Karrie Wichtman and Jen Weddle
ASU e-Commerce Legal Update
Karrie Wichtman and Jen Weddle
economic development
Arizona State e-Commerce Conference
Patty Ferguson-Bohnee
Sequoyah Simermeyer
“Responsible Resource Development and Prevention of Sex Trafficking: Safeguarding Native Women and Children on the Fort Berthold Reservation”
The University of Colorado Indian Law Clinic has posted “Responsible Resource Development and Prevention of Sex Trafficking: Safeguarding Native Women and Children on the Fort Berthold Reservation” on SSRN.
Here is the abstract:
In 2010, large deposits of oil and natural gas were found in the Bakken shale formation, much of which is encompassed by the Fort Berthold Indian reservation, home to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (“MHA Nation” or “Three Affiliated Tribes” or “the Tribe”). However, rapid oil and gas development has brought an unprecedented rise of violent crime on and near the Fort Berthold reservation. Specifically, the influx of well-paid male oil and gas workers, living in temporary housing often referred to as “man camps,” has coincided with a disturbing increase in sex trafficking of Native women. The social risks of oil development on American Indian reservations like Fort Berthold are distinct from development in other areas in the United States. The complex and shifting nature of federal Indian law presents legal and practical challenges to law enforcement in civil and criminal contexts. Further, the historical exploitation of Indian lands and people informs current social and economic conditions that contribute to increased sex trafficking of Native women and children.
This paper begins by describing the intersection of sex trafficking and oil and gas development on the Fort Berthold reservation. Next, the paper describes the jurisdictional regime within federal Indian law and other barriers to law enforcement that have created a situation ripe for trafficking and other crime on the Fort Berthold reservation. Third, the paper will examine strategies to address this complex issue including: corporate engagement of relevant companies; tribal capacity and coalition building; and remedies contained in the Violence Against Women Act of 2014. This paper asserts that all of the stakeholders involved in oil development on the Fort Berthold reservation – federal, state, tribal, and public and private companies – must work cooperatively to decisively eliminate sex trafficking of Native women and children.
Lac Vieux Desert Band Buys Bellicose Capital, LLC
Link to news coverage here.
In a major deal that will bring millions of dollars in economic development to the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (LVD) and its geographically isolated reservation in Watersmeet, MI, LVD has today announced that it has completed the purchase of Bellicose Capital. Bellicose has been a valued service provider to the Tribe’s lending business and talks to acquire Bellicose have been underway for several years.
Ramah Fairness Hearing Minutes
Things heat up on page 10 when attorneys call as a witness Professor Brian Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt Law School to convince the court that 8.5% in attorney’s fees is fair when the Lodestar method would have awarded slightly less. Ramah Class was awarded $940 million so that means $79 million will be fees. Since class counsel spent just under 20,000 hours on the case the rate comes out to just under $4k/hour. The court didn’t conduct its own Lodestar check.
Ryan Dreveskracht on Doing Business in Indian Country
From the ABA’s Business Law Today, “Doing Business in Indian Country: A Primer.”
U.S. Brief in Support of Dismissing Menominee’s Hemp Claim
“Wiring the Rez: Expanding the Borders of Indian Country through E-Commerce”
Selected Materials in Commonwealth of Penn. v. Think Finance LLC
Here:
67-1 Think Finance Motion to Dismiss Rule 19
68-1 Think Motion to Dismiss Rule 12 and 17
Excerpts:
In both Hotleva and Chehalis, the actions of the non-party would preclude the relief sought. In contrast, here the relief sought by the Plaintiffs does not require the non-party tribes to do or refrain from doing anything. For example, the Plaintiff seeks disgorgement of the money earned by the Defendants only, not the money the tribes have earned, through the alleged scheme. FAC p. 40. The Plaintiff is not seeking a declaration that the contracts themselves are illegal, but rather a declaration that the Defendants’ conduct violates a number of state and federal laws.FAC p. 39. The Chippewa Cree were engaged in consumer lending prior to their partnership with Think Finance and, since the tribes are not bound by the outcome of this case, they would be permitted to continue that business. The tribes continuing their business (without the services of the Defendants) would in no way limit the relief the Plaintiffs seek. See Dillon v. BMO Harris Bank, N.A., 16 F.Supp.3d 605, 615 (M.D.N.C. 2014) (“[J]udgment…will not prohibit the lenders from lending money or from relying on other mechanisms to collect on their loans.”). The relief the OAG seeks is thus not “hollow.” The tribes are not required underRule 19(a)(1)(a).
Afognak Native Corporation Wins Multi-Million Dollar Contract Dispute Judgment
Here are the materials in Alutiiq International Solutions LLC v. OIC Marinaras Ins. Co. (D. Nev.):
Turtle Talk 
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