Supreme Court Miniseries: Tribal Rights in the 21st Century
DE Talk | Building Foundational Relationships in Native American & Tribal Communities
Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
Tribal Tax Exemption Under McGirt Gains Preliminary Victory
McGirt Uncertainty Extends to Federal Environmental Regulations in Indian Country
Revisiting McGirt: New Legal Developments Challenge Oklahoma’s Landmark Ruling
The Immediate and Lasting Impacts of McGirt: A Novel Ruling for Oklahoma
A Way Forward: Energy Industry Ready to Fuel Canada's Recovery
A gambling compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which allows for sports betting off tribal lands, will remain in place after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for review filed by...more
In an interim order, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily stayed an order by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a gaming compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which would allow the...more
There has been a recent decision on an interesting case involving a challenge to the ability of the federal government to provide benefits or rights to Tribes and other Native organizations....more
Recent proposed regulations seek to streamline and reduce costs for tribal land into trust applications and clarify parameters for negotiation and approval of tribal-state gaming compacts. The administrative process by...more
On November 23, 2021, the US District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated a 2021 gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida, which permitted mobile sports wagering throughout the...more
This week: the Ninth Circuit elaborates on the Indian Gaming Regulation Act’s “two-step determination” regarding the effects of a new casino on tribal land and clarifies when a post-certification class action settlement...more
All the talk of when to reopen the economy is largely gotten in the way of a bigger (and thornier, if possible) question: how to do it. Despite the bold declarations from optimists and wishful thinkers that it’s as easy as a...more
For over 20 years, the State of California has used tribal gaming compacts to accomplish what federal law and tribal sovereignty would otherwise forbid: forcing tribes to follow state labor law in their casinos. Recently...more
New Mexico has been making waves with several noteworthy labor and employment developments. This Lightbulb will highlight interesting legal quirks in the Land of Enchantment, along with recently enacted and proposed...more
On January 16, 2020, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued its decision in Mendoza v. Isleta Resort and Casino, holding that a tribe does not waive its sovereign immunity to workers’ compensation claims merely by committing in...more
Two United States district courts recently dismissed cases involving the business operations of federally recognized Indian Tribes, both for lack of federal jurisdiction. These cases demonstrate the often difficult struggle...more
Anyone reading this publication likely knows that in Murphy v. NCAA, the United States Supreme Court (Supreme Court) held that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) is unconstitutional. Even before the...more
Indian tribes continue to challenge the NLRB's jurisdiction over casinos located on Indian lands and courts continue to side with the NLRB. In Casino Pauma, the 9th Cir. decided on April 26, 2018, that under the test...more
Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc., No. 16-784: Prior to filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Valley View Downs, which sought to operate a racetrack casino in Pennsylvania, transferred $55 million to its...more
In the last decade, tribal entities and officials have increasingly become the subjects of civil suits alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962 et seq. When originally...more
The current division of jurisdiction over gaming in Canada came about as a result of a Federal-Provincial Agreement that was entered into in 1985, intended to address differences that had arisen between those governments...more
HIGHLIGHTS: •In a recent case before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe v. Gerlach, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe (Tribe) won a partial, but significant, victory...more
On April 25, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Lewis v. Clarke, a case involving tribal sovereign immunity. The Court held that when a tribal employee is sued in his or her individual capacity, that...more
Judge Christopher S. Sontchi of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Court) issued a decision on Feb. 28, 2017, that has important – and positive – significance for Native American tribal governments, their...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Lewis v. Clarke, (No. 15-1500) addressing the issue of whether the sovereign immunity of an Indian Tribe bars individual-damages actions against tribal employees for torts...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Lewis v. Clarke. The Supreme Court will resolve a Circuit split about whether the sovereign immunity of an Indian Tribe bars individual-damages actions against tribal...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed on July 15 a civil money penalty in the amount of $2.8 million against Hawaiian Gardens Casino Inc., d/b/a The Gardens Casino, for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulatory...more
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (“MGC”) hosted a community meeting on March 1, 2016 to hear public input regarding Mass Gaming & Entertainment, LLC’s proposal to build a $677 million commercial casino in Brockton. As...more
Two separate three-judge panels of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit have rendered labor law decisions concerning Indian casinos in Michigan only 22 days apart. While each of the panels ruled that the...more
Weighing in on a hotly contested issue, a panel of the Sixth Circuit has found that federal labor law applies to Indian tribes’ casinos, notwithstanding the tribes’ inherent sovereignty. However, the panel only did so because...more