Cayuga Indian Nation representative Clint Halfton has the legal standing to sue the village of Union Springs in New York’s Cayuga County, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
The three-judge panel reversed the prior decision by U.S. District Judge David Hurd, who in May 2015 ruled Halftown and two others do not have the legal standing to file lawsuits on behalf of the Cayuga Nation, due to a leadership dispute within the tribe.
Halftown is the tribe’s officially recognized representative and seeks a legal challenge to Union Springs’ attempts to regulate the tribe’s gaming facility or shut it down. The tribe’s electronic bingo casino is located on Route 90.
“The Cayuga Nation is grateful for this ruling, which preserves the right of our federally recognized leadership to protect the rights of our citizens and ourselves via the court system,’’ Halftown said in a statement.
Halftown says the tribe’s gaming operation is authorized by the U.S. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and beyond the village’s jurisdiction. Halftown seeks a federal injunction stopping the village from interfering with tribal gaming endeavors.
A Union Springs representative said the village might appeal the decision to the Second Circuit’s full 13-judge panel. If not, the case returns to U.S. District Court for further consideration.
The tribe opened the bingo facility in 2004 with 80 electronic bingo machines, but closed in 2005. It reopened in 2013.
It wants to open a new gaming facility called LakeSide Entertainment in the village on Cayuga Lake, but the village recently enacted an anti-gaming ordinance and say the tribe can’t open without the village’s approval.
The village demanded the tribe obtain a gaming license, and the tribe sued in federal court.
