PLAINTIFFS PLANNING TO APPEAL LAWSUIT AGAINST TRIBE
An appeal was recently made to the 10th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals against a ruling by U.S. District Judge C. LeRoy Hansen involving a lawsuit initiated by relatives of Michael and Desiree Mendoza, who were killed in a roll-over accident on Interstate I-25 after being served alcohol at a wedding at the Santa Ana Star Casino.
The plaintiffs took the case to a district court based on the provisions of the New Mexico tribal gaming compacts. The compacts state that people injured in connection with tribal casinos don’t have to take their case to a tribal court, in which case the judge would be paid by the same people who own the casino. In the compacts, the tribes waved immunity in cases of this sort, but there may be an exception in certain cases if judges rule that by-passing tribal courts could violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Judge Hansen’s ruling over-rides the compacts and says that the suit must be heard in tribal courts. We can hope that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of the state. Otherwise, people stepping onto tribal land leave some of their US constitutional rights at the border. An article with more details can be read in the Albuquerque Journal.
One more good reason to never gamble at tribal casinos.
