The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans announced they will appeal U.S. District Judge James Peterson’s recent ruling that the tribe waited too long to seek a preliminary injunction blocking slot machines and table games at the Ho-Chunk Nation’s Wittenberg, Wisconsin casino. Peterson noted the Stockbridge-Munsee had known about gaming compact violations they allege the Ho-Chunk committed since that tribe opened a casino in 2008, and therefore should have filed the lawsuit before 2014 when a 6-year statute of limitations ended, instead of this April.
Peterson wrote, “Here it is entirely reasonable to expect the Stockbridge-Munsee to have sued the Ho-Chunk over the operation of the Wittenberg casino well before 2014. They have known the facts supporting each element of their claims since 2008. They could have sued the Ho-Chunk then. Instead, they acquiesced to the Wittenberg casino for nearly a decade until the Ho-Chunk decided to expand. In other words, the Stockbridge-Munsee had six years to call attention to the Wittenberg casino’s alleged violations of the Ho-Chunk Compact, but failed to do so.” Stockbridge-Munsee spokeswoman Megan Hakes said the tribe “is reviewing the just-issued order and its options.”
The Stockbridge-Munsee have been concerned a Ho-Chunk expansion would impact revenue at their North Star Casino Resort in Bowler, about 20 miles east of Wittenberg, since opening in 1992. The Ho-Chunk casino expansion opened November 1 with an additional 200 slots and 10 table games; a hotel, restaurant and bar will open in February 2018.
The Stockbridge-Munsee said the Ho-Chunk’s Wittenberg facility violates the Ho-Chunk state gaming compact because the land where it is located was placed in trust after October 1988, so it’s not eligible for gaming. As a result, the Stockbridge-Munsee said, the Ho-Chunk casino has been operating in violation of its state gaming compact every day, so the statute of limitations actually extends from the date of the last violation.
Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council President Shannon Holsey said the tribe acted promptly after learning in 2016 the Ho-Chunk were “shifting from simply pushing the limits of their purported ancillary facility to completely violating their state compact to build a $41 million full-blown casino resort. In this ruling, the judge has essentially said that it is perfectly fine to violate your gaming compact so long as you fly under the radar for six years. After that point, you can do whatever you want, even if it’s in blatant violation of the law. This is outrageous and should concern every single tribal nation. Our lawsuit merits and timing are just and fully permitted under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. We intend to vigorously continue pursuing the avenues for justice that are afforded to us.”
Earlier this year, the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe also announced they would withhold a $1 million payment to the state because Wisconsin regulators were not holding the Ho-Chunk tribe to the terms of its compact.
Ho-Chunk spokesman Collin Price said, “We’re happy the court ruled in our favor.” The judge’s decision dismissed the Ho-Chunk from the lawsuit and also dismissed the Stockbridge-Munsee’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Peterson did not determine if the state of Wisconsin and Governor Scott Walker also will be dismissed. “Should the Stockbridge-Munsee fail to show that its claims against the state are timely, the court will dismiss the claims against the state,” Peterson wrote.
Soon after the ruling was announced, the Ho-Chunk declared they would expand the Wittenberg gaming floor to 822 machines—which would not be in compliance with the state’s and Ho-Chunk’s own interpretation of “ancillary facility,” which must include a non-gaming area that’s physically larger than the gaming portion of the property.
