The Ute Indian Tribe has initiated legal action against the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and various state officials, alleging interference in their attempt to purchase a portion of their ancestral land. The tribe's bid, totaling nearly $47 million for the Tabby Mountain area, was reportedly the highest legitimate offer for the 45 square miles of land located within the Uintah and Ouray Reservation but currently classified as part of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The tribe contends that the rejection of their bid was driven by racial discrimination, as SITLA opted not to sell the land to anyone in 2019. In an updated lawsuit filed in November 2023, House Speaker Mike Schultz has been named as a defendant alongside over a dozen other current and former state officials. The lawsuit claims that Schultz collaborated with state legislators and officials at SITLA and the Utah Department of Natural Resources to prevent the sale of the land to the Tribe and enacted new legislation as a form of retaliation. The lawsuit alleges that Schultz, then serving as House majority leader in 2019, threatened a SITLA employee by stating, "sell it to the Tribe and see what happens to you." This employee, Tim Donaldson, later filed a complaint in 2022 asserting that the sale process was manipulated; he was subsequently terminated from his position. The 2024 state law in question permits the Department of Natural Resources to receive preferential treatment in selling large parcels of school trust land over 5,000 acres. Representative Casey Snider, who sponsored the law and is also named as a defendant in the suit, stated that the law does not pertain to Tabby Mountain and was influenced by a previous land sale in his district. The lawsuit further accuses the Department of Natural Resources of attempting to outbid the Tribe with a purported $50 million offer that was not feasible, while SITLA delayed the sale indefinitely over appraisal concerns. A spokesperson for the Utah Department of Natural Resources asserted that their bids were made in good faith, emphasizing their goal of preserving public access and wildlife habitat. The lawsuit seeks a judicial order for the land sale to the tribe and challenges the validity of the state law, along with punitive damages to be determined in court.