Here is the opinion in Seminole Tribe v. Ariz (Fla. App., Dist. 2). An excerpt:
Florida law is clear that the Indian tribes are independent sovereign governments not subject to the civil jurisdiction of the courts of this state. See Houghtaling v. Seminole Tribe of Fla., 611 So.2d 1235 (Fla.1993) (discussing in detail federal and state legislative history and case law of sovereign immunity of Indian tribes). It is also well-established law in Florida that the Tribe is immune from suit brought by any third party in state or federal court without the clear and unequivocal consent of the Tribe or the clear and unequivocal consent of Congress. See Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. McCor, 903 So.2d 353, 356 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). Pursuant to the terms of the Tribal Ordinance, clear and unequivocal consent of the Tribe may only be established through a resolution duly enacted by the Tribal Council of the Seminole Tribe of Florida sitting in legal session. Any resolution purporting to waive sovereign immunity must include the purpose for the waiver and the extent to which the waiver applies. The consent of Congress must be express and may not arise from implication. Id. at 358 (citing Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez,436 U.S. 49, 58 (1978)).
Velasquez relies upon one section of the Compact, part VI, section D, paragraph five, to establish a limited waiver of immunity she argues is applicable. Part VI of the Compact is titled “Patron Dispute, Tort Claims; Prize Claims; Limited Consent to Suit,” and section D is titled “Tort remedies for Patrons.” Section D, including paragraph five, applies to patrons who claim “to have been injured in the area of the Facility where Covered Games are played.” Patrons are defined as those people who are on the premises of a facility or who have entered the Tribe’s lands for the purpose of playing authorized covered games. Compact, part III, § O. A facility is a building of the Tribe in which the covered games authorized by the Compact are conducted. Compact, part III, §§ I, E. It is apparent that the limited waiver of sovereign immunity in part VI, section D, is not applicable to the facts of Velasquez’s claim because the decedent was not a patron injured in a Tribe facility. Therefore, the Compact does not reflect the requisite clear and unequivocal consent of the Tribe to be subject to liability under the facts of this case.
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