"Six years ago the tribe and Atlantic City Coin & Slot Service sued Ledyard to block these taxes, claiming such municipal action disregards well-established principles of federal Indian law and interferes with the tribe's gaming operations, self-determination and sovereign immunity.

So far, the town has spent $900,000 fighting the litigation - a whopping sum that could have been used to hire teachers, repave miles of roads or buy thousands of new library books.

The Day reported last week that a ruling by U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport is imminent, and while no one can predict how the lawsuit will be decided it's likely the losing party would consider an appeal.

Whatever the outcome, therefore, Ledyard will have an expensive decision to make: Drop legal objections and write off its losses, or continue the battle."

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Editorial: Ledyard's costly but necessary legal battle (The New London Day 1/30)

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