Magistrate judge orders LdF road appraisals unsealed

A magistrate judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled last week that 50-year easement appraisals for the four roads involved in a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against the town of Lac du Flambeau be unsealed.

Judge Stephen L. Crocker made the ruling on Feb. 26. 

The DOJ lawsuit against the town was filed on May 31, 2023, and as reported in the June 6, 2023, edition of The Lakeland Times, the DOJ’s contention is the town “is engaged in intentional and unauthorized use and occupancy of tribal lands as part of the towns’ road system.”

The controversy began in January 2023, when the tribal council for the Lac du Flambeau band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians had road crews put up barricades on Annie Sunn Lane, Center Sugarbush Lane, East Ross Allen Lake Lane and Elsie Lake Lane because of expired easements on portions of tribal land that crossed the roads.

Since that time, the dispute has spawned a number of lawsuits, including this one.

The appraisals for the four roads, done by Steigerwaldt Land Services, total $79,000. 

Crocker, in his brief order, said the government contends the appraisals “continue to qualify as ‘confidential’ under the parties’ protective order.” 

“The intervenor defendants disagree, contending that the appraisals do not merit any level of confidentiality protection,” he wrote. “Circuit law disfavors maintaining litigation documents under seal, and, as both sides acknowledge, the Appraisals are at the very heart of this particular lawsuit.”

Crocker stated in the order the government “has not made a case for maintaining” the appraisals “under any level of protection.” 

“Like the defendants, the court is puzzled by the government’s tenacity on this point,” he wrote. “It is ordered that the Appraisals shall be unsealed.”

Per the appraisals, 50-year easements over the four roads are valued as follows:

• Annie Sunn Lane – $19,000

• Center Sugarbush Lane – $15,000

• East Ross Allen Lake Lane – $15,000

• Elsie Lake Lane – $30,000 ($15,000 for each segment)

The total for four roads is $79,000.

By contrast, since last spring, the town has paid the LdF tribe $330,000 to keep the four roads open while the matter is being handled in various courts of law. 

Of that amount, by the end of January, title insurance companies for the property owners on the four roads have paid $86,000. 

The next monthly installment the town is set to pay the tribe will be $40,000, nearly half of the Steigerwaldt appraisal.

Lac du Flambeau town attorney Greg Harrold told the Times last week the unsealing of the appraisals was part a request made by the town’s legal team “that was made of the U.S.” as part of the defense’s discovery process in the DOJ lawsuit. 

“So, that information will be used in that litigation,” he said. 

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].