Friends of Amador County v. Jewell Cert Petition

Here:

FAC Cert Petition FILED

Question presented:

Whether, in an action by a third party against the Secretary of the Interior under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq., a putative Indian tribe may invoke its sovereign immunity to prevent a court from reviewing the lawfulness of the Secretary’s decision to recognize it as a tribe.

Lower court materials here.

Eleventh Circuit Briefs in Alabama v. PCI Gaming

Here:

Alabama Opening Brief

State of Michigan et al. Amicus Brief

PCI Gaming Brief

US Amicus Brief

USET Amicus Brief

Alabama Reply

Lower court materials here.

En Banc Petition in Jackson v. Payday Financial LLC

Here:

En banc Petition

Clarkson Amicus Brief

Panel materials here.

Hicks v. Hudson Ins. Co. Cert. Petition

Here is the petition:

Cert Petn

Question presented:

Whether an insurance company doing business with a federally recognized American Indian Tribe is entitled to sovereign immunity for the acts and omission it takes in furtherance of the business of insurance.

Colorado Law Symposium on Bay Mills Decision

Wenona Singel and I are delighted and honored to speak at Colorado’s symposium on Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community. Thanks to Rick Collins, Sarah Krakoff, Carla Fredericks, Kristen Carpenter, and the rest of the great people at CU.

In honor of the Michigan-centric character if this symposium, it snowed in Boulder.

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I am honored to share the stage with Kathryn Tierney, the general counsel for the Bay Mills Indian Community. She is a legend, going back to her work on the LCO treaty rights cases in Wisconsin, the LeBlanc matter in Michigan, and United States v. Michigan. Wenona and I know her from the more calmer days of negotiating the Michigan tax agreements a decade ago.

I’ll be patching together a short talk about lessons we can learn from the decision from the successful strategic moves made by Bay Mills.

Continue reading

California v. Miami Nation Enterprises: California SCT Materials (So Far)

Here:

California Petition for Review

Public Justice Amicus Brief in Support of Petition

MNE Answer to Petition

California Petition Stage Reply

California Opening Merits Brief

MNE Merits Brief

California Reply

California Supplemental Brief

Lower court materials here.

Complaint

Federal Court Enjoins Texas Hold ‘Em Poker at Coeur d’Alene Tribe

Here are the updated materials in State of Idaho v. Coeur d’Alene Tribe (D. Idaho):

33 Tribe Reply

35 DCT Order Staying Proceedings

40 DCT Order

An excerpt:

The Court has before it Defendant Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 15) and Plaintiff the State of Idaho’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and for a Preliminary Injunction (Dkts. 3, 4). The Court previously stayed this lawsuit based on the Tribe’s argument that the parties had agreed to arbitrate this dispute. See June 23, 2014 Order, Dkt. 35. Afterward, the Tribe changed its mind and decided it would prefer to litigate. The Court will therefore address the pending motions. For the reasons expressed below, the Court will deny the Tribe’s motion to dismiss and grant the State’s motion for injunctive relief.

Prior materials here. H/t Pechanga.

Federal Court Dismisses Sand Creek Massacre Trust Accounting Claims

Here is the order in Flute v. United States (D. Colo.):

36 DCT Order

An excerpt:

In the absence of an enforceable trust, 25 U.S.C. §§ 162a(d) and 4044 do not impose a legally required duty necessary to establish a waiver of sovereign immunity under the APA. See Norton, 542 U.S. at 63–64. Furthermore, plaintiffs’ claims do not concern “losses to or mismanagement of trust funds” and thus do not fall within the 2009 DOI Appropriations Act. See Pub.L. No. 111–88, 123 Stat. at 2922. Finding that the United States has not waived sovereign immunity for this suit, the Court concludes that it lacks jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ claims and must dismiss them without prejudice. See Brereton v. Bountiful City Corp., 434 F.3d 1213, 1216 (10th Cir.2006) ( “[W]here the district court dismisses an action for lack of jurisdiction … the dismissal must be without prejudice.”).

Briefs here. Other materials here.

 

ICRA Suit against Makah Tribe Dismissed by Federal Court

Here are the materials in Chamblin v. Greene (W.D. Wash.):

5 Motion to Dismiss

6 Response

8 Reply

9 DCT Order

Tenth Circuit Finds Federal Question in Thlopthlocco Tribal Town v. Stidham, Orders Tribal Court Exhaustion

Here is the opinion in Thlopthlocco Tribal Town v. Stidham. An excerpt:

The Thlopthlocco Tribal Town is a federally recognized Indian tribe in Oklahoma. An election dispute arose about which individuals were properly elected or appointed to govern the Thlopthlocco people. Seeking to resolve that dispute, the Tribal Town filed suit in the tribal court of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and, accordingly, voluntarily submitted to that court’s jurisdiction.

The Tribal Town subsequently concluded it did not want to maintain its suit in tribal court and dismissed its claims. But the defendant in that suit had, by that time, filed cross-claims. Arguing that the Tribal Town’s sovereign immunity waiver did not cover proceedings on the cross-claims, the Tribal Town attempted to escape Muscogee court jurisdiction, but, in various decisions, several judges and justices of the Muscogee courts held that they may exercise jurisdiction over the Tribal Town without its consent.

The Tribal Town then filed a federal action in the Northern District of Oklahoma against those Muscogee judicial officers, seeking to enjoin the Muscogee courts’ exercise of jurisdiction. The district court dismissed the case, finding that the federal courts lacked subject matter jurisdiction, the defendants were entitled to sovereign immunity, the Tribal Town had failed to join indispensable parties, and the Tribal Town had failed to exhaust its remedies in tribal court. We conclude, however, that the Tribal Town has presented a federal question and that the other claims do not require dismissal. But we agree the Tribal Town should exhaust its remedies in tribal court while its federal court action is abated.

Here are the briefs:

Thlopthlocco Opening Brief

Stidham Brief

Thlopthlocco Reply Brief

Lower court materials here.