Download(PDF): Petition for Rehearing En Banc
Link: Previous post in the matter of Public Service Company of N.M. v. Barboan et al
Here is the opinion in State of Kansas v. Zinke.
An excerpt:
The question in this case is whether a legal opinion letter issued by the Acting General Counsel of the National Indian Gaming Commission (“NIGC”) regarding the eligibility of Indian lands for gaming constitutes “final agency action” subject to judicial review. In response to a request from the Quapaw Tribe, the NIGC Acting General Counsel issued a legal opinion letter stating that the Tribe’s Kansas trust land was eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”). The State of Kansas and the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Cherokee, Kansas, filed suit, arguing that the letter was arbitrary, capricious, and erroneous as a matter of law. The district court concluded that the letter did not constitute reviewable final agency action under IGRA or the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).
Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm. IGRA’s text, statutory scheme, legislative history, and attendant regulations demonstrate congressional intent to preclude judicial review of legal opinion letters. Further, the Acting General Counsel’s letter does not constitute final agency action under the APA because it has not determined any rights or obligations or produced legal consequences. In short, the letter merely expresses an advisory, non-binding opinion, without any legal effect on the status quo ante.
Briefs here.
Here are the Tenth Circuit briefs in Caddo Nation of Oklahoma v. Witchita and Affiliated Tribes :
Caddo Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal
Wichita Response to Caddo Motion
Caddo Reply in Support of Injunction
Prior post here.
Here is the unpublished opinion in Finn v. Great Plains Lending LLC.
Briefs and other materials here.
Here is the opinion in Public Service Company of New Mexico v. Barboan:
Opinion Public Servic Company of New Mexico v. Barboan
Briefs here.
Link to previous posts: Public Service Co. of New Mexico v. Approximately 15.49 Acres of Land in McKinley County
Here is the opinion in New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish v. Dept. of the Interior.
Here is the opinion in State of New Mexico v. Dept. of Interior.
Briefs here.
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