In Cook v. Avi Casino, a divided Ninth Circuit panel held that a dram shop action against Avi Casino Enterprises, a wholly owned corporation owned by the Fort Mohave Indian Tribe and chartered under the laws of the tribe, was barred by sovereign immunity. The panel split over the question of whether the federal court had jurisdiction over the claim on the basis of diversity.
tribal sovereign immunity
Kalispel v. Moe — Moe Motion for New Trial Denied
We reported the earlier decision in this case, involving the sovereign immunity of the Kalispel Tribe in a counterclaim against it here. The counter-claimants sought a new trial on the question after the counterclaims were dismissed. The denial of the motion is here:
Dyer v. BIA — Tribal Sovereign Immunity Case
In this case, decided by the District of Nevada, involved a leasing decision by the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe. The plaintiff, a tribal member who had lost his lease to land from the tribe, sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe. The case was dismissed at the motion of the tribe, which had not waived immunity.
Tyson Foods Asserts Rights of Cherokee Nation as Defense to Environmental Suit
Here’s an interesting Rule 19 motion — the State of Oklahoma has sued Tyson Foods and other poultry producers over the pollution of the Illinois River (news article here). The defendants now claim that the Cherokee Nation owns the riverbed and are therefore indispensable parties to the suit, mandating the dismissal of the suit if the Nation refuses to be joined as a party. (H/T Todd)
Tribal Judicial Immunity in Federal Criminal Cases
In U.S. v. Wahtony, the District of Idaho held that a federal criminal defendant’s subpoena of a tribal judge’s background must be quashed on sovereign immunity grounds.
Wrongful Discharge Complaint Against Stockbridge-Munsee Dismissed
Sovereign immunity and a lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction barred this wrongful discharge complaint in Louis v. Stockbridge-Munsee Community, decided in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Kendall v. Chief Leschi School — Sovereign Immunity & False Claims Act
The False Claims Act does not operate to waive tribal sovereign immunity.
Eighth Circuit: Oglala Sioux Tribe Waiver of Immunity
The Eighth Circuit held in Oglala Sioux Tribe v. C&W Enterprises that the tribe waived its immunity from suit in an enforcement action in state court despite the fact that the tribe had not expressly waived its immunity via the contract. Here are the materials:
Snoqualmie Tribal Leadership Dispute in Federal Court
Here is the news article. An excerpt:
A federal judge might be the last hope for banished members of the Snoqualmie Tribe who appeared in court Tuesday in their effort to regain tribal membership.
U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart said he would issue a written ruling later as to whether the case is even properly before him or should be dismissed.
Only then — if he rules in favor of the banished members — would he get to the merits of the case.
And here are the materials:
petition-for-writ-of-habeas-corpus
snoqualmie-rule-19-motion-to-dismiss [!!!]
Yet Another Opinion from CA9 in the Blackfeet Housing Authority Case
Here is the relevant change:
In our earlier opinions, we declined to require Plaintiffs to exhaust their tribal court remedies. Instead, we held that the Blackfeet Tribe had waived tribal immunity through the enabling ordinance that established the Housing Authority. Marceau II, 519 F.3d at 842-44; Marceau I, 455 F.3d at 978-83; see also Kiowa Tribe of Okla. v. Mfg. Techs., Inc., 523 U.S. 751, 754 (1998) (noting that “an Indian tribe is subject to suit only where Congress has authorized the suit or the tribe has waived its immunity”). Our doing so was in error, and we now vacate that holding and decline to reach the issue. Whether or not the Tribe waived tribal immunity, the tribal court must have the first opportunity to address all issues within its jurisdiction, including that one.
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