Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_24-cv-02154/USCOURTS-caed-2_24-cv-02154-0/pdf.json

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

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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 

STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR STAYING 

CASE 

 

Case 2:24-cv-02154-DJC-DMC Document 9 Filed 10/09/24 Page 1 of 3
STIPULATION AND PROPOSED ORDER 1 

FOR STAYING CASE

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STIPULATION AND ORDER 

IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, by and between the parties and subject to Court approval, that 

this action be stayed while the Indian Health Service conducts a national consultation with Native 

American Tribes on a 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 December 18, 2024. 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 parties are hopeful that they will be in a position to discuss possible resolution of the 

claims in this case after the Indian Health Service has completed consultation with Tribes and adopted a 

methodology to calculate the type of contract support costs recognized in Becerra v. San Carlos Apache 

Tribe. Accordingly, a stay will promote judicial economy and efficiency. 

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 9 Filed 10/09/24 Page 2 of 3
STIPULATION AND PROPOSED ORDER 2 

FOR STAYING CASE

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5. Other cases involving similar claims have been stayed for the same reasons, including, 

for example, Navajo Health Foundation-Sage Memorial Hospital, Inc. v. Becerra, Case No. 3:23-cv08065-DLR (D. Ariz.). 

6. The parties propose filing a Joint Status Report on or before December 18, 2024. 

Dated: October 3, 2024 HOBBS, STRAUS, DEAN & WALKER, LLP 

 By: /s/ Adam P. Bailey (authorized 10/3/2024) 

 ADAM P. BAILEY 

 

 Attorneys for Plaintiff 

Dated: October 3, 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: October 8, 2024 /s/ Daniel J. Calabretta 

 THE HONORABLE DANIEL J. CALABRETTA 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

Case 2:24-cv-02154-DJC-DMC Document 9 Filed 10/09/24 Page 3 of 3