United States v. Alcea Band of Tillamooks

Background

Several named Indian tribes sued the United States for compensation after the Government took their original tribal land in 1855. This Court previously agreed the tribes were entitled to recover the value of the land. The Court of Claims later held a hearing on the amount and awarded the land’s 1855 value plus interest from that date. The Supreme Court agreed to review only the question of whether the tribes could recover interest on that award.

Reasoning

The central question was whether interest could be added to the money award. The Court explained the usual rule: money claims against the United States do not carry interest unless a statute or contract plainly says so. The Court noted one exception — when the recovery is based on the Constitution’s protection that the government must fairly pay when it takes property (the Fifth Amendment), interest can be included. The Court found that earlier opinions in this case did not treat the recovery as a constitutional taking and that the governing 1935 statute contained no express authorization for interest. On that basis the interest award had to be reversed.

Real world impact

The tribes remain entitled to the 1855 value of the land, but they cannot collect interest on that sum under the law the Court reviewed. Other claimants against the United States should expect interest only if a statute allows it or the claim is treated as a constitutional taking. Justice Jackson took no part in the case.