The Louisiana Law Review has published “Denying Sovereignty: The Louisiana Supreme Court’s Rejection of the Tribal Exhaustion Doctrine” by Carey Austin Holliday.
We posted this opinion a few years back.
Here is the abstract:
In its recent decision in Meyer & Associates, Inc. v. Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Louisiana Supreme Court declined to require the application of the Tribal Exhaustion Doctrine (the “Doctrine”) in Louisiana state district courts. The Doctrine is a federal jurisprudential rule that applies when a tribal court has a claim of jurisdiction over a dispute. It requires federal courts to abstain from hearing the case until the tribal court has determined whether it can properly retain jurisdiction over the matter. The effect of this ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court is that tribal courts will be denied the ability, in many instances, to determine questions related to tribal sovereign immunity. The United States Supreme Court has not yet had the occasion to determine whether the Doctrine is required of state courts, and several states have reached different conclusions as to whether their courts will be required to apply the Doctrine. Upon further examination of federal common law, as well as strong prudential considerations in favor of the Doctrine’s application, it becomes apparent that the Louisiana Supreme Court erred in declining to apply the Doctrine to Louisiana state district courts.
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