tribal sovereign immunity – Page 63

Who Won Indian Law and Policy in 2014? First Round Bracket — 4 of 8

January 6, 2015January 7, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Whew, losing steam. Maybe finish round 1 tomorrow.

Here’s the second half of the Category 2 bracket.

# 2 Tribal sovereign immunity

Big winner in the Supreme Court.And perhaps SCOTUS has had its fill by denying some petitions, here, here (filed out of time), and here, and here.

Some other good cases for tribes: no waiver in gaming compact (California), and Minnesota, immunity from state tax foreclosures, immunity from third party subpoenas in federal court litigation, immunity of tribally owned payday lenders, and immunity from simple contract claims.

Some where tribal interests lost: waiver through removal to federal court, waiver by virtue of not being sufficiently governmental, waiver by Congress in Bankruptcy Act, waiver by purchase of insurance, no immunity of tribal governmental organizations, and no immunity from tribal court exhaustion.

And no, Western Sky is not immune from suit.

v.

# 15 Alternative energy

Solar power is controversial at Colorado River Indian Tribes, and wind energy at Osage. So quit messing with mineral estates and sacred sites, please!

# 7 American Indian education

2014 was the 60th year since Brown v. Board, and so Indian law programs are hosting conferences on Indian education (MSU, Kansas, and now Arizona State but that’s 2015). Dept. of Education did a listening tour. Cobell money. BIE reorganizing.

# 10 Climate Change

Seems odd to seed this so low, but there’s no significant litigation out there pending (unless the Court grants cert in this), no administrative or legislative action. Depressing. There’s this:

Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives

UPDATE: Also, there’s this:

2014-12-24 FR CEQ NEPA draft climate effects guidance

# 3 Violence against Women Act

Good news in Alaska. Pascua going ahead full steam. Even Harvard paid attention. 2015 is when others can move ahead.

# 14 Indian criminal sentencing

Sentencing disparities are prevalent. USSG is paying attention. CA8 Judge Bright believes this issue to be the biggest issue he faces.

# 6 Tribal court exhaustion

A solid year for tribal court exhaustion. Penobscot. Thlopthlocco Tribal Town. Caddo. Rosebud Sioux, twice.

# 11 Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act

Here.

AALS Indian Nations Section Panel on Michigan v. Bay Mills

January 3, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Alex Pearl, Ed Kneedler, Ryan Seelau, Thomas Zlamal, and Bill Wood

New Scholarship on Indian Country Payday Lenders and Arbitration Clauses

January 2, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “The Current State of Arbitration Clauses Within Article 8 Native American Tribal Contracts: An Examination of Binding Arbitration Contracts in Native American Payday Lending,” published in Arbitration Brief.

Law Professors Amicus Brief in Stockbridge-Munsee Community v. New York

December 29, 2014Kate Fort1 Comment

Here.

Previous coverage here.

Tenth Circuit Issues Amended Opinion in Oklahoma v. Hobia

December 23, 2014December 23, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here. Like its earlier decision, today’s amended opinion concludes that the district court erroneously granted the State’s request for a preliminary injunction and held that the State’s complaint, which alleged class III gaming activities on non-Indian lands, failed to state a claim under IGRA.

The Tenth Circuit also reiterated that arbitration provisions in the state’s gaming compact effectively barred Oklahoma from suing tribal officials in federal court for purported violations of the compact. The court remanded the matter to the Northern District of Oklahoma with instructions to vacate the preliminary injunction and to dismiss Oklahoma’s complaint with prejudice.

Also, the court denied the petition for en banc review.

Panel materials are here.

Wisconsin COA Briefs in Tribal Immunity Matter

December 17, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the briefs in Harris v. Lake of the Torches Resort & Casino (Wis. App.):

Harris Opening Brief

Tribal Response Brief

Harris Reply

SCOTUS Denies Cert in MM&A Productions v. Yavapai-Apache Nation (sovereign immunity)

December 15, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here is the order list.

The cert petition is here.

California Valley Miwok Tribe Again Fails at Recovering Foreclosed Land

December 9, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Burley v. OneWest Band FSB (E.D. Cal.):

22 OneWest Motion to Dismiss

23 Opposition

24 Reply

31 DCT Order granting Motion to dismiss

An excerpt:

Plaintiffs Silvia Burley and the California Valley Miwok Tribe (“Miwok Tribe”) brought this action against defendants OneWest Bank, FSB (“OneWest”), Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (“Deutsche Bank”), and Meridian Foreclosure Service (“Meridian”) to recover title over land and damages in connection with the alleged wrongful foreclosure and sale of the plaintiffs’ real property. On August 26, 2014, this court issued an order (“Aug. 26, 2014 Order”) dismissing plaintiffs’ case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and giving plaintiffs’ twenty days to file an amended complaint. (Docket No. 17.) Plaintiffs filed their First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) asserting claims under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691, et seq., the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601, et seq., and several state law claims essentially repeated from their original Complaint. (Docket No. 18.)

Prior proceedings are posted here.