§ 1619. — Attorney and consultant fees.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC1619]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 33--ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
Sec. 1619. Attorney and consultant fees
(a) Holding moneys in Fund for authorized payments
The Secretary of the Treasury shall hold in the Alaska Native Fund,
from the appropriation made pursuant to section 1605 of this title for
the second fiscal year, moneys sufficient to make the payments
authorized by this section.
(b) Claims; submission
A claim for attorney and consultant fees and out-of-pocket expenses
may be submitted to the Chief Commissioner of the United States Court of
Claims for services rendered before December 18, 1971, to any Native
tribe, band, group, village, or association in connection with:
(1) the preparation of this chapter and previously proposed
Federal legislation to settle Native claims based on aboriginal
title, and
(2) the actual prosecution pursuant to an authorized contract or
a cause of action based upon a claim pending before any Federal or
State Court or the Indians Claims Commission that is dismissed
pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Final date for filing of claims; form; information
A claim under this section must be filed with the clerk of the Court
of Claims within one year from December 18, 1971, and shall be in such
form and contain such information as the Chief Commissioner shall
prescribe. Claims not so filed shall be forever barred.
(d) Rules for receipt, determination, and settlement of claims
The Chief Commissioner or his delegate is authorized to receive,
determine, and settle such claims in accordance with the following
rules:
(1) No claim shall be allowed if the claimant has otherwise been
reimbursed.
(2) The amount allowed for services shall be based on the nature of
the service rendered, the time and labor required, the need for
providing the service, whether the service was intended to be a
voluntary public service or compensable, the existence of a bona fide
attorney-client relationship with an identified client, and the
relationship of the service rendered to the enactment of proposed
legislation. The amount allowed shall not be controlled by any hourly
charge customarily charged by the claimant.
(3) The amount allowed for out-of-pocket expenses shall not include
office overhead, and shall be limited to expenses that were necessary,
reasonable, unreimbursed and actually incurred.
(4) The amounts allowed for services rendered shall not exceed in
the aggregate $2,000,000, of which not more than $100,000 shall be
available for the payment of consultants' fees. If the approved claims
exceed the aggregate amounts allowable, the Chief Commissioner shall
authorize payment of the claims on a pro rata basis.
(5) Upon the filing of a claim, the clerk of the Court of Claims
shall forward a copy of such claims to the individuals or entities on
whose behalf services were rendered or fees and expenses were allegedly
incurred, as shown by the pleadings, to the Attorney General of the
United States, to the Attorney General of the State of Alaska, to the
Secretary of the Interior, and to any other person who appears to have
an interest in the claim, and shall give such persons ninety days within
which to file an answer contesting the claim.
(6) The Chief Commissioner may designate a trial commissioner for
any claim made under this section and a panel of three commissioners of
the court to serve as a reviewing body. One member of the review panel
shall be designated as presiding commissioner of the panel.
(7) Proceedings in all claims shall be pursuant to rules and orders
prescribed for the purpose by the Chief Commissioner who is hereby
authorized and directed to require the application of the pertinent
rules of practice of the Court of Claims insofar as feasible. Claimants
may appear before a trial commissioner in person or by attorney, and may
produce evidence and examine witnesses. In the discretion of the Chief
Commissioner or his designate, hearings may be held in the localities
where the claimants reside if convenience so demands.
(8) Each trial commissioner and each review panel shall have
authority to do and perform any acts which may be necessary or proper
for the efficient performance of their duties, and shall have the power
of subpena, the power to order audit of books and records, and the power
to administer oaths and affirmations. Any sanction authorized by the
rules of practice of the Court of Claims, except contempt, may be
imposed on any claimant, witness, or attorney by the trial commissioner,
review panel, or Chief Commissioner. None of the rules, regulations,
rulings, findings, or conclusions authorized by this section shall be
subject to judicial review.
(9) The findings and conclusions of the trial commissioner shall be
submitted by him, together with the record in the case, to the review
panel of commissioners for review by it pursuant to such rules as may be
provided for the purpose, which shall include provision for submitting
the decision of the trial commissioner to the claimant and any party
contesting the claim for consideration, exception, and argument before
the panel. The panel, by majority vote, shall adopt or modify the
findings or the conclusions of the trial commissioner.
(10) The Court of Claims is hereby authorized and directed, under
such conditions as it may prescribe, to provide the facilities and
services of the office of the clerk of the court for the filing,
processing, hearing, and dispatch of claims made pursuant to this
section and to include within its annual appropriations the costs
thereof and other costs of administration, including (but without
limitation to the items herein listed) the salaries and traveling
expenses of its auditors and the commissioners serving as trial
commissioners and panel members, mailing and service of process,
necessary physical facilities, equipment, and supplies, and personnel
(including secretaries, reporters, auditors, and law clerks).
(e) Report to Congress; payment of claims; interest restriction
The Chief Commissioner shall certify to the Secretary of the
Treasury, and report to the Congress, the amount of each claim allowed
and the name and address of the claimant. The Secretary of the Treasury
shall pay to such person from the Alaska Native Fund the amounts
certified. No award under this section shall bear interest.
(f) Contract restriction; penalty
(1) No remuneration on account of any services or expenses for which
a claim is made or could be made pursuant to this section shall be
received by any person for such services and expenses in addition to the
amount paid in accordance with this section, and any contract or
agreement to the contrary shall be void.
(2) Any person who receives, and any corporation or association
official who pays, on account of such services and expenses, any
remuneration in addition to the amount allowed in accordance with this
section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than twelve
months, or both.
(g) Claims for costs in performance of certain services: submission,
form, information, reasonableness, pro rata reductions; report
to Congress; payment of claims; interest restriction
A claim for actual costs incurred in filing protests, preserving
land claims, advancing land claims settlement legislation, and
presenting testimony to the Congress on proposed Native land claims may
be submitted to the Chief Commissioner of the Court of Claims by any
bona fide association of Natives. The claim must be submitted within six
months from December 18, 1971, and shall be in such form and contain
such information as the Chief Commissioner shall prescribe. The Chief
Commissioner shall allow such amounts as he determines are reasonable,
but he shall allow no amount for attorney and consultant fees and
expenses which shall be compensable solely under subsection (b) through
(e) of this section. If approved claims under this subsection aggregate
more than $600,000, each claim shall be reduced on a pro rata basis. The
Chief Commissioner shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury, and
report to the Congress, the amount of each claim allowed and the name
and address of the claimant. The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to
such claimant from the Alaska Native Fund the amount certified. No award
under this subsection shall bear interest.
(Pub. L. 92-203, Sec. 20, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 710.)
References in Text
The United States Court of Claims, referred to in subsecs. (b), (c),
(d)(5), (7), (8), (10), and (g), and the United States 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.
Change of Name
``Chief Commissioner'' and ``trial commissioner'' of the Court of
Claims redesignated ``chief of the trial division'' and ``trial judge'',
respectively, by General Order No. 2 of 1973 of United States Court of
Claims, issued August 1, 1973. Redesignation applicable in all
proceedings other than Congressional references cases.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 1605 of this title.
