The tribe challenged the state legislatures' approval of an 1859 sale of the 3,500 acres of tribal land. The tribe alleged this broke the terms of a 1,000-year-lease signed by Southampton colonial officials and the tribe in 1703. The suit charged that in 1859, a group of powerful New York investors conspired to break the lease by sending the state Legislature a fraudulent petition from a number of Shinnecock tribal members. Although other tribal members immediately protested that the petition was a forgery, the legislature approved the sale of 3,500 acres (14 km2) of tribal land. In 2006, the court ruled against the tribe finding the lawsuit was barred by laches.