FREDERICKS PEEBLES & MORGAN LLP SECURES LANDMARK COURT RULING ON TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY

Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP has successfully garnered a landmark ruling in suits brought by the State of Colorado against two tribally-owned online businesses. Those suits threatened tribal sovereignty and the ability of the tribes to operate businesses for the purpose of economic development. The two businesses are separately owned and operated by the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and by the Santee Sioux Nation, both federally-recognized Indian tribes. The Denver District Court ruling, captioned State of Colorado v. Cash Advance, is expected to have a major impact on the ability of other tribes and their economic development entities to do business both in Indian Country and over the internet.

The ruling also outlawed state-issued subpoenas that would have required the two tribal companies to provide documents and other proprietary information, which the Tribes claimed that the State had no right to demand. Contempt citations and bench warrants aimed at the tribal entities and their officers for failing to comply with the subpoenas were also discharged under the ruling.

Lead attorneys for Fredericks Peebles & Morgan were Conly Schulte and Shilee Mullin. Firm attorneys argued that the suits brought by the State of Colorado had no merit because the companies are wholly-owned arms of federally-recognized Indian tribes, and they are therefore immune from the subpoenas and enforcement orders under the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity. The Colorado Attorney General had argued that the tribally-owned businesses were not immune from suit on the ground that they engaged non-tribal members in some of their operations. The Denver District Court disagreed, holding, “The Miami and Santee people are the ones we must trust . . . to know what kinds of business relationships are in their best interests. They do not need the guidance of the State of Colorado, through either its law enforcement officials or its courts.”

"The Court's decision is groundbreaking for its application of the principles of tribal sovereignty to modern day tribal economic development activities,” said Conly Schulte, an attorney with Fredericks Peebles & Morgan, who argued the cases before the Colorado courts. “It stands for the proposition that State officials have no right to impose their paternalistic values upon Tribes' business decisions.”

The original suit brought by the State suggested that the two businesses were in violation of Colorado law for doing business with Colorado consumers over the internet without having a license from the State. After several years of wrangling over whether the tribal entities could be forced to comply with the State’s subpoenas, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that tribal immunity applies to businesses that are arms of their respective Indian tribes, regardless of whether the activities are commercial or governmental in nature, or whether the activities take place on or off tribal lands. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the District Court for a determination of whether the tribal businesses were arms of their respective Tribes, and the District Court ruled in favor of the Tribes.

“This decision will have a monumental positive effect in Indian Country and on tribes who are trying to build their economies and improve the lives of their people through many diverse business opportunities,” said Shilee Mullin, an attorney with Fredericks Peebles and Morgan. “The firm is pleased to have had an important role in securing this ruling that helps protect and preserve tribal sovereign immunity which has been threatened by a variety of organizations.”

Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP is dedicated to the representation of American Indian tribes and Native American organizations throughout the United States. Legal services provided by Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP include a wide spectrum of services related to Indian concerns in the areas of business transactions, litigation, and governmental affairs. Visit our website at http://www.ndnlaw.com