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The Claims Administrator for the Cobell v. Salazar Indian Trust class action settlement has announced that the second round of payments will be mailed early next year.
The announcement further stated that the settlement approved by Congress and the Courts “requires identification of all Trust Administration Class Members and calculation of their respective shares by the Department of Interior” before The Garden City Group (GCG), the Claims Administrator assigned to distribute benefits, can start mailing Trust Administration Class payments. This task is near completion, according to the announcement.
After Class Members are identified and finalized, it will take the Department of Interior approximately a month to complete the calculations for the over 500,000 Trust Administration Class Members. Once GCG receives the final computations and the Court approves, the Claims Administrator will “quickly prepare and commence distribution within three weeks.”
If the class membership is determined this December, the payments can then be made in the first quarter of 2014 barring any unexpected issues.
The Cobell v. Salazar settlement was one of the largest class actions ever filed against the United States. It accused the government of allegedly mismanaging money owed to Native Americans under trust funds. The alleged mismanagement dated as far back as the 1880s. The first payments were sent out last December 2012 before Christmas.
The Indian trust class action lawsuit was originally settled in December 2009 and later approved by Congress in November 2010. An appeal was filed and the case was held up in court for nearly two years. In May 2012, an appeals court rejected the appeal and upheld the $3.4 billion Indian trust settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate. On Dec. 12, 2012, the court filed an order directing the Claims Administrator to commence distribution of payments to Class Members no later than Dec. 24, 2012.
The class action settlement provided $1.4 billion to pay recipients listed under the Historical Accounting Class and the Trust Administration Class, $1.9 billion to purchase fractionated individual Indian trust lands and up to $60 million for a scholarship fund to help Native Americans attend college or vocational school.
Reports state there are 34,786 Navajo allottees listed in the Trust Administration Class who will split $49.5 million for this second round of payments. Each one will receive $800 but may be higher for some.
More information on the Cobell v. Salazar Indian Trust Class Action Lawsuit Settlement can be found at www.IndianTrust.com.
UPDATE 1: More than 30,000 Class Members of the Cobell v. Salazar Indian trust class action settlement are still awaiting payments. Class Counsel explains why.
UPDATE 2: According to the Settlement Administrator, the final round of payments from the Indian Trust settlement could be made in early Fall 2014.
UPDATE 3: A federal judge approved the distribution of payments to more than 15,000 Class Members whose records were missing from the Department of Interior. The first checks were mailed Sept. 15, 2014. Learn more.
UPDATE 4: If you were an Indian Trust beneficiary, you may be entitled to payment from a $3.4 billion class action settlement. More than 30,000 individuals could qualify for benefits from the Indian Trust settlement. Update your contact information and file a claim by Nov. 27, 2017 to get cash from this settlement.
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28 thoughts onSecond Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Checks Expected Early 2014
I have to agree with Bryan, the government shouldn’t give a timeline that they can’t commit to! Iam also very very upset with how “they” loosely use the word early and then NEVER pull through on time. Come on government DO WHAT YOU SAY YOUR GOING TO DO WHEN YOU SAY YOU’ll DO IT FOR ONCE!!!
Well here it is, almost the end of March 2014, when is “early” 2014???
March 2015?
FACTS: We are NOT getting our second checks till maybe 2017, I’m assuming, it might be till after. I suggest we stop anticipating the lies of getting a second payments ..”early” .. it’s NOT gonna happen .. MY people.. read my lips: NO, NA dah, HELL NO, NO. NO NO , NONE, NO checks anytime soon. Give yourself a “reality” check and accept it.
second check was $27.16
my dad was and grandma was both with the eastern Shoshoni tribe. but supposibly they had no tribal number.i think really they was not wanting to give it to me so I could get inrolled which I think is bullshit.dont get me wrong I appreciate everything I have received it has helped me out a lot.but its not like I was out to get money.so what if I was its rightly mine anyway.sorry for using the b word but that’s how I feel.i think we all should beable to get whats coming to us instead of getting ripped off of whats rightfully ours. who feels they same way I do. any takers out there . please let me know how you feel about this situation.thank you laura caizza
It would be nice to get interest on our money just like the banks…
Hey when the hell are we getting paid
i am a member of the eastern shoshoni tribe.fort washikie.my grammother died1971.my dad died1972.altho i and my sisters and brother were cheated out ofour rightful enrollement tribal number…i have lived my life with sorrow pain homelessness no car.6kids who deserve there tribe enrollment numbers.i am sad to read the comments on wyoming 10facebook…i love my rez.but could nrver go back to fix my paperwork..just life.im going to receive my cobell money very gratefull for it.me and my sibling are relateded to everyone in the aragon cematery.how the heck am i not enrolled…just want my check.
Our ancestors were hunted,killed,robbed,raped,beaten,and sent to prison because they wished to live free..Not confined to live and given a number, to prove who they were, to live on a reservation. Our ancestors never wished to have an enrollment number,government name,or be given anything. They fought for our culture,our way of life, to keep moving despite ALL these huddles set for us…or are they traps?
I don’t understand why some of us aren’t eligible for this trust fund (Checks), my mother is enrolled in the San Carlos Apache Tribe. But still she wasn’t eligible. I believe all indigenous nations (Native Americans) should be equally compensated per person. Instead of having certain tribes be paid rediculous amounts of money. Lets face it, we all have to get out this stereotypical BS. And start looking for ways to improve our lives on our own reservations. Which includes starting businesses for agriculture, cattle farms,transit, and many others. Dont get me wrong, I’m glad a lot of you are getting checks. But I’m also sorry for those who are enrolled with their tribes but aren’t eligible. I apologize if I didn’t make any sense.
hello, the reason that i am trying to contact you , is due to the fact that i would like to know if we are any closer to recieving our 2nd checks yet? please and thank you
Why don’t government state what is really taking place with distribution of second checks,in reality what really happening with repeated delays is that this so called company set up to distribute checks has put these funds into some type of account to draw interest and they have to let it mature.So in retrospect they making money off our so-called lawsuit.They should just be upfront but GREED have no truth.We get the shell and they get the peanut hmmmmmmmmm.
I received the first Cobell Settlement Check. The second Cobell Settlement Check will be mailed early next year.