, several of the beneficiaries of these trust funds alleged that DOI mismanaged these funds and filed suit in order to obtain a proper accounting of these funds and to receive damages if warranted.
After more than a decade of litigation over obligations associated with the management of the IIM accounts—consisting of over 3,600 documents and over 20 federal district court and court of appeals opinions—the parties ultimately reached a settlement on December 7, 2009. However, the settlement, which by its terms would create a Trust Administration Fund and a Land Consolidation Fund, required congressional authorization before it could go into effect. A year later, Congress authorized the settlement through the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (CRA), which was signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010.
The district court approved the settlement on July 27, 2011. After appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and petitions for certiorari to the Supreme Court were denied, the settlement became final on November 24, 2012.