TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO CERTIFY THE DEFENDANT CLASS
Plaintiffs the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin (collectively, "Plaintiffs") move to certify a defendant class action pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Plaintiffs and the United States move this Court for leave to amend their complaints to join an additional plaintiff and many new defendants and a defendant class action consisting of twenty thousand private landowners. They also seek leave to amend their complaints to include a claim for repossession of the land at issue and a claim for additional money damages.
ISSUE OF GOOD FAITH
As Madison County and Oneida County (the "Counties") set forth in their Memorandum of Law on the Issue of Good Faith, in order to find that the Counties have possessed the subject properties in good faith, the Court must conclude that the Counties honestly believed they owned the subject properties and that no circumstances exist to impeach the Counties’ good faith.
This litigation is over twenty-eight years old. It has been complex and far-reaching. Since its commencement in 1970, numerous motions have been made by the parties and entertained by the Court and two trials have been held. This case has been to the Supreme Court of the United States twice, has found itself in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit several times and now returns to this Court for yet further litigation. Its history also includes a decade’s worth of fruitless settlement negotiations.