Here are the materials in Comenout v. Pierce County Superior Court (W.D. Wash.):
taxation
New York Prevails over UPS in Indian Country Smokes Case
Here are the materials in State of New York v. United Parcel Service (S.D. N.Y.):
An excerpt:
The fundamental reason why plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment and defendant is not is that when UPS was transporting unstamped cigarettes (how many is “TBD”), it was transporting contraband. Pre-amendment § 471 confirms that stamps were required, that taxability was presumed, and that the burden of proving otherwise was on UPS. UPS has not carried this burden. UPS is not entitled to rely on the judicially imposed injunctions or stays of enforcement obtained by Indian tribes, nor is it entitled to rely upon forbearance. It is also of no moment that there were difficulties in determining when tax was required to be paid or not, and it is also of no moment that the State had stood down on collection from reservation retailers altogether. At the end of the day, the situation — which may have advantaged reservation retailers — placed UPS in a precarious position; without its own statutory exemption or legal assurance, and in the absence of information as to ultimately taxability of the cigarettes they were shipping, transporting shipments was a risky business indeed. But this was a business risk. UPS could choose to undertake such risk or not. One thing has [38] always been clear: UPS has never had exemption from the CCTA.
Counterclaims against US and Poarch Band Dismissed in Tax Dispute
This is a continuation of Poarch Band of Creek Indians v. Hildreth, recently decided by the Eleventh Circuit.
Here are the materials in Poarch Band of Creek Indians v. Moore (S.D. Ala.):
An excerpt:
After due and proper consideration of all issues raised, and a de novo determination of those portions of the recommendation to which objection is made, the recommendation of the Magistrate Judge made under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l)(B) and dated August 10, 2016 is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court with the following exceptions. The Court does not adopt the recommendation to deny the Plaintiff’s Motion to strike Defendant Moore’s affirmative defenses numbered 4 and 5, but rather grants the motion to strike defenses 4 and 5 for the reasons set forth in Plaintiff’s Objections (Doc. 79). The report and recommendation is adopted in all other respects.
NITA Special Session for CA Tribes on Cigarette Taxation and Enforcement
District Court Holds Miccosukee Member Liable for $278K in Taxes
Download materials in the matter of U.S. v. Jim et al, 14-cv-22441 (D. Fla. 8/24/16):
Doc. 185 – United States’ Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Doc. 188 – Order Setting Forth Court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Link to previous posts about government’s tax dispute with Miccosukee Tribe here.
Washington COA Decision in Comenout v. Washington State Liquor Control Board
Here.
An excerpt:
In State v. Comenout, our Supreme Court upheld the State’s exercise of nonconsensual criminal jurisdiction over tribal members selling unstamped cigarettes from an unlicensed store located on trust allotment property lying outside the borders of an Indian reservation. Edward Comenout challenges that decision in this administrative forfeiture action appeal arising out of the same seized cigarettes at issue in Comenout. He claims Comenout is not binding because the case was remanded and ultimately dismissed. But we are bound by that decision unless and until the Washington Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court rules otherwise. Neither court has done so. And under Comenout, it is clear the State court had personal and subject matter jurisdiction in this administrative forfeiture action and that Comenout is not exempt from the State’s cigarette tax as an “Indian retailer.” Because Comenout fails to establish any error of law or arbitrary and capricious action under the Administrative Procedure Act2 (APA) standards, we affirm
Kevin Washburn to be 2016 NITA Keynote
Here (Kevin Washburn Press Release 8-8-2016):
NITA is pleased to announce Kevin Washburn, Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law as this year’s Keynote .
Keynote Speaker. Kevin Washburn is currently a law professor, and was previously the dean, of the UNM School of Law. Washburn previously served as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the Obama Administration in Washington, D.C. from 2012 through the end of 2015. In that role, he was the highest ranking official in charge of federal Indian policy for the United States government, overseeing the Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Indian Education, together consisting of more than 8000 employees, and executed a budget of roughly $2.8 Billion. He also testified approximately thirty times before Congressional Committees and worked on a daily basis with the White House. He also appeared several times before the United Nations in Geneva to defend our nation’s adherence to international treaties.
Washburn graduated from Yale Law School, and has been a trial attorney at the Department of Justice in Washington and a federal prosecutor in New Mexico. He also served as the general counsel of the National Indian Gaming Commission, a federal regulatory agency in Washington, D.C. As an academic, he has taught law at the University of Arizona, the University of Minnesota and Harvard Law School. He also has several books to his name, and is a co-author/co-editor of the Cohen Handbook.
Washburn began his legal education in 1990 at the Pre-Law Summer Institute at the University of New Mexico. He is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.
NITA is honored and pleased to have Kevin Washburn as the keynote speaker for this year’s conference. Additional conference details and registration information can be found on NITA’s website at: http://intertribaltaxalliance.org/
2016 National Intertribal Tax Alliance Conference (Sept. 13-15, 2016)
Details here.
Kevin Washburn is the keynote speaker.
As always, NITA is one the premier Indian law conferences of the year.
New York Largely Prevails in Smokes Suit against King Mountain Tobacco
Here are the materials in State of New York v. King Mountain Tobacco Co. (E.D. N.Y.):
Complaint in Automotive United Trades Org. v. Friends of Bob Ferguson
In this case, Automotive United Trades Organization seeks to prohibit political campaigns from accepting contributions from tribes on the theory that those contributions represent public monies and are therefore illegal under Washington law. The complaint is here.
Turtle Talk 
You must be logged in to post a comment.