Case: THE UTE INDIANS v. THE UNITED STATES
Abbreviation: Ute Indians v. United States
Decision Date: 1911-02-13
Docket Number: No. 30360
Citation: 46 Ct. Cl. 225
Volume: 46
Reporter: United States Court of Claims Reports
Court: United States Court of Claims
Jurisdiction: United States
Parties: THE UTE INDIANS v. THE UNITED STATES.
Judges: 
Pages: 225–227

Head Matter:
THE UTE INDIANS v. THE UNITED STATES.
[No. 30360.
Decided February 13, 1911.]
On the claimants'1 Motion.
This is a continuation of the case reported in 45 C. Cls. R., 440. The motion is to increase the judgment because additional moneys have been received by the United States from- the sale of certain lands; and a further motion for the court to fix counsel fees pursuant to the authority given by the jurisdictional act.
I.Where the principal services rendered by counsel were before committees in Congress they can not be regarded as strictly the professional services of a lawyer.
II.Where a jurisdictional act authorizes the court to fix the fees which shall be allowed counsel for services both before committees of Congress as well as for services before the courts, the court must note the facts that the case was tried upon a record of official reports and public documents; that no witnesses were examined and that no appeal was taken. The court must also note the fact that the value of the recovery was materially reduced to the parties by its bringing to an end an annuity which they had been receiving from the Government.
III.Where a claim rested upon a statute which recognized the taking of Indian lands for forest purposes as land actually sold for the benefit of the Indian parties in interest, the estimate for compensation should be that of fees for the collection of moneys actually due.
The Reporters’ statement of the case:
The court made the following supplemental finding of fact and modified conclusion of law:
The following additional sums have been received by the United States from the sale of the lands ceded by the plaintiffs to the United States under the act of June 15, 1880:
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1009_$70, 628. 23
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910_ 136, 826. 98
Total-'_ 207,455. 21
The following sums have been expended of the annuity of $50,000 per annum under section 5 of the act of June 15, 1880 :
For the period from July 1, 1908, to June 30, 1910-$99, 835. 56
Leaving a balance due the plaintiffs for said period of— 107, 619. 65
CONCLUSION OF LAW.
Upon the previous findings of fact and including the above supplemental finding, the former judgment is set aside and the court now decides as a conclusion of law that the plaintiffs are entitled to judgment against the United States in the sum of $3,516,231.05 as and for the sum due to them up to and including June 30, 1910, out of which judgment, as provided by the jurisdictional act and the stipulation between claimants’ attorneys, there shall be paid to Josiah M. Yale, Esq., attorney of record in said cause, for himself and all other attorneys and counsel interested in the prosecution of said cause before committees of Congress and this court 6 per cent thereof, amounting in the aggregate to $210,973.86.
Mr. J. M. Yale and Mr. Marion Butler were heard on the question of the allowance of attorneys’ fees.

Opinion:
Per Curiam:
This is a motion of the claimants' attorneys to have the court fix the amount of fees to be allowed to them for services in this case. The jurisdictional act provides that such fees are to be allowed for services before committees of Congress in the matter of this claim as well as for services before the courts.
It appears that the principal services rendered in this matter were before committees in Congress. Such services can hardly be allowed for on the basis of the professional services of a lawyer, and this fact renders it somewhat difficult to determine the amount properly to be fixed. The fact also should be noted that there was no appeal from the decision of this court in this suit, which would necessarily involve considerably more labor and expense; neither were any witnesses examined on either side. In fact, the whole case was tried upon the record as made up by official reports and public documents. The jurisdictional act by which the suit comes to this court provides that upon the rendition of judgment herein the payment to the claimants of the annuity of $50,000 per annum shall cease, and the fund of $1,250,000 set apart for them in the Treasury shall no long-er exist as a trust fund for their benefit. This fact materially reduces the actual benefit which the claimants are to receive by virtue of the judgment.
The claim of the Ute Indians depended upon the contract of 1880, and there would have been but little controversy as to the amount due them under that contract had it not been for the setting apart of the forest reserves within the territory, the proceeds of the lands within Avhich they were to receive. It doubtless took considerable patient and persistent work on the part of the claimants' attorneys to impress upon the committees of Congress the justice of a law which would regard such reservations as land actually sold. Notwithstanding this fact, we think the allowance to the claimants' attorneys should be rather upon a basis of fees for a collection of moneys actually due than upon the basis of a doubtful claim or a claim for unliquidated damages.
of the matter we have concluded to allow 6 per cent of the amount of the judgment, or $210,973.86, to the attorneys for the claimants for their services in this matter. Accordingly, the judgment heretofore rendered in this cause is modified, as provided by the supplemental finding and the opinion respecting said fees this day filed.