Suit by 2 ex-Ute officials dismissed

FORT DUCHESNE — A federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by two former Ute Tribe Business Committee members who accused the Bureau of Indian Affairs of breaching trust responsibilities by failing to adequately supervise John Jurrius, the tribe's financial adviser.

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell dismissed the suit "with prejudice," which means that once Ron Wopsock and Luke Duncan exhaust all of their "administrative remedies," they may refile the case in federal court if no solution is reached.

The suit named BIA Western Region Director Wayne Nordwall and BIA Uintah-Ouray Superintendent Chester Mills as defendants. The Ute Tribe Business Committee was not named in the suit; however, they filed their own lawsuit to intervene in the dispute on the side of the BIA and Mills.

Tribal Business Committee chairwoman Maxine Natchees said the tribe chose to oppose the lawsuit because they believed it had nothing to do with the BIA but everything to do with Jurrius' financial plan.

Possible administrative remedies include filing an appeal to Nordwall. If no solution is reached, they may appeal to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals and Dave Anderson, assistant secretary for Indian affairs.

The suit was filed on behalf of Wopsock and Duncan, along with Shirleta LaFramboise, Floyd Wopsock and Ruby Atwine by Denver, Colo., attorney Dan Israel.

Ron Wopsock and Duncan were ousted from their elected posts a year ago after filing the lawsuit. They still have a civil rights lawsuit pending against their four former counterparts on the Business Committee along with Mills in connection with their removal from office and a subsequent ordinance that prevented them from running again for office for the next four years.

In their recently dismissed suit, the pair wanted the government to intervene in the attempt by financial adviser John Jurrius to withdraw more than $170 million in the tribe's water settlement fund.

Campbell noted that while the government has received an application for withdrawal of the money from the tribe, it has "identified several additional items which the tribe must provide before the application will even be considered complete."

In regards to the alleged lack of oil and gas activity specifically on the NOSR-2, Navel Oil Shale Reserve lands, which bring in revenue to the tribe, the judge noted that the tribe is "in the process of finalizing, exploration and development agreements with oil and gas companies which would allow development of NOSR-2 minerals and bring income to the tribe."

Campbell also noted that the minerals in the NOSR-2 lands can't be developed at this time due to ongoing administrative appeals "before the Department of Interior over the scope of BIA oversight of exploration and development agreements."

However, the administrative appeal process on NOSR-2 has been abandoned and the tribe has obtained confirmation from Congress that the BIA would have no management for NOSR.

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