Case Information

NORTHERN VALLEY INDIAN HEALTH, INC., v. ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., in his official capacity as Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, et al.,

No. 2:24-CV-02154-DJC-DMC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

June 17, 2025

JOINT STATUS REPORT, STIPULATION, AND ORDER FOR STAYING CASE

Adam P. Bailey (CA Bar No. 278208)
Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP
1903 21st St., 3rd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: (916) 442-9444
Fax: (916) 442-8344
Email: abailey@hobbsstraus.com

Attorneys for Plaintiff

MICHELE BECKWITH
Acting United States Attorney
JOSEPH B. FRUEH
Assistant United States Attorney
501 I Street, Suite 10-100
Sacramento, CA 95814
E-mail: joseph.frueh@usdoj.gov
Telephone: (916) 554-2702
Facsimile: (916) 554-2900

Attorneys for Defendants

Pursuant to the Court's Order (ECF 13) dated March 13, 2025, the parties provide this status report and stipulate, subject to Court approval, that this action be stayed while the parties work toward informally resolving claims recently recognized by the Supreme Court in Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, 602 U.S. 222 (2024);1 and that the parties file a Joint Status Report on or before October 3, 2025.

The reasons for this stipulation are as follows.

A court may stay proceedings as part of its inherent power "to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants." Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also, e.g., Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997) ("The District Court has broad discretion to stay proceedings as an incident to its power to control its own docket.").
This case involves claims for "contract support costs" associated with program income that a Tribal organization expends on health programs that it has contracted to operate under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ("ISDEAA"), 25 U.S.C. §§ 5301–5423. Plaintiff filed this action shortly after the Supreme Court recognized such claims as cognizable under the ISDEAA in Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, 602 U.S. 222 (2024).
Following the Supreme Court's decision, the Indian Health Service convened meetings of a Contract Support Cost Advisory Group in July and August 2024. In those meetings, Tribal representatives and representatives of the Indian Health Service discussed possible methodologies for determining contract support costs following the Supreme Court's decision. On September 10, 2024, the Indian Health Service initiated a national consultation seeking feedback from Tribes on the Agency's proposals to calculate contract support costs related to expenditures of program income.2
The Indian Health Service's national consultation with the Tribes concluded in mid-October 2024. Thereafter, the Contract Support Cost Advisory Group reconvened and finalized recommendations for the Director of the Indian Health Service on December 20, 2024.3
The Indian Health Service has gathered the financial documents in its possession pertaining to the claim asserted in this case for contract support costs for calendar year 2016. The Indian Health Service has also retained an expert to analyze and value the claim. This expert is familiar with the type of claim presented in this action and has assisted the Indian Health Service and other Tribes and Tribal organizations in resolving such claims in light of Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, 602 U.S. 222 (2024).
The Indian Health Service's expert completed his preliminary analysis, which yielded five requests for additional information from Plaintiff Northern Valley Indian Health, Inc. Counsel for Defendants sent these requests to Plaintiff's counsel on March 7, 2025, and Plaintiff's counsel responded on March 21, 2025.
The parties are presently negotiating in good faith to attempt to resolve Plaintiff's claim for contract support costs for calendar year 2016.
The parties propose filing a Joint Status Report on or before October 3, 2025.

Dated: June 12, 2025

HOBBS, STRAUS, DEAN & WALKER, LLP

By: /s/ Adam P. Bailey (authorized 6/12/2025)

ADAM P. BAILEY

Attorneys for Plaintiff

Dated: June 12, 2025

MICHELE BECKWITH
Acting United States Attorney

By: /s/ Joseph B. Frueh

JOSEPH B. FRUEH

Assistant United States Attorney

Attorneys for Defendants

IT IS SO ORDERED

Dated: June 17, 2025

/s/ Daniel J. Calabretta

THE HONORABLE DANIEL J. CALABRETTA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Footnotes

1 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was sworn in as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services on February 13, 2025. Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, he should be substituted automatically for Xavier Becerra as the defendant in this action.

2 See Letter from Indian Health Service to Tribal Leaders (Sept. 10, 2024), https://www.ihs.gov/sites/newsroom/themes/responsive2017/display_objects/documents/2024_Letters/DTLL_091024.pdf.

3 Letter from Indian Health Service to Tribal Leaders (Dec. 20, 2024), https://www.ihs.gov/sites/newsroom/themes/responsive2017/display_objects/documents/2024_Letters/DTLL_12202024.pdf