Summary
This Eighth Circuit opinion addresses whether North Dakota state law or federal law governs the location of the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) for determining mineral royalty entitlements on lands reacquired by the United States to construct Lake Sakakawea. The court held that under the equal-footing doctrine and established Supreme Court precedent, state law controls the current boundary once the federal government has yielded title to the uplands. Additionally, the court found that 28 U.S.C. § 2410(a)(5) waives federal sovereign immunity for this interpleader action involving a state-law lien on mineral proceeds, and declined to take judicial notice of new documents on appeal. The district court’s judgments were affirmed.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 28 U.S.C. §2410(a)(5) waives sovereign immunity for the United States in this interpleader action, thereby granting subject‑matter jurisdiction.
- Whether North Dakota law, as reflected in the Wenck survey, governs the location of the OHWM for lands reacquired by the United States, justifying summary judgment for the Land Board.
Holdings
- The district court properly denied the United States' motion to dismiss because the United States has a continuing lien on the royalty proceeds under North Dakota law, satisfying the waiver language of §2410(a)(5).
- The district court correctly granted summary judgment to the Land Board because, after the United States relinquished title to the lands, the location of the OHWM is governed by North Dakota law, specifically the Wenck survey, pursuant to the equal‑footing doctrine and the Supreme Court’s decision in Corvallis.
Key quotations
“The basic rule of federal sovereign immunity is that the United States cannot be sued at all without the consent of Congress.” (287)
“If the United States ceded title to the lands it had retained under the equal‑footing doctrine, the location of the OHWM became “subject to the laws of the State in which it lay”: North Dakota.” (376)
Factual background
Continental Resources leases oil and gas minerals from both the United States and the North Dakota Board of University and School Lands. Royalties from those minerals depend on the location of the ordinary high‑water mark (OHWM) on the bed of Lake Sakakawea. The parties dispute whether the federal Corps of Engineers survey or the state‑commissioned Wenck survey determines the OHWM for lands the United States reacquired after the construction of the Garrison Dam.
Procedural history
The district court denied the United States' motion to dismiss for lack of subject‑matter jurisdiction, granted summary judgment to the United States on lands it retained since statehood, and granted summary judgment to the North Dakota Board of University and School Lands on lands reacquired by the United States. The United States appealed the latter judgment.