Deadline Extended Again for $1 Billion Settlement in Indian Trust Fund Case

For the second time, the Justice Department and lawyers representing a class of American Indians in a long-running federal suit have agreed to push back the deadline needed to secure congressional authorization for a $1.4 billion settlement. The Cobell settlement would end a 13-year-old case that demands an accounting of the government's handling of accounts set up for the collection and dispersal of billions of dollars in payments flowing from natural resources on Indian land.