Connecticut Supreme Court protects tribal immunity

Tuesday, April 17, 2007  

Tribes cannot be sued without their consent or without Congressional approval, the Connecticut Supreme Court said in a ruling released on Monday.

The Mohegan Tribe was sued by a former employee. Bradley W. Beecher claimed the tribe was trying to silence him for speaking about the tribe's business practices and regulation.

A trial court dismissed the case, citing the tribe's sovereign immunity. The Supreme Court affirmed the move by unanimous decision.

"An Indian tribe is subject to suit only when Congress has authorized the suit or the tribe has waived its immunity," the court said.

Beecher had claimed that the tribe's participation in an earlier lawsuit constituted a waiver of immunity.

Get the Story:
Court Backs Tribe In Suit By Former Employee (The New London Dday 4/17)
pwday

Court Decision:
Beecher v. Mohegan Tribe (April 24, 2007)

$rl Mohegan Tribe - http://www.mohegan.nsn.us