Federal Claims Court Holds Stigler Act Imposes No Duty on Interior Attorneys to Object to State Court Lease Approvals for Restricted Indian Allotments

Federal Claims Court dismissed breach of trust and takings claims by 58 heirs to restricted Indian allotment minerals in Eastern Oklahoma, holding the Stigler Act imposes no duty on Interior Department trial attorneys to object to state court oil and gas lease approvals or collect bonus payments for non-consenting mineral owners. The ruling clarifies that a Pittsburg County court's 2022 approval of Reagan Smith's lease—without requiring bonus payments to 13 non-leasing heirs who retained their mineral interests—does not constitute a Fifth Amendment taking.