§ 640d-27. — Attorney fees, costs and expenses for litigation or court action.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC640d-27]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 14--MISCELLANEOUS
SUBCHAPTER XXII--NAVAJO AND HOPI TRIBES: SETTLEMENT OF RIGHTS AND
INTERESTS
Sec. 640d-27. Attorney fees, costs and expenses for litigation
or court action
(a) Payment by Secretary; authorization of appropriations
In any litigation or court action between or among the Hopi Tribe,
the Navajo Tribe and the United States or any of its officials,
departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, arising out of the
interpretation or implementation of this subchapter, as amended, the
Secretary shall pay, subject to the availability of appropriations,
attorney's fees, costs and expenses as determined by the Secretary to be
reasonable. For each tribe, there is hereby authorized to be
appropriated not to exceed $120,000 in fiscal year 1981, $130,000 in
fiscal year 1982, $140,000 in fiscal year 1983, $150,000 in fiscal year
1984, and $160,000 in fiscal year 1985, and each succeeding year
thereafter until such litigation or court action is finally completed.
(b) Award by court; reimbursement to Secretary
Upon the entry of a final judgment in any such litigation or court
action, the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees, costs and
expenses to the party, other than the United States or its officials,
departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, which prevails or
substantially prevails, where it finds that any opposing party has
unreasonably initiated or contested such litigation. Any party to whom
such an award has been made shall reimburse the United States out of
such award to the extent that it has received payments pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Excess difference between award of court and award of Secretary
treated as final judgment of Court of Claims
To the extent that any award made to a party against the United
States pursuant to subsection (b) of this section exceeds the amount
paid to such party by the United States pursuant to subsection (a) of
this section, such difference shall be treated as if it were a final
judgment of the Court of Claims under section 2517 of title 28.
(d) Litigation or court actions applicable
This section shall apply to any litigation or court action pending
upon July 8, 1980, in which a final order, decree, judgment has not been
entered, but shall not apply to any action authorized by section 640d-7
or 640d-17(a) of this title.
(Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 29, as added Pub. L. 96-305, Sec. 11, July 8,
1980, 94 Stat. 934.)
References in Text
The Court of Claims, referred to in subsec. (c), and the Court of
Customs and Patent Appeals were merged effective Oct. 1, 1982, into a
new United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by Pub. L.
97-164, Apr. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 25, which also created a United States
Claims Court [now United States Court of Federal Claims] that inherited
the trial jurisdiction of the Court of Claims. See sections 48, 171 et
seq., 791 et seq., and 1491 et seq. of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial
Procedure.
