Opinion ID: 692074
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dismissal of Certain Deceased Plaintiffs' Claims

Text: 22 The plaintiffs claim that the Court of Federal Claims erred in dismissing the claims of certain Indians who died after the suit was filed on March 27, 1963, but before their names were added to the amended petition filed on March 6, 1967. See Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 2 (Ct.Fed.Cl. July 29, 1993) (final order directing the entry of judgments) (amended Sept. 2, 1993); Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 1-3 (Cl.Ct. July 10, 1986) (order dismissing certain deceased claimants with prejudice); Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 2-3 (Cl.Ct. May 27, 1986) (order denying a motion for reconsideration of an order of April 10, 1985); Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 3-4 (Cl.Ct. Apr. 10, 1985) (order). 23 We affirm the order dismissing the claims of these potential plaintiffs. The trial court correctly found that, under the unique procedures developed for this case, potential claimants who were not named in the petition would not have been bound by the judgment and thus were not parties. See Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 2 (Cl.Ct. May 27, 1986) (order); Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 4 (Cl.Ct. Apr. 10, 1985) (order). 24 The plaintiffs are correct to point out that the Court of Claims did not have formal class action rules in 1963, but developed such procedures on a case-by-case basis. See Quinault Allottee Ass'n v. United States, 453 F.2d 1272, 1275-76, 197 Ct.Cl. 134 (1972); see also Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 4 (Cl.Ct. Apr. 10, 1985) (order) (the court never adopted the class action device defined by Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure). Having acknowledged this, however, the plaintiffs fail to accord proper weight to the procedural rulings of this case. For example, the Court of Federal Claims did not find that a judgment of eligibility had been made for all of the deceased claimants, see Short v. United States, No. 102-63, at 2-3 (Cl.Ct. May 27, 1986) (order). The lack of a judgment of eligibility supports the conclusion that these claimants would not have been bound by a judgment in the case.