Artist's rendering of the new exterior of the Fond-du-Luth Casino in Duluth, Minnesota. The tribe is spending $5.5 million to renovate the facility. Image from Fond du Lac Band
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians does not owe any more gaming revenues to the city of Duluth, Minnesota, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The tribe shared $75 million from the Fond-du-Luth Casino with the city up until 2009. The National Indian Gaming Commission struck down the arrangement in 2011 after determining that it violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The city wasn't happy with the tribe's decision to stop making payments. and went to court to seek additional money for the years 2009 through 2011. Judge Susan Richard Nelson initially agreed that the funds were owed. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. A unanimous decision from May concluded that IGRA requires tribes to be the "primary beneficiaries" of their casinos and Nelson has embraced that finding.
The existing exterior of the Fond-du-Luth Casino. Photo from Fond du Lac Band
Nelson wrote that "directing millions of dollars away from the band is directly contrary to the IGRA’s goals of promoting tribal economic development, tribal self-sufficiency, and strong tribal government." About $13 million, a figure that included interest, was in dispute before Nelson made her ruling. The fight, however, is not over. The city is still suing the NIGC for ending the revenue-sharing agreement. A judge in Washington, D.C., sided with the agency but the city has taken the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Turtle Talk has posted the decision from the Minnesota federal court case, City of Duluth v. Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Get the Story:
Band prevails in Fond-du-Luth revenue dispute (The Duluth News Tribune 7/29)
District Judge: Fond du Lac Band doesn't have to pay withheld casino rent (NNCNOW.Now 7/28) D.C. Federal Court Decision:
Duluth v. National Indian Gaming Commission (March 31, 2015) 8th Circuit Decision:
Duluth v. Fond Du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (May 8, 2015) Prior 8th Circuit Decision:
City of Duluth v. Fond Du Lac Band (January 14, 2013)
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