ELR Citation: ELR 20284
No(s). s. 98-5428, -5451 (D.C. Cir. Nov 17, 2000)

The court holds that it lacks jurisdiction to hear intervening homeowners' appeal of a suit concerning a boundary dispute between Native Americans and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Native Americans sued DOI claiming that an 1859 government survey erroneously set the eastern boundary of their 1748 land grant along the base of a mountain ridge rather than along the mountain's crest line as originally set forth in the land grant. Homeowners in the affected region intervened. The district court found that the circumstances surrounding the land grant were ambiguous and that DOI was arbitrary and capricious in setting the eastern boundary and, therefore, remanded the case to DOI. After DOI and the Native Americans settled the case, the homeowners appealed the remand. The court first holds, however, that it lacks jurisdiction to review the homeowners' appeal of the case. It is well-settled that a district court order remanding a case to an agency for significant further proceedings is not final. Therefore, because the district court's decision here does not end the litigation on the merits, the court lacks jurisdiction to review it. The court next holds that the case was remanded to DOI for further proceedings, not merely the ministerial act of issuing a corrected boundary. Although the Native Americans' complaint sought an order directing DOI to issue a corrected survey, the district court's order neither entered a judgment declaring that the 1748 land grant identifies and designates the true boundaries, nor directed DOI to issue a new survey. Rather, the court remanded the case to DOI for further proceedings.

Counsel for Appellee
Reid Peyton Chambers
Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse & Endreson
1250 I St. NW, Ste. 1000, Washington DC 20005
(202) 682-0240

Counsel for Appellants
David Lazerwitz
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000

Before Ginsburg and Sentelle, JJ.