A woman from Browning has won another round in her multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the federal government.

Elouise Cobell filed the lawsuit back in 1996, charging that the government had mismanaged individual Indian Trust accounts for over 100 years.

Last fall her legal team argued that the government could not adequately account for Indian trust money, and on Wednesday a judge in the case agreed.

Cobell says she's please with the decision.

"I think it's a great day in Indian country. I was very happy with the fact that the judge ruled that the debate was over. He found that the government's historical accounting was impossible...that it can't be done."

The next step for Cobell and her legal team is to propose a remedy for the situation, with a hearing on that issue expected in about a month.

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(from October 9, 2007)

Some 11 years ago a woman from Montana sued the federal Interior Department over money owed to Native Americans and over time that suit by Elouise Cobell of Browning became the largest class action ever filed against the U.S. government.

Come Wednesday Cobell will be in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C. as her case goes to trial for the second time. At issue is whether or nit the government can provide an accounting for money that it held in trust for half a 500,000 people.

Cobell believes that if she wins it could be the key to ending the lawsuit.

"Then we can come up with an amount that is due Indian beneficiaries. Actually it's called the remedy. And then we would be able to come up with a rough justice figure about how much is owed. I think we're a huge step closer to people getting their money."

Cobell and her lawyers believe the government could owe Native Americans hundreds of billions of dollars in principal and interest dating back to the 1800's.

Two years ago Cobell's legal team offered to settle the case for $27 billion.