The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota doesn't have to answer to a subpoena due to sovereign immunity, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday.

Alltel Communications, a non-Indian company, sought information from the tribe as part of a lawsuit involving one of its former executives. The tribe is not a party to the case and has not waived its immunity, the 8th Circuit noted.

"Here, for example, the tribe’s gathering and production of the extensive documents Alltel requests would likely be followed by depositions of all tribal officials identified in those documents," the decision stated. "Information gleaned from this discovery would likely reveal deliberations establishing telecommunications policies for the Reservation, information Alltel could then use, not only in its Arkansas lawsuit against tribal ally DeJordy, but also to persuade federal regulators not to favor the Tribe’s efforts to obtain the telecommunications assets Alltel wishes to sell elsewhere."

"The point is not whether such compelled disclosure is good or bad; it is whether the end result is the functional equivalent of a “suit” against a tribal government within the meaning of its common law sovereign immunity," the 8th Circuit concluded.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Alltell v. DeJordy.

8th Circuit Decision:
Alltell v. DeJordy (April 4, 2012)

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