Federal judge grants appeal of Cobell judgment Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the Interior Department, welcomed a federal judge's order this week granting an appeal on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Native landowners across the country. “If this opinion was fair, I'd like to be out of court, but we certainly can't let a decision like this stand,” said Cobell, a national community development expert from the Blackfeet Reservation. “It's factually and legally wrong so we have to challenge it. We're ready to go the long haul to make sure we have fairness to all the plaintiffs.” On Aug. 7, U.S. District Judge James Robertson issued a final ruling in the 12-year-old case, Cobell vs. Interior, awarding $455.6 million judgment to Native landowners who have thousands of Individual Indian Money accounts managed by the Interior Department. Robertson said he would grant an appeal in the Cobell suit because of “substantial ground for difference of opinion.” He also said an immediate appeal would ultimately bring an end to the long-running litigation....