Opinion ID: 1280889
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Negotiations and Right-of-Way Agreement Between the Community and ADOT

Text: In 1989, in connection with ADOT's survey and appraisal of lands involved in the right-of-way transaction, ADOT requested from the Community a complete title report on all the allotments in the right-of-way. ADOT letter dated July 21, Memorandum Exh.C. Tribal land records are normally held by the tribe and recorded only in the BIA Land Titles and Records Office serving the tribe's area. 25 C.F.R. § 150.3. Thus, such title reports are federal and tribal records and are accessible to the public only through federal statutory avenues or in the discretion of the BIA. 25 C.F.R. § 150.11. The BIA contract under which the Community assumed the duties relevant to the right-of-way transaction required the Community to comply with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and its accompanying regulations, set forth at 43 C.F.R. § 2.45. See 25 C.F.R. § 271.56(a). In light of this federally-imposed responsibility, the Community initially declined to release its confidential tribal land records to ADOT. Interoffice Memo, Memorandum Exh.B. The Community finally released the records to ADOT after receiving a detailed justification of ADOT's need for the information, along with express written assurances that ADOT and its consultant would respect the confidentiality of the information and that the information would remain the property of the Community. Memorandum Exh.C. ADOT and its appraisal consultant, DeLeuw, Cather & Co., used the information from the tribal records to outline the boundaries of the parcels and determine the interests of the allottees. The negotiations between ADOT and the Community resulted in the Community's agreement to grant the easement for $207 million, which represented the fair market value of the land taken plus severance damages to unallotted tribal lands and allotment parcels. The amount was determined by the ADOT appraisals and approved by the United States, the Community, and the individual landowners. Petition for Special Action (Petition) at 4. Pursuant to the federal statutory and regulatory scheme outlined above, the treasurer deposited the $207 million as a lump sum into an escrow account at Security Pacific Bank (Security). Then, on July 17, 1990, the United States executed the easement grant to ADOT. Grant of Easement for Right-of-Way, Petition Exh.F. The easement provides that the exact amount to be paid [from the lump sum total] to each landowner will be computed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community based on the interest ... held by each landowner and on the value of each ... parcel.... Id. However, as part of its contract with the Community, ADOT agreed to have its consultant prepare a computer program to calculate the dollar amounts owed to each allottee. Complaint for Special Action and Temporary Restraining Order (Complaint), Para. 5 (filed Aug. 17, 1990); Answer, Para. 5 (filed Sept. 4, 1990). This program was based on the confidential information already held by the consultant in connection with the earlier appraisals. Security then used the computer program to generate checks for the amount due to each individual allottee. The actual payout of funds took place on July 17 and 18, 1990, immediately after the right-of-way easement was granted. Staff members of the Community distributed the checks at a location on the reservation with the assistance of ADOT. The Community asserts, and Phoenix Newspapers does not deny, that the checks were issued by Security, as escrow agent of the United States, and not by the treasurer. Petition at 4. The checks were thus distributed after the completion of the transaction, at a time when the funds were held by the United States on behalf of the Community, and not by the state of Arizona. The document at issue in this case is Security's computer printout of the name and address of each allottee, along with the amount paid to each. The information is not available in or from any office of the state. The computer printout is hereafter referred to as the check distribution list or the list.