Joseph C. Saulque v. United States of America and Cecil Andrus, Secretary of the Interior

The appellant, Joseph C. Saulque, is a Paiute Indian. He filed an application on September 25,1972, for an Indian allotment of 160.42 acres with the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of Interior under the General Allotment Act of 1887 ( 25 U.S.C., §§ 334 and 336, as amended). The California State Director of the Bureau of Land Management issued an initial decision on April 30, 1974, classifying the 160.42 acres as unsuitable as agricultural land for disposal under the General Allotment Act. Saulque appealed from this decision to the Department of Interior on the basis that the lands were well suited for agriculture and submitted evidence in support of his petition-application. The Department then conducted an extensive survey and prepared an official land report on the facts. On December 5, 1975, the State Director’s decision was affirmed and appellant’s application was again denied by the Secretary of Interior.

Appellant then filed a complaint for declaratory relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201-2202 , in Federal District Court, Eastern District of California, asserting among other things that the Secretary’s action was arbitrary and capricious. Both appellant and…