IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
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ELOUISE PEPION COBELL, et al., ) 
Plaintiffs, 
v. Case No. 1:96CV01285 (RCL) 
(Judge Lamberth) 
)
)
)
)
) 
GALE A. NORTON, Secretary of the Interior, et al.,) 
Defendants. 
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) 
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DEFENDANTS’ REPLY IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR 
REIMBURSEMENT OF IMPROPER SPECIAL MASTER FEES 
Plaintiffs' only argument in opposition to Interior Defendants' Motion For Reimbursement 
Of Special Master Fees is that the Court should infer that the Department of the Treasury paid all 
of the contested Special Master fees because Treasury allegedly failed to comply with a discovery 
request propounded by Plaintiffs. Thus, according to Plaintiffs, Interior Defendants have no 
"standing" to object to improper Special Master fees. 
In fact, Defendants filed their Response To Plaintiffs' Request For Production Of 
Documents And Other Information To Treasury Secretary Snow on November 18, 2003 
(attached as Exhibit 2 to Plaintiffs' Opposition To Defendants' Motion For Reimbursement Of 
Improper Special Master Fees). In addition, by letter dated October 27, 2003, counsel for 
Defendants informed Plaintiffs that the Department of the Treasury "agreed to share the costs of 
the Special Master including his fees and expenses and those of his former assistant, Joe Christie, 
on a 1/3 each basis with the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of Justice 
(DOJ)." Letter from Glenn D. Gillett, Trial Attorney, Department of Justice, to Dennis M. 
Gingold (Oct. 27, 2003) (copy included in Exhibit 2 to Plaintiffs' Opposition To Defendants'
Motion For Reimbursement Of Improper Special Master Fees). Inasmuch as Plaintiffs took no 
subsequent action, if the Court makes any inference, it should be that Plaintiffs were satisfied 
with Defendants' response. 
The Court’s February 24, 1999 Order appointing the Special Master required 
"defendants" to bear the costs of "all expenses incurred in connection with the appointment," 
Order of February 24, 1999, at ¶ 1, and each order requiring payment to the Special Master 
obligated "defendants" to pay, see, e.g., Order of September 17, 2003 ("ORDERED that the 
defendants pay the Law Office of Alan L. Balaran the sum of $33,136.05 no later than September 
30, 2003"). That the Interior Defendants are the moving parties in this instance is immaterial; 
any or all of the Defendants are entitled to challenge the Special Master's fees on behalf of the 
United States. Inasmuch as Plaintiffs have not opposed (or even addressed) any of the 
government's substantive objections to the Special Master's fees, the Court should deem those 
objections unopposed and should grant Interior Defendants' motion. 
Respectfully submitted, 
Dated: June 17, 2004 
ROBERT D. McCALLUM, JR. 
Associate Attorney General 
PETER D. KEISLER 
Assistant Attorney General 
STUART E. SCHIFFER 
Deputy Assistant Attorney General 
J. CHRISTOPHER KOHN 
Director 
/s/ Cynthia L. Alexander 
SANDRA P. SPOONER 
Deputy Director 
D.C. Bar No. 261495 
JOHN T. STEMPLEWICZ 
Senior Trial Counsel 
CYNTHIA L. ALEXANDER 
Trial Attorney 
- 2 -
Commercial Litigation Branch 
Civil Division 
P.O. Box 875 
Ben Franklin Station 
Washington, D.C. 20044-0875 
(202) 514-7194 
- 3 -
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
I hereby certify that, on June 17, 2004 the foregoing Defendants’ Reply in Support of 
Motion for Reimbursement of Improper Special Master Fees was served by Electronic Case 
Filing, and on the following who is not registered for Electronic Case Filing, by facsimile: 
Earl Old Person (Pro se) 
Blackfeet Tribe 
P.O. Box 850 
Browning, MT 59417 
Fax (406) 338-7530 
/s/ Kevin P. Kingston 
Kevin P. Kingston