United States Ninth Circuit

In an action brought under the Quiet Title Act seeking to quiet title to a portion of the bed of a river on which plaintiff holds oil and gas leases issued by Montana, but to which defendant-U.S. claimed as trustee for the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe, dismissal of the action is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's predecessor in interest knew, or should have known, of the claim of the U.S. no later than 1926; and 2) thus, the statute of limitations had expired by the time plaintiff filed suit in 2004.

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/15/2007
• Decided 11/06/2007
• Published 11/06/2007

Judges

• RYMER, Circuit Judge:, Before:  B. FLETCHER, ARLEN C. BEAM, and PAMELA ANN RYMER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jon Metropoulos and Dana L. Hupp, Helena, MT, for plaintiff-appellant Fidelity Exploration & Production Co.


• For Appellees:
  
• Sue Ellen Wooldridge, Assistant Attorney General, and Patricia Miller, Todd Aagaard, Amber Blaha, and James O. Payne, Jr., Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for defendant-appellee the United States.