South Carolina Code 27-16-20. Legislative findings
(1) The Catawba Indian Tribe has filed lawsuits in both the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, claiming possessory rights to certain lands in South Carolina and trespass damages and in the United States Court of Federal Claims seeking monetary damages against the United States.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 27-16-20
- Claims: means a claim which was asserted by the plaintiffs in either suit, and any other claim which could have been asserted by the Catawba Indian Tribe or a Catawba Indian of a right, title, or interest in property, to trespass or property damages, or of a hunting, fishing, or other right to natural resources, if the claim is based upon aboriginal title, recognized title, or title by grant, patent, or treaty, including the Treaty of Pine Tree Hill of 1760, the Treaty of Augusta of 1763, or the Treaty of Nation Ford of 1840. See South Carolina Code 27-16-30
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: means South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 27-16-30
- Tribe: means the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina as constituted in aboriginal times, which was party to the Treaty of Pine Tree Hill in 1760 as confirmed by the Treaty of Augusta in 1763, which was party also to the Treaty of Nation Ford in 1840, and which was the subject of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Division of Assets Act, enacted September 29, 1959, codified at 25 U. See South Carolina Code 27-16-30
(2) The pendency of these lawsuits has resulted in severe economic and social hardships for large numbers of landowners, citizens, and communities in the State, and therefore for the State as a whole. If these claims are not resolved, further litigation involving tens of thousands of landowners would be likely.
(3) The Indian claimants and the State, acting through the Governor, have reached an agreement in principle to settle their differences which constitutes a good faith effort on the part of all parties to achieve a fair and just resolution of claims which, in the absence of this settlement, could be pursued through the courts for many years to the detriment of the State and all its citizens, including the Indians.
(4) The implementation of the settlement requires legislation by the Congress of the United States and by the General Assembly of South Carolina.