Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
A federal appeals court has handed the Comanche Nation a mixed but significant victory in its battle over the Warm Springs Casino run by the Apache tribe at Fort Sill near Lawton, Oklahoma.
In a ruling filed Tuesday (April 21), the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said part of the case could go forward even after arguments that tribal sovereign immunity should block the case. The judges said the Comanche Nation could pursue claims under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, known as IGRA, against Fort Sill Apache officials sued in their official roles.
The dispute began after Warm Springs Casino opened in 2022. According to the ruling, the Comanche Nation operates nearby gaming properties and argued that « the resulting competition has made the Nation’s casinos less profitable. »
The Nation asked the court to halt the casino’s operations and award damages. The opinion says Nation claims the casino was « opened in violation of federal law. »
Writing for the three-judge panel, Circuit Judge Timothy Timkovich said the court would « affirm in part and reverse in part. »
Why Warm Springs Casino’s decision to support the Comanche Nation matters
The panel said, « The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) waives the tribe’s sovereign immunity protections so the nation can proceed with its claims to official capacity under IGRA. »
It keeps alive the basic argument that Warm Springs Casino can operate outside of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe’s gaming treaty with Oklahoma. The Comanche Nation contends that the casino is located on land that does not qualify as Fort Sill Apache land under that treaty.
The justices said the complaint argued that the Tsalote allotment remained Kiowa land, not Fort Sill Apache land. At this point, the court said it must accept the properly pleaded allegations as true.
The ruling also said the suit meets a federal provision allowing suits « initiated by a state or Indian tribe to enforce a Class III gaming activity located on Indian lands and conducted in violation of any tribal-state compact. »
But the Comanche Nation was not able to win everywhere. Judges rejected RICO racketeering claims that sought injunctions and declarations. The panel said the Ex Parte Young exception could not be used here because the complaint did not tie the named officials to ongoing casino operations.
As the panel said, « Ex Parte Young does not assist the Nation because his claims are not against officers charged with the management of the casino. »
The court separately allowed RICO damage claims in an individual capacity to proceed, saying those claims were directed at employees personally, not the tribe itself. Therefore, the justices wrote, « they cannot raise the tribe’s sovereign immunity. »
The panel did not decide whether those employees could later claim qualified immunity.
The case now returns to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The decision comes amid broader tribal gaming battles, including a tentative casino deal involving Yocha Deje, Vallejo and Scotts Valley in California, and a stalled lawsuit over tribal casinos in Northern California.
Featured Image: Google Maps
Casino,oklahoma,tribes
#Comanche #Nation #lawsuit #revived #Warm #Springs #casino
