The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, said it will seek relief from a judge’s award on January 3 of $88.8 million in damages to two developers of proposed tribal casinos in Lansing and New Boston.
Tribal leaders said they would appeal the ruling by Ingham County Judge Joyce Draganchuk to the Michigan Court of Appeals if necessary.
Kewadin Casinos Gaming Authority, the tribe’s gaming arm, had partnered with JLLJ Development and Lansing Future Development II to develop the casinos.
Draganchuk noted the companies and the tribe had a “long and torturous history” leading to the investors filing the complaint in March 2021. The tribe had claimed the off-reservation land would be taken into federal trust for temporary and permanent casinos. But court filings indicate the tribe didn’t follow through with requests to provide additional documents to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to complete the process.
Drangachuk’s nearly $88.9 million award includes $11.4 million in principal and interest on the initial loans plus more than $75 million in lost revenue from the not-built temporary and permanent casinos. never launching. The casino proposals date back more than a decade.
Since the complaint first was filed by the developers, seeking to reclaim the loans based on alleged misrepresentations by the tribe, Kewadin said the state court had no jurisdiction over the sovereign tribe and tried to have the case dismissed. However, the court previously ruled the contracts included “clear, irrevocable waivers of sovereign immunity” and all of the tribe’s appeals were denied.
Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes said, “The Sault Tribe is deeply concerned with what it has discovered in reading the Court’s opinion. Our board has met with our legal counsel and is hopeful a new direction will lead to a better outcome.”
The tribe has terminated its contract with the Patterson Law Firm and will be represented by Daniel V. Barnett of Grewal Law PLLC for the remainder of the case.
