Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter

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11-83

Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
11-551	10th Cir.	Apr 18, 2012 Tr.Aud.	Jun 18, 2012	5-4	Sotomayor	OT 2011

Holding: The federal government must pay in full each tribe’s contract support costs incurred by a tribal contractor under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. § 450, even if Congress has failed to appropriate sufficient funds to cover all of the contract support costs owed to all tribal contractors collectively.

Plain English Summary: Every contract is a deal between two parties, and both are supposed to perform their part of the deal. That means that, if the job covered by the contract is done as it should be, then that party is entitled to be paid what has been promised. This case involved Indian tribes that sued the government because it did not pay all of the costs it had promised to cover when the two sides made their deal for the tribe to provide education and other government-like functions for their members. The Court ruled that a promise is a promise, even if the government doesn’t have immediately available enough money to pay all of the contractors it had promised to pay for their services. Congress has to locate the money to cover such a promise, the Court said.

Judgment: Affirmed, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Sotomayor on June 18, 2012. The Chief Justice filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Alito joined.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

Opinion recap: Promises must be kept (Lyle Denniston)
Argument recap: How to undo a dumb thing? (Lyle Denniston)
Argument preview: Are Congress's spending caps binding? (Lyle Denniston)
This week’s grants: In Plain English (Amy Howe)
Two new cases granted (Lyle Denniston)

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Merits Briefs for the Petitioners

Merits Briefs for the Respondents

Brief for Ramah Navajo Chapter et al.

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Respondents

Certiorari-stage documents

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Editor's Note :

Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter

SCOTUSblog Coverage

Briefs and Documents

Certiorari-stage documents

Featured Posts

Challengers urge justices to dismiss census case after district court ruling (Updated) – Amy Howe

Reargument analysis: Justices seek a “middle position” in takings litigation case – Miriam Seifter

Argument analysis: Justices have strong views about removal of class actions – Ronald Mann

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Peabody Award

Sigma Delta Chi

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