California | Litigation | NIGC | Openings & Closings

Judge grants injunction to keep Chukchansi Tribe casino closed

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, California. Photo © Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to keep the casino owned by the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians in California closed.

Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill voiced frustration with rival leaders of the tribe who have been unable to resolve their long-running dispute. But he had especially harsh words for a faction led by Tex McDonald, whose confrontation with a group led by Reggie Lewis and Nancy Ayala led to the closure of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino on October 9.

"If ever there were irrefutable proof of the need for an injunction to continue, it would be the opposition documents received from the McDonald Faction," O’Neill wrote in a decision on Wednesday. "The McDonald Faction argues that its armed incursion was a lawful effort to evict “trespassers” from the casino, namely members of the Lewis/Ayala Faction and their “mercenary” private security service."

"This twisted statement of facts, coupled with the statement of position, belies any semblance of truth or reasonableness," O’Neill continued. "It is simply an admission that the emotional and explosive keg that existed the day before the armed and illegal takeover that occurred on October 9, 2014 still exists."

The injunction was granted at the request of the state. But the casino also remains under a notice of violation and a temporary closure order issued by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The Lewis/Ayala faction submitted missing audits that were cited in the notice of violation. The reports apparently indicate the casino has a deficit of $49.6 million.

“It could mean they are cash short,” NIGC audit manager Daniel Catchpole told The Fresno Bee. “I don’t know exactly what it is.”

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, California v. Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians.