Suing over tribal land trusts
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak
In brief
The Supreme Court agreed with the lower court that the government could be sued over Patchak’s challenge and sent the case back.
- Where it stands
- Decided
Decided 8-1 · June 18, 2012 · Opinion by Justice Kagan
- What it’s about
- Patchak challenged the government’s plan to hold land in trust for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band, and the government argued its protection from suit (sovereign immunity) barred his case.
- Who it affects
- The government’s immunity defense did not block Patchak’s lawsuit, so his challenge could continue in court.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The Supreme Court ruled the government had waived that protection, agreed with the lower court, and sent the case back to the lower court (remanded).
The dispute concerned whether the Quiet Title Act’s limits on suits over land blocked Patchak’s challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Question presented
1. Whether the Quiet Title Act and its reservation of the United States' sovereign immunity in suits involving "trust or restricted Indian lands" apply to all suits concerning land in which the United States "claims an interest," 28 U.S.C. § 2409a(a), as the Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits have held, or whether they apply only when the plaintiff claims title to the land, as the D.C. Circuit held? 2. Whether prudential standing to sue under federal law can be based on either (i) the plaintiff’s ability to "police" an agency's compliance with the law, as held by the D.C. Circuit but rejected by the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits, or (ii) interests protected by a different federal statute than the one on which suit is based, as held by the D.C. Circuit but rejected by the Federal Circuit?
What the Court decided
Holding
The United States has waived its sovereign immunity from —————— * Together with No. 11–247, Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al. v. Patchak et al., also on certiorari to the same court. Patchak’s action. The APA’s general waiver of the Federal Government’s immunity from suit does not apply “if any other statute that grants consent to suit expressly or impliedly forbids the relief which is sought” by the plaintiff. 5 U. S. C. §
- Result
- Affirmed
The Court's reasoning
The Court said the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) generally allows suits against the federal government unless another law expressly or implicitly bars the relief sought. It concluded that the government had waived its protection from suit in Patchak’s case.
The vote
From the opinions
“The Court’s opinion sanctions an end-run around these vital limitations on the Government’s waiver of sovereign immunity.”
What's next
The case returns to the D.C. Circuit for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Documents
Opinions
Audio
Docket activity
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AI analysis generated: Impact Analysis
AI analysis generated: Opinion Summary
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Audio Recording added: Oral Arguments - Patchak
Opinion added: Patchak
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.