Tribe borrowed million to renovate casino
The Nooksack Indians of Washington State cannot dodge a debt because of its sovereign status, the state Supreme Court ruled last month.
In a decision that came down August 21, the high court noted that in 2006 the tribe willingly signed a loan agreement with BankFirst for $15 million to renovate its Deming casino. As part of the terms, the tribe granted “an irrevocable limited waiver of its sovereign immunity from suit or legal process with respect to any claim,” according to the Bellingham Herald.
The tribe failed to repay the loan, then asked the court to dismiss the case against it. When the court refused, the tribe claimed it constituted an infringement of its right to self-governance.
In a 7-2 ruling justices wrote, “Given that the Nooksack made the decision to enter into that contract and consent to those provisions, we do not see how state court jurisdiction would infringe on the tribe’s right to self-rule.”
In fact, the court concluded, “The opposite is true: ignoring the tribe’s decision to waive sovereign immunity and consent to state court jurisdiction would infringe on the tribe’s right to make those decisions for itself.”
“This ruling vindicates the sovereign immunity of tribes,” said Rob McKenna, a lawyer for the loan servicing company that tried to resolve the matter. “The Supreme Court has recognized the right of tribes to waive sovereign immunity for business purposes.”
