Judge tells Hualapai Tribe to pay $28.5M in business dispute

Tuesday, February 12, 2013  

A federal judge ordered the Hualapai Tribe of Arizona to pay $28.5 million to a non-Indian developer.

The tribe entered into an agreement with David Jin to operate the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a popular tourist attraction. The relationship soured and the tribe took over the business after claiming Jin failed to live up to his end of the deal.

Jin took the dispute into arbitration and won an $28.5 million judgment from the American Arbitration Association. The tribe disputed the award, citing sovereign immunity, but Judge David Campbell ruled for Jin in a decision issued yesterday.

"The court concludes from these provisions that SNW clearly waived its sovereign immunity," Campbell wrote in the decision. SNW is Sa’ Nyu W, the tribe's economic development entity.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Grand Canyon Skywalk Development v. ‘Sa’ Nyu Wa.

Get the Story:
Court upholds $28M award to Grand Canyon Skywalk developer in dispute with Arizona tribe (AP 2/11)

9th Circuit to hear case over Hualapai Tribe's Skywalk business (10/19)
Sherry Counts: Hualapai Tribe can manage business on its own (10/5)
Developer goes back to federal court in Hualapai Tribe feud (9/17)
Hualapai Tribe disputes $28M award in Grand Canyon Skywalk (08/27)