Puyallup Indian Tribe

Ninth Circuit Affirms Tribal Immunity from Antitrust Claims relating to Tribal Tax Agreement

Matthew L.M. Fletcher5 Comments

Here is the opinion and materials in Miller v. Wright.

The court’s syllabus:

Affirming the district court’s dismissal of an antitrust action brought by cigarette vendors challenging taxes imposed by virtue of the authority vested in an Indian tribe, the panel held that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction in light of the tribe’s sovereign immunity. The panel held that the tribe did not implicitly waive its sovereign immunity by agreeing to dispute resolution procedures nor by ceding its authority to Washington State when entering into a cigarette tax contract. The panel also held that federal antitrust law did not explicitly abrogate tribal immunity, and the Sherman Antitrust Act was not a law of general applicability vis-a-vis the tribe. The panel held that tribal officials were protected by the tribe’s sovereign immunity because they acted pursuant to the tribe’s authority. The panel also affirmed the district court’s alternative ruling that the action was barred by res judicata in light of prior litigation in state and tribal courts.

Here are the briefs:

Miller Opening Brief

Puyallup Answer Brief

Miller Reply Brief

Lower court materials here.

Federal Agents Raid Puyallup Members’ Smokeshop

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Federal Court Dismisses Effort by Puyallup Woman to Avoid State Wholesale Cigarette Taxes

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Matheson v. Smith (W.D. Wash.):

DCT Order Dismissing Matheson Complaint

Matheson Motion for PI

State Motion to Dismiss

News Article about Rising Tribal Enrollment Numbers (Excluding the Disenrollment Tribes, of course)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here, via Pechanga.

Good news:

The swelling membership of the Tulalip Tribes, based near Everett, Washington, for example, is a point of pride for tribal member and state representative John McCoy, who believes improved health care and an above-average birth rate are at play.

“We’re living longer. Our babies are surviving birth,” says McCoy, adding that more jobs on reservations, led by tribal gaming, is another reason for the growth. “So we have our peoples coming back from other states. They’re coming home because there is an economy.”

At Tulalip, that adds up to a 22 percent growth rate over the past decade. Other tribes around the country have grown even faster.

And not so good:

At the other end of the spectrum are tribes whose enrollments are stagnating, including for example the Colville Confederated Tribes in northeast Washington.

Tribal councilmember Ricky Gabriel has proposed a referendum to relax the blood requirement in the tribal constitution so more children of mixed marriages can enroll.

“I’ve had a lot of very positive [reactions],” he says. “The elders are extremely happy about this. They’re pushing hard. They’re seeing their grandchildren not be able to be enrolled.”

Enrollment in the tribe currently requires a minimum of one-quarter Colville blood. But when you have intermarriage, that bloodline is diluted. It takes just a couple of generations of intermarriage to put the children at risk of being disqualified from membership.

Then the tribal population withers. The proposed referendum would change the rules to count any Indian blood toward the minimum.

Washington SCT Decides Five Corners Family Farmers v. State — Groundwater Allocation Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the majority and here is the dissent.

Here is the tribal amicus brief.

Federal Court Dismisses Challenge to Puyallup Tax Agreement

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Miller v. Wright (W.D. Wash.):

DCT Order Dismissing Miller Complaint

Puyallup Motion to Dismiss

Miller Response

Puyallup Reply

Puyallup Tribal Police Officer Immunity Upheld

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the Washington Court of Appeals’ unpublished decision in Young v. Duenas.

Here is an excerpt:

Chris Young appeals the trial court’s CR 12(b)(1) dismissal of his claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.  He argues that the defendant tribal police officers  present at the time of his brother’s death are not protected by the Puyallup Tribe’s sovereign immunity and that the state should have subject matter jurisdiction over the case.   Because the officers acted in their official capacity and within the scope of the tribe’s authority, the trial court properly dismissed based on sovereign immunity.  We affirm.

 

Ninth Circuit Rejects Challenge to Tax on Non-Indians

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Lanphere v. Wright.

Briefs here.

Challenge to Tribal Authority to Tax Non-Indians on Reservation Land

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

The case is Lanphere v. Wright (CA9, no decision yet), and is a part of Paul Matheson’s ongoing efforts to avoid tribal, state, and federal law (here and here).

Here are the materials in this case:

Lanphere DCT Order

Lanphere Opening Brief w addendum

Wright Response Brief

Lanphere Reply Brief

Oklahoma Supreme Court Orders Transfer of Indian Child Welfare Case to Puyallup Tribal Court

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in In the Matter of M.S.

The court’s syllabus:

The Puyallup Tribe of Indians moved to transfer jurisdiction of a case involving two Puyallup Tribe Indian children to tribal court or, in the alternative, to change placement to a tribal member after the termination of the parental rights of their parents. The trial court denied relief, finding “good cause” for denying transfer existed because of the length of time the State had exercised jurisdiction prior to the Tribe’s motion, the relationships the children had developed and the relevant evidence located in Oklahoma. The Tribe appealed, and the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed. This Court previously granted certiorari.