State Utility Petitions 10th Circuit for Rehearing En Banc

Download(PDF): Petition for Rehearing En Banc

Link: Previous post in the matter of Public Service Company of N.M. v. Barboan et al

Tenth Circuit Holds NIGC Indian Lands Opinion Letters Not Final Agency Action

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.

Tenth Circuit Dismisses Nonmember Challenge to Tribal Court Jurisdiction for Lack of Article III Standing (Nonmember Won on the Merits in Tribal Court)

Here is the unpublished opinion in Board of Education for Gallup-McKinley Schools v. Henderson.

Briefs and lower court materials here.

Update in Caddo-Wichita & Affiliated Dispute over Sacred Site

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

Opening Brief

Answer Brief

Wichita Motion to Dismiss

Prior post here.

Tenth Circuit Remands Great Plains Lending Dispute for Jurisdictional Discovery on Immunity Defense

Here is the unpublished opinion in Finn v. Great Plains Lending LLC.

Briefs and other materials here.

Tenth Circuit Holds State Utility May Not Condemn Tribal Land

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

Tenth Circuit Upholds Interior’s Authority to Release Gray Wolves in New Mexico

Here is the opinion in New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish v. Dept. of the Interior.

Tenth Circuit Strikes Down Part 291 Secretarial Procedures

Here is the opinion in State of New Mexico v. Dept. of Interior.

Briefs here.

Tenth Circuit Materials in Donelson v. U.S.: NEPA Challenge to Interior Drilling Approvals re: Osage Mineral Estate

Here:

Donelson Brief

Industry Response Brief

US Response Brief

Reply TK

Lower court materials here.

Tenth Circuit Rules against Osage Headrights Class on Trust Accounting Scope

Here are the materials in Fletcher v. United States:

Opinion

Opening Brief

US Response Brief

Reply

Other posts here.