Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_24-cv-02154/USCOURTS-caed-2_24-cv-02154-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 190
Nature of Suit: Other Contract Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Fed. Question: Breach of Contract

---

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

Adam P. Bailey (CA Bar No. 278208) 

Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP 

1903 21st St., 3rd Floor 

Sacramento, CA 95811 

Phone: (916) 442-9444 

Fax: (916) 442-8344 

Email: abailey@hobbsstraus.com 

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

PHILLIP A. TALBERT 

United States Attorney 

JOSEPH B. FRUEH 

Assistant United States Attorney 

501 I Street, Suite 10-100 

Sacramento, CA 95814 

E-mail: joseph.frueh@usdoj.gov 

Telephone: (916) 554-2702 

Facsimile: (916) 554-2900 

Attorneys for Defendants 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

NORTHERN VALLEY INDIAN HEALTH, 

INC., 

 Plaintiff, 

 v. 

XAVIER BECERRA, in his official capacity as 

Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & 

Human Services, et al., 

 Defendants. 

No. 2:24-CV-02154-DJC-DMC 

JOINT STATUS REPORT, STIPULATION, 

AND ORDER FOR STAYING CASE 

 

Case 2:24-cv-02154-DJC-DMC Document 11 Filed 12/16/24 Page 1 of 3
1 JOINT STATUS REPORT, STIPULATION, AND

ORDER FOR STAYING CASE

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

JOINT STATUS REPORT, STIPULATION, AND ORDER 

Pursuant to the Court’s Order (ECF 9) dated October 8, 2024, the parties provide this status 

report and stipulate, subject to Court approval, that this action be stayed while the Indian Health Service 

finalizes its methodology to value claims recently recognized by the Supreme Court in Becerra v. San 

Carlos Apache Tribe, 144 S. Ct. 1428 (June 6, 2024); and that the parties file a Joint Status Report on or 

before March 14, 2025. The reasons for this stipulation are as follows. 

1. A court may stay proceedings as part of its inherent power “to control the disposition of 

the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” 

Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also, e.g., Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 

(1997) (“The District Court has broad discretion to stay proceedings as an incident to its power to 

control its own docket.”). 

2. This case involves claims for “contract support costs” associated with program income 

that a Tribal organization expends on health programs that it has contracted to operate under the Indian 

Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (“ISDEAA”), 25 U.S.C. §§ 5301–5423. Plaintiff filed 

this action shortly after the Supreme Court recognized such claims as cognizable under the ISDEAA in 

Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, 144 S. Ct. 1428 (June 6, 2024). 

3. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Indian Health Service convened meetings of 

a Contract Support Cost Advisory Group in July and August 2024. In those meetings, Tribal 

representatives and representatives of the Indian Health Service discussed possible methodologies for 

determining contract support costs following the Supreme Court’s decision. On September 10, 2024, 

the Indian Health Service initiated a national consultation seeking feedback from Tribes on the Agency’s 

proposals to calculate contract support costs related to expenditures of program income.1

4. The Indian Health Service’s national consultation with the Tribes concluded in midOctober 2024. Thereafter, the Contract Support Cost Advisory Group reconvened and finalized 

recommendations for the Director of the Indian Health Service. The Indian Health Service expects to 

1 See Letter from Indian Health Service to Tribal Leaders (Sept. 10, 2024), https://www.ihs.gov/

sites/newsroom/themes/responsive2017/display_objects/documents/2024_Letters/DTLL_091024.pdf. 

Case 2:24-cv-02154-DJC-DMC Document 11 Filed 12/16/24 Page 2 of 3
2 JOINT STATUS REPORT, STIPULATION, AND

ORDER FOR STAYING CASE

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

finalize its methodology by the end of December 2024. Once a methodology is adopted, Defendants 

expect to be able to apply this methodology to Plaintiff’s claims and begin settlement discussions. 

5. The parties propose filing a Joint Status Report on or before March 14, 2025. 

Dated: December 13, 2024 HOBBS, STRAUS, DEAN & WALKER, LLP 

 By: /s/ Adam P. Bailey (authorized 12/13/2024) 

 ADAM P. BAILEY 

 

 Attorneys for Plaintiff 

Dated: December 13, 2024 PHILLIP A. TALBERT 

 United States Attorney 

 By: /s/ Joseph B. Frueh JOSEPH B. FRUEH 

 Assistant United States Attorney 

 Attorneys for Defendants 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: December 13, 2024 /s/ Daniel J. Calabretta 

 THE HONORABLE DANIEL J. CALABRETTA 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

Case 2:24-cv-02154-DJC-DMC Document 11 Filed 12/16/24 Page 3 of 3