Coal Operators and Associates, Inc. Phelps Coal and Land Co. And Roy Seagraves v. Bruce Babbitt, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of the Interior

OPINION

ALAN E. NORRIS, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs in this case filed a complaint for an accounting, declaratory relief, mandamus, and class action certification against the Secretary of the Interior (“Secretary”) in an attempt to force the federal government to turn over approximately $1.3 billion dollars allegedly due to certain states under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (“Act”), 30 U.S.C. § 1201 et seq. The district court granted the Secretary’s motion to dismiss, finding that he had no duty to disburse the funds at issue without a prior Congressional appropriation.…