Here is an unpublished decision in the California Court of Appeals, 4th District, affirming the quashing of a subpoena against the Barona Band.
tribal sovereign immunity
Alhameed v. Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos — Immunity from Private Suits under Immigration Statute
alhameed-v-grand-traverse-resort
The ALJ held that a tribally owned business enterprise is immune from a private suit under 8 U.S.C. sec. 1324b.
Bressi v. Ford Update — FTCA and Sovereign Immunity Case
Here are the briefs in Bressi v. Ford, a claim pending in the Ninth Circuit against Tohono O’odham Nation police officers.
The lower court opinion and the opening brief were posted earlier here.
Ameriloan v. Superior Court — Tribal Sovereign Immunity & Instant Loan Companies
Here is the opinion from the California Court of Appeals in Ameriloan v. Superior Court — ameriloan-v-superior-court-opinion
This appears to be a case similar to one decided recently in the Colorado Court of Appeals, Colorado v. Cash Advance, the so-called “Rent-A-Tribe” case. There, as in this case, the state appellate court reversed a lower court decision not to quash a summons against these instant loan companies, or payday lenders. The legal theory was, and is, that the company is owned by an Indian tribe and therefore immune from suit in state court.
This case involves the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and the Santee Sioux Tribe, the same tribes involved in the Colorado case.
Cohen v. Winkelman — Tenth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of ICRA Claim against Tribal College
Here is the opinion, unpublished, from the Tenth Circuit. The court affirmed the dismissal of the claim, which was a claim of wrongful employment termination, on the basis of tribal sovereign immunity. The court specifically rejected the so-called Dry Creek Lodge exception.
Civil Rights Complaint against Mississippi Band Choctaw Jail Dismissed
The case is Hall v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, from the Northern District of Mississippi. The magistrate first asserted that the Band is immune from suit, but still offered a report on the merits, finding in favor of the defendants.
Here are the materials:
Boomer v. Tulalip Tribes — Tribal Sovereign Immunity
In Boomer v. Tulalip Tribes, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a slip-and-fall tort action against a tribe on the grounds of sovereign immunity. The court rejected the so-called Dry Creek Lodge exception, as well. The Tulalip Tort Claims Act waives tribal immunity for such claims in tribal court.
Mudarri v. State of Washington — Challenge to Puyallup Gaming Compact
In this case, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II, rejected various state constitutional challenges to the Washington tribal gaming compacts by an individual who wanted to operate his own gambling enterprise outside of the tribal compacting structure. As you can imagine, Rule 19 (the Washington version) was dispositive.
Here is the opinion.
Tenth Circuit Affirms Immunity for Tribal Business Arms
In Native American Distributing v. Seneca-Cayuga Tobacco Co., the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court order dismissing a claim against the company, a wholly owned business of the Seneca-Cayuga Indian Tribe. A closer question was whether the tribe’s officers might be individually liable under Ex parte Young, but the plaintiffs did not properly plead a claim against them in their individual capacities.
Here are the briefs.
And the opinion: native-american-distributing-ca10-opinion
Tribal Court Jurisdiction over Tribal Insurers under the Montana Exceptions
The District of North Dakota, in Amerind Risk Management v. Malaterre, refused to the grant the insurance company’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the Turtle Mountain Tribal Court did not have jurisdiction over it under Montana v. United States. The Turtle Mountain tribal council had waived the Turtle Mountain Housing Authority’s sovereign immunity to the extent of insurance coverage, in accordance with tribal court precedent. Plaintiffs who were injured and killed in a house fire sued the insurance company in tribal court, which then asserted the Montana defense.
Here are the materials:
amerind-risk-mgmt-v-malaterre-tmac-opinion
amerind-motion-for-summary-judgment
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