Bishop Paiute Tribe loses ruling in casino expansion dispute

Monday, November 16, 2015

Members of the Bishop Paiute Tribe of California formed a group called Save North Pa Ha to fight the expansion of the Paiute Palace Casino, seen in the background. Photo from Facebook

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The Bishop Paiute Tribe cannot expand its casino onto land assigned to one of its members, the Intertribal Court of Southern California Court of Appeals ruled on November 2.

The tribe wants to use land adjacent to the Paiute Palace Casino for a $30 million expansion. But the court determined that the property, consisting of several lots, was assigned to Geraldine Pasqua, who opposes the project, nearly 40 years ago.

"The evidence in the record shows that appellant Geraldine Pasqua had the right to possess and occupy the lots in 1977," Judge Joanne Willis Newton wrote in the decision.

Pasqua, her family and their supporters have formed a group called Save North Pa Ha to fight the casino plan. They thought they secured victory when tribal members voted against the project in July 2013.

But the tribal council proceeded anyway and cited Pasqua and her family with trespassing in June 2014 in preparation for taking over the lots. A May 2015 newsletter anticipated a 2017 opening for the expansion, which would include a hotel.

The court decision acknowledges that the tribe could reacquire the right to use the lots as long as the process conforms with tribal law. The tribe's assignment ordinance does not allow for eminent domain-type actions but exchanges or relinquishments are possible.

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