DE Talk | Building Foundational Relationships in Native American & Tribal Communities
Last week, in West Flagler v. Haaland, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to opponents of online tribal sports betting, effectively affirming the D.C. Circuit’s rejection of a challenge to a compact between the...more
On Oct. 12, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stay on the District of Columbia Circuit’s ruling in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland. This stay will prevent, for now, the Seminole Tribe of Florida from accepting...more
Since May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued three decisions addressing or potentially impacting issues of bankruptcy law. These included rulings concerning the abrogation of sovereign immunity for Native American tribes...more
The courts have long been split on the question of whether Native American tribes are immune from legal attacks under federal bankruptcy law. Some courts have held that tribes and tribal-owned entities could not be sued for...more
On Thursday, July 20, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee issued an order in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agric., 2:20-CV-00041, finding that the rebuttable presumption (legal...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Coughlin. The case involved a tribal entity, “Lendgreen,” that lent an individual, Brian Coughlin, “$1,100 in...more
On June 15, 2023, Justice Jackson led the majority in an 8-1 decision holding that the Bankruptcy Code abrogates federally recognized tribes’ sovereign immunity. The decision has significant implications for tribal creditors...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al. v. Coughlin, No. 22-227, holding that the Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that because Indian tribes are indisputably governments, the Bankruptcy Code unmistakably abrogates their sovereign immunity to bankruptcy court proceedings....more
On June 25, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that Alaska Native Corporations (“ANCs”), are entitled to COVID-19 relief funds; solidifying that ANCs qualify as tribes. The ruling in Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of...more
On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6–3 decision, in Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, that Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) are “Indian tribes,” as defined by the Indian...more
Like the emergency relief funding provided to state and local governments during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act of 2020 allocated an...more
On June 25, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, holding that Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) qualify as “Indian tribes” under the Indian Self-Determination and...more
Minerva Surgical, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc., No. 20-440: Whether a defendant in a patent infringement action who assigned the patent, or is in privity with an assignor of the patent, may have a defense of invalidity heard on the...more
The 2016-17 Supreme Court term was truly a mixed bag for employers. The Court limited presidential power, reined in the appellate courts’ authority to review and overturn trial court decisions regarding EEOC subpoenas,...more
The extent of the National Labor Relations Act's application to tribal-owned and operated enterprises on reservations is an open question in many circuits. Recently, two Sixth Circuit decisions resolved the question in favor...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community is a reminder to a broad range of entities, including energy companies, financial service providers, and state and local governments, that...more