Cortina Integrated Waste Mgt. Inc. v. U.S. Dept. of the Interior

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California grants the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation of the Cortina Rancheria’s unopposed motion to intervene as of right under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2). The court finds that the Tribe has a timely and legally protectable interest in the lease at issue and that existing parties may not adequately represent that interest, and orders the Tribe to file its proposed answer within 14 days.

Holdings

1. The Tribe's motion to intervene was timely because it was filed before the court had heard any dispositive motions.
2. The Tribe had the type of interest contemplated by Rule 24(a)(2) because evidence showed that it was the plaintiff's counterparty in the lease at issue.
3. If the Tribe did not intervene, disposition of the action could impair its interest in the lease.
4. The existing parties did not adequately represent the Tribe's interest because the federal government did not share the Tribe's reasons for defending the lease.
5. The requirements for intervention under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2) were satisfied, and the Tribe's motion to intervene was granted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Tribe satisfied the requirements for intervention as of right under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2).
2. Whether the Tribe's motion to intervene was timely.
3. Whether the Tribe had a sufficient interest in the lease, whether disposition of the action could impair that interest, and whether existing parties adequately represented it.

Disposition

other