Southern District of Florida

Federal Court Dismisses Seminole Challenge to Florida Fuel Tax

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the materials in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida Dept. of Revenue (S.D. Fla.):

DCT Order Granting Florida Motion

Seminole Complaint

Florida Dept. of Revenue Motion to Dismiss

Seminole Response

Florida Dept. of Revenue Reply

An excerpt:

The Court will dismiss the Complaint for two reasons. First, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine deprives this Court of subject-matter jurisdiction over any claims that essentially seek review of the previous state-court action. Second, because the fuel tax applies only to off-reservation activity, Plaintiff’s claims are barred by the Tax Injunction Act.

The Florida courts previously ruled in a similar claim a few years back; hence, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.

Updated Materials in Miccosukee v. Cypress

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here are motions to dismiss Miccosukee Second Amended Complaint:

Billy Cypress Motion to Dismiss

Dexter Lehtinen Motion to Dismiss

Guy Lewis and Michael Tein Motion to Dismiss

Julio Martinez Motion to Dismiss

Miguel Hernandez Motion to Dismiss

Second Amended Complaint in Miccosukee Tribe v. Cypress

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Miccosukee Second Amended Complaint

Seminole Tribe Brief in Opposition to Contour Spa Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

Seminole Cert Opp

The petition is here.

Eleventh Circuit Affirms IRS Authority to Issue Subpoenas of Miccosukee Records

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the opinion in Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. United States.

An excerpt:

This appeal presents three issues: (1) whether the Miccosukee Tribe may assert tribal sovereign immunity to quash summonses issued to third-party financial institutions by the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service to obtain tribal financial records relevant to an ongoing tax investigation; (2) whether the Commissioner issued the summonses for a proper purpose; and (3) whether the Tribe has standing to bring an overbreadth challenge to summonses issued to third parties and, if so, whether the summonses were overbroad. In 2010, the Commissioner issued four summonses to third-party financial institutions to determine whether the Tribe had complied with its federal withholding requirements during the period from 2006 to 2009. The Tribe petitioned to quash the summonses on the grounds of sovereign immunity, improper purpose, relevance, bad faith, and overbreadth. The district court denied those petitions. Because we conclude that tribal sovereign immunity does not bar the issuance of these third-party summonses, the district court did not clearly err when it found that the summonses were issued for a proper purpose, and the Tribe lacks standing to challenge the summonses for overbreadth, we affirm.

Briefs are here.

Lower court materials here.

Contour Spa v. Seminole Tribe Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here:

Contour Spa Cert Petition

Questions Presented:

1. Does Lapides v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, 535 U.S. 613 (2003), provide a basis for finding a waiver of tribal sovereign immunity where an Indian Tribe has expressly waived sovereign immunity, is sued in state court, removes to federal court, and then asserts sovereign immunity based on the Tribe’s concealment of the fact that the Tribe did not comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s lease approval requests?
2. Does Justice Brandeis’ opinion in Turner v. United States, 248 U.S. 354 (1919). support the concept of tribal sovereign immunity or should that accidental doctrine, questioned in Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751 (1998), be revisited and discarded.
3. Does the Indian Civil Rights Act, Title 25 U.S.C. § 1302(a)(5) and (a)(8) create an implicit cause of action permitting the Tribe to be sued for the taking of property without due process of law?
Lower court materials here.

Eleventh Circuit Affirms Tribal Immunity in Contour Spa v. Seminole Tribe

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials:

CA11 Opinion

Contour Spa Opening Brief

Seminole Appellee Brief

Contour Spa Reply Brief

Lower court materials here. Commentary on the lower court case here.

Eleventh Circuit Briefs in Miccosukee v. United States

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

Miccosukee Appellant Brief

USA Brief

Miccosukee Reply

Lower court materials here.

Amended Complaint in Miccosukee v. Cypress

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Miccosukee v Cypress Amended Complaint

Federal Court Denies Miccosukee Petition to Quash IRS Summons for 2010 Tax Year

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Miccosukee Tribe v. United States II (S.D. Fla.):

DCT Order Denying Miccosukee Motion to Quash

US Motion to Dismiss Petition to Quash

Miccosukee Response

US Reply

Transcript of Deposition of IRS Agent

We posted materials on the discovery request to depose the IRS agent here.

Materials on Miccosukee I (tax years 2006-2009, now on appeal to the CA11) are here. The key difference between I and II (other than tax years) is the Tribe’s claim that the government sought the financial documents for an improper purpose.