Generally, tribal lands held in trust by the federal government are exempt from state and local taxation under Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (the Act). However, when non-Indians are involved in ownership...more
3/27/2024
/ Appeals ,
AZ Supreme Court ,
Commercial Leases ,
Economic Development ,
Indian Reorganization Act ,
Preemption ,
Property Ownership ,
Property Tax ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tribal Economic Development Projects ,
Tribal Lands
On February 29, 2024, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Lexington Insurance Co. v. Smith (Suquamish Tribe). The Court affirmed the tribal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction over Lexington pursuant to the Tribe’s...more
3/8/2024
/ Appeals ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Federal Court Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Reservation of Rights ,
SCOTUS ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Surplus Lines Insurance ,
Tribal Courts
In a recent decision, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in the case of Sipp v. Buffalo Thunder Inc. that state courts do not have the authority to adjudicate tort claims filed by casino visitors. The unanimous decision...more
1/23/2024
/ Appeals ,
Bodily Injury ,
Casinos ,
Damages ,
Immunity ,
Indian Gaming ,
Indian Gaming Regulation Act ,
Jurisdiction ,
State Law Tort Claims ,
Termination Clauses ,
Tribal Lands ,
Tribal-State Gaming Compacts
A three-panel Arizona Court of Appeals ("the panel”) unanimously ruled on January 10, 2023, that, under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the gross proceeds from work performed under federal contracts on Native American...more
On January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court granted the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians’ Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to resolve the split of circuits on whether Section 106 of the Bankruptcy Code...more
On September 15, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (“Court” or “District Court”) entered a significant declaratory judgment addressing the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) historically...more
Deepening a split of circuits, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Bankruptcy Code waived the sovereign immunity of Native American Tribes. The May 6, 2022 opinion by Judge Sandra L. Lynch sided with the Ninth...more
On June 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the district court properly dismissed the claims of Big Sandy Rancheria Enterprises (“Big Sandy”), a federally chartered tribal corporation of the Western...more
In a decision that impacts entities and individuals doing business in Indian Country, the Arizona Court of Appeals sided with the Taxpayer in its challenge to the state and county’s power to tax property on tribal land in the...more
5/10/2021
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Arizona ,
Bureau of Indian Affairs ,
Department of Revenue ,
Preemption ,
Property Tax ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tax Court ,
Tribal Lands ,
Vacated
After much speculation and anticipation, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the States may conduct sports betting, and struck down the Professional & Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”). In the case of Murphy v....more
5/21/2018
/ Anti-Commandeering ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic Association ,
NCAA ,
PASPA ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Sports Gambling ,
State Sovereignty ,
States Rights ,
Tenth Amendment