Cite as: 537 U. S. 488 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
The Court of Federal Claims granted summary judgment for the United States. 46 Fed. Cl. 217 (2000). In no uncertain terms, that court found that the Government owed general fiduciary duties to the Tribe, which, in its view, the Secretary had flagrantly dishonored by acting in the best interests of Peabody rather than the Tribe. Nevertheless, the court concluded that the Tribe had entirely failed to link that breach of duty to any statutory or regulatory obligation which could "be fairly interpreted as mandating compensation for the government's fiduciary wrongs." Id., at 236. Accordingly, the court held that the United States was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.9
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed. 263 F. 3d 1325 (2001). The Government's liability to the Tribe, it said, turned on whether "the United States controls the Indian resources." Id., at 1329. Relying on 25 U. S. C. § 399 and regulations promulgated thereunder, the Court of Appeals determined that the measure of control the Secretary exercised over the leasing of Indian lands for mineral development sufficed to warrant a money judgment against the United States for breaches of fiduciary duties connected to coal leasing. 263 F. 3d, at 1330-1332. But see infra, at 509. The appeals court agreed with the Federal Claims Court that the Secretary's actions regarding Peabody's administrative appeal violated the Government's fiduciary obligations to the Tribe, in that those actions "suppress[ed] and conceal[ed]" the decision of the Deputy Assistant Secretary, and "thereby favor[ed] Peabody interests to the detriment of Navajo interests." 263 F. 3d, at 1332. Based on these
9 The Court of Federal Claims also rejected the Tribe's claim for breach of contract, determining that the Secretary was not a party to the Lease and that his contractual authority to adjust the Lease-specified royalty rate carried with it no obligation to do so. 46 Fed. Cl., at 234-236. The Tribe did not appeal that ruling.
501
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