"Brotherton, now a substantially developed part of Shamong Township, was at the center of a May 25 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.

Culminating, for now, nearly a decade of litigation, the court upheld the dismissal of an ownership claim by the Bridgeton-based Unalachtigo Band of Nanticoke-Leni-Lenape Nation, which is eager to build a casino in New Jersey.

The appeals court, however, threw out the lower court's contention that the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of the Mohican Nation, in Wisconsin, is not descended from the 100 original inhabitants of Brotherton.

Thus, the Stockbridge-Munsee Community could more readily lay claim to the land. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes the group as the former reservation's "successor in interest."

The Stockbridge-Munsee, who already have a casino in Wisconsin, have not made any claim to the Brotherton land and have no plans to do so, says attorney Donald B. Veix Jr. of Antheil, Maslow & MacMinn in Princeton.

The Stockbridge-Munsee have "absolutely nothing on the books" regarding Brotherton, Veix says. "Their hand was forced by the claim" by the Unalachtigo Band."

Get the Story:
Kevin Riordan: Tribal litigation muddies waters (The Philadelphia Inquirer 6/6)

3rd Circuit Decision:
Unalachtigo Band of Nanticoke-Lenni Lenape Nation v. Corzine (May 25, 2010)

Related Stories:
Court leaves door open for Stockbridge-Munsee land claim (5/26)