712
Opinion of the Court
The Ninth Circuit again reversed the District Court's judgment; in a per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals read its prior opinions to require the relief the Tribe demanded, i. e., an order directing the State and county to disgorge approximately $58.2 million in coal taxes paid by Westmoreland to Montana and its subdivisions before West-moreland began making payments into the District Court's registry. 92 F. 3d 826, amended, 98 F. 3d 1194 (1996) (Crow IV). Acknowledging "the absence of traditional requirements for relief under theories of assumpsit or constructive trust," 92 F. 3d, at 828, the Court of Appeals remanded for entry of the disgorgement order. That court left to the District Court only the "unresolved request[s] for prejudgment interest [and attorney's fees]." Id., at 830-831.
In the Ninth Circuit's view, the District Court had not adhered to the "law of this case," id., at 828,11 and had therefore abused its discretion, id., at 830. In particular, the Court of Appeals faulted the District Court for giving undue weight to the fact that Westmoreland rather than the Tribe had paid the taxes, id., at 828-829,12 and to the fact, made plain by this Court in Cotton Petroleum, 490 U. S., at 176-187, that "similar [state] taxes are not always preempted," Crow IV, 92 F. 3d, at 829. Further, the Ninth Circuit discounted the public services Montana provided at the ceded strip because "the State would have provided such services even if the
id., at 54-57, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that disposition. 92 F. 3d 826, 830-831, amended, 98 F. 3d 1194 (1996). We denied the Tribe's cross-petition for review of the final judgment disposing of the Shell Oil claim. 522 U. S. 819 (1997).
11 The Court of Appeals repeatedly referred to "law of the case" made in Crow III, see 92 F. 3d, at 828, and n. 2, 829, a decision denying interlocu-tory review and therefore containing no "holding," see supra, at 708-709.
12 But cf. Crow I, 650 F. 2d, at 1110 ("incidence of [Montana's] taxes is on the non-Indian mineral lessee"); id., at 1113, n. 13 ("[a]s to the taxes already paid by Westmoreland, . . . [the Tribe] is apparently not entitled to any refund").
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