A group of tribal members filed a class action lawsuit in 1992 claiming that millions of dollars in oil royalties were lost through mismanagement by the state, which serves as trustee. They wanted an accounting of expenditures beginning in 1955, when royalty money from drilling in the Aneth oil fields first started coming into the Navajo Trust Fund.

The state argued the accounting time period should be shortened because the beneficiaries who are suing were either "adequately" or "virtually" represented by the parties in three prior lawsuits challenging administration of the fund. After U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell in Salt Lake City rejected the argument, the state appealed to the 10th Circuit.

An attorney for the beneficiaries, Brian Barnard, said the tribal members will continue to pursue the case "until the state lives up to its clear responsibility as trustee." The suit alleges that the fund lost about $150 million, which includes interest, from 1955 to 1991 because of mismanagement.