Dan Rey-Bear | Attorney

Cases litigated include the following: Jicarilla Apache Nation v. United States, 88 Fed. Cl. 1 (2009), mandamus denied on other grounds, In re United States, 590 F.3d. 1305 (Fed. Cir. 2009), rejecting federal effort to obtain discovery of private tribal financial records based on federal fiduciary duty for tribal trust fund management (briefed and argued as amicus curiae); Bales v. Chickasaw Nation Industries, 606 F. Supp. 1308 (D.N.M. 2009), holding that sovereign immunity precludes Title VII and ADEA claims against federally chartered tribal corporation; Navajo Nation v. United States, 46 Fed. Cl. 217 (2000), rev'd, 263 F.3d 1325 (Fed Cir. 2001), rev'd, 537 U.S. 488 (2003), on remand, 347 F.3d 1327 (Fed. Cir. 2003), on remand, 68 Fed. Cl. 805 (2005), rev'd 501 F.3d 1327 (Fed. Cir. 2007), rev'd, 129 S.Ct. 1547 (2009), finding lack of jurisdiction under the Indian Tucker Act over claims that the United States violated statutory, regulatory, and common law fiduciary duties regarding approval of a tribal coal lease amendment; Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rio Arriba County, 376 F.Supp.2d 1096 (D.N.M. 2004), aff'd 440 F.3d 1202 (10th Cir. 2006), concerning class-of-one equal protection claim for discriminatory tax treatment; Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians v. Superior Court of Lake County, 133 Cal.App.4th 1185 (2005), holding that alleged employment contracts did not waive tribal sovereign immunity; Thompson v. Poncho, No. C-04-089 (Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana Court of Appeals May 2, 2005), applying tribal sovereign immunity to bar claims by former tribal employee; Pueblo of Laguna v. United States, 60 Fed. Cl. 133 (2004), imposing a record retention order on the United States in a breach of trust case; Jicarilla Apache Nation v. United States, 60 Fed. Cl. 611 (2004), rejecting federal assertion of a discovery privilege under the Indian Mineral Development Act; Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rio Arriba County Assessor, 92 P.3d 642 (N.M. Ct. App. 2003), rev'd sub nom. Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rodarte, 103 P.3d 554 (N.M. 2004), abrogated in part, N.M. Laws 2005, ch. 231, concerning whether land management for commercial hunting of private and wild elk constitutes an agricultural land use for property tax purposes; National Labor Relations Board v. Pueblo of San Juan, 305 F. Supp. 2d 1229 (D.N.M. 2003), awarding attorneys fees under Equal Access to Justice Act with enhancement for federal Indian law expertise; Rio Arriba County v. Acting Southwest Regional Director, 36 IBIA 14, recon. denied, 36 IBIA 102 (2001), on second appeal, 38 IBIA 18, recon. denied, 38 IBIA 108 (2003), concerning federal acquisition of 32,000-acre ranch in trust for Indian tribe; HRI, Inc. v. E.P.A., 198 F.3d 1224 (10th Cir. 2000), affirming federal regulation of underground injection control under Safe Drinking Water Act in off-reservation Indian community; and N.L.R.B. v. Pueblo of San Juan, 30 F. Supp. 2d 1348 (D.N.M. 1998), aff'd, 276 F.3d 1186 (10th Cir. 2002) (en banc), affirming inherent tribal authority to prohibit union security agreements on trust lands via a right-to-work ordinance.

Preparation of Amici Curiae Briefs:  Jicarilla Apache Nation v. United States, __ Fed. Cl. __, 2010 WL 391514 (Feb. 1,2010) (citing amicus brief favorably); In re United States, 590 F.3d. 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (quoting amicus brief favorably);  Narragansett Indian Tribe v. Rhode Island, 449 F.3d 16 (1st Cir. 2005), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1053 (2006); Department of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Ass'n, 532 U.S. 1 (2001); Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Gov't, 522 U.S. 520 (1998); and Kiowa Tribe of Okla. v. Manufacturing Technologies, 523 U.S. 751 (1998).

Publications and Presentations:  Legal Issues and Challenges For Tribal Water Quality Standards, Pueblo Tribal Water Quality & Envtl. Health Training (Aug. 28, 2008); Developing Tribal Sovereignty Through Tribal Courts, Law Enforcement, and Trust Acquisitions, United Southern & Eastern Tribes Semi-Annual Meeting (June 5, 2006); Developing Tribal Environmental Laws, 12th Annual Tribal-EPA Conference (Oct. 27, 2004); U.S. Supreme Court Indian Trust Decisions, Natural Resources and Environmental Law on the Reservation (Aug 21, 2003); Tribal Claims for Federal Mismanagement of Trust Resources, Natural Resources and Environmental Law on the Reservation (Sept. 12, 2002); Federal Acquisition of Land in Trust for Indians, California Indian Law Association Conference (Feb. 9, 2002); Indian Tribes and the Freedom of Information Act, Natural Resources and Environmental Law on the Reservation (Aug. 16, 2001); Tribal-State Environmental Cooperative Agreements, California State Bar Environmental Law Conference (Oct. 15, 2000);  Judicial Enforcement of the Federal Trust Responsibility Concerning Environmental Matters, U.S. E.P.A. Region IX Trust Responsibility Workshop (Aug. 29, 2000); Analysis and History of Tribal-State Environmental Regulatory Jurisdiction Disputes, California State Bar Environmental Law Conference (Oct. 15, 1999); When the Paths of Good People Meet:  the Interaction of Federal Indian Law and the Environmental Justice Movement,  Ninth Annual ABA/SONREEL Conference on Environment and Development in Indian Country, Nov 21, 1997.  The Flathead Water Quality Standards Dispute:  Legal Bases for Tribal Regulatory Authority Over Non-Indian Reservation Lands, 20 Am. Indian L. Rev. 151 (1995-96).  (First-prize winner, 1994-1995 American Indian Law Writing Competition; Native American Law:  A Career Path to Consider, 58 Tex. Bar. J. 840 (1994); Judicial Enforcement of Charitable Care Requirements for Non-Profit Hospitals' Tax Exempt Status, Tex. F. on C.L. & C.R., Fall 1993, at 1.