The Cliff Castle Casino Hotel in Arizona. Photo from Arizona Player Magazine
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a petition in MM&A Productions v. Yavapai-Apache Nation, a dispute over a casino contract. MM&A Productions signed a contract to book artists and promote events at the casino owned by the Yavapai-Apache Nation in Arizona. The agreement included a waiver of sovereign immunity. The contract was signed by a marketing director at the Cliff Castle Casino Hotel. But the waiver was not approved by the tribal council as required by the tribal constitution. "The United States Supreme Court has articulated repeatedly that a waiver of sovereign immunity 'cannot be implied but must be unequivocally expressed,'" the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two, said in a decision in January that dismissed the company's suit against tribal entities. MM&A Productions asked the Supreme Court to hear the dispute, citing alleged conflicts in decisions regarding tribal immunity. But the justices, without comment, declined to do so in an order yesterday. The case itself did not appear significant -- the tribe didn't even file a response to the company's petition, according to the docket sheet in No. 14-425. But it appears the justices aren't likely to revisit the immunity issue anytime soon in the wake of their May decision in Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community. Arizona Court of Appeals Decision:
MM&A Productions v. Yavapai-Apache Nation (January 16, 2014) Supreme Court Decision:
Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community (May 27, 2014)
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