Indian Gaming

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a big victory today to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in a casino agreement case.

A 1994 agreement required the tribe to share 19 percent of slot machine revenues from the Fond-du-Luth Casino with the city of Duluth, Minnesota. The tribe stopped making the so-called "rent" payments in 2009 after contending the arrangement was illegal.

The National Indian Gaming Commission agreed and, in 2011, withdrew its approval of the agreement under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The 8th Circuit said the NIGC's revised view of the matter is now law.

"Indian gaming is an area subject to intense federal oversight, and the city does not explain how the government's regulatory interest would be protected if the Duluth casino were somehow exempted from the NIGC's most recent interpretation of the sole proprietary interest rule," the unanimous decision stated.

On a second point, the 8th Circuit said the tribe likely won't have to pay the city for the withheld payments from 2009 to 2011. The issue will be reconsidered on remand.

"A change in governing law can represent so significant an alteration in circumstances as to justify both prospective and retrospective relief from the obligations of a court order," the decision stated.

The tribe paid about $75 million to the city between 1994 and 2009, according to the court. Those payments were not before the 8th Circuit.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from City of Duluth vs. Fond Du Lac Band of Chippewa.

Get the Story:
Judge's ruling favors Fond du Lac Band over City of Duluth (The Duluth News Tribune 1/14)

8th Circuit Decision:
City of Duluth v. Fond Du Lac Band (January 14, 2013)

Related Stories:
8th Circuit hears Fond du Lac Band gaming agreement lawsuit (11/14)