Here is the cert petition in Rosenberg v. Hualapai Indian Nation (No. 09-742): Rosenberg Cert Petition.

No chance for a grant here. No circuit split. Nothing important for the SCT to decide, especially since they denied cert in the dram shop cases earlier this year. And the petition merely asks the Court to reverse itself, without really stating why. Oh, and the plaintiff had recourse to tribal court, so there isn’t a “no forum” problem.

Lower court materials are here.

The questions presented:

1. Does the sovereign immunity of an Indian tribe extend to off-Indian County (extra-territorial), tortuous conduct?

a. Does Congress, and Congress alone, have the authority to establish the boundaries of tribal sovereign immunity, a judicially-created doctrine, or may this Court define its outer boundaries, as this Court has suggested in Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751, 118 S.Ct. 1700 (1998)?

b. Is tribal sovereign immunity broader than the immunity provided to foreign sovereign nations?

2. Does a tribe waive its sovereign immunity by engaging in conduct that would lead a reasonable person to believe that he or she might have recourse in a court of competent jurisdiction for the negligence acts of the tribe?