Modrall Sperling recognized by Chambers and Partners
Modrall Sperling has again achieved national ranking for its Native American Law practice from Chambers and Partners in their 2024 USA Guide. Additionally, four of the firm’s attorneys rank individually in Nationwide Native American Law. The 2024 edition also lists 14 of…
Recent Biden Administration Orders Affecting the Energy Industry
In his first week in office, President Biden and administration officials have issued various Executive Orders, memoranda and other agency directives reversing previous Trump Administration policies and/or establishing new policies for federal agencies, which some have characterized as a fossil fuel freeze….
Solenex, LLC v. Bernhardt, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior: Cancellation of 1982 Oil and Gas Lease Upheld – Significant Cultural and Religious Lands of the Badger-Two Medicine Area in Montana
Introduction and Setting On June 16, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia wrote what could be the last chapter in a long-running dispute over an oil and gas lease issued by…
Chambers USA Honors 18 Modrall Sperling Attorneys
Modrall Sperling has once again achieved national ranking as a firm from Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for its Native American Law practice. Additionally, two of…
State Bar of New Mexico Indian Law Section’s Annual Program
Stan Harris, shareholder, spoke at the State Bar of New Mexico Indian Law Section’s annual program, “A Practical Approach to Indian Law: Legal Writing, 2018 Update, and the Ethics of Practicing Indian Law,” on December 10, 2018. Stan was one of two…
Attorney Chris Killion Joins Modrall Sperling
Modrall Sperling is pleased to announce that Chris Killion has joined the firm as a Shareholder. Chris’ practice is focused on issuing drilling, division order, and acquisition title…
Supreme Court Declines Review of Tenth Circuit Case Holding Tribal Acquisition of an Interest in an Allotment Defeats Eminent Domain Authority
The Supreme Court recently denied a petition to review the Tenth Circuit’s opinion in Public Service Company of New Mexico v. Barboan1. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district’s court ruling that tribal ownership of a fractional interest in an “allotment,” land the…
Supreme Court Ducks Addressing “Immovable Property” Exception to Tribal Sovereign Immunity
As Chief Justice Roberts put it in his concurring opinion in Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren, “There should be a means of resolving a mundane dispute over property ownership, even when one of the parties to the dispute—involving non-trust, non-reservation land—is…
Update on Dakota Access Pipeline Litigation
The Dakota Access Pipeline litigation was originally brought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in 2016, quickly joined by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, to challenge construction of the Dakota Access pipeline (“DAPL”), and specifically DAPL’s crossing of the Missouri River at…
Potential Hurdle to Right-of-Way Acquisition and Renewals: The Tenth Circuit Holds Tribal Acquisition of an Undivided Interest in an Allotment Defeats Congressional Eminent Domain Authority
On May 26, 2017, the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Public Service Company of New Mexico v. Barboan,1 upholding a New Mexico federal district court’s ruling2 that tribal ownership of even a very small fractional interest in an allotment bars condemnation…