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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2001

A federal appeals court on Wednesday sided with seven Michigan tribes, ruling they can withhold some of their casino revenues from the state because they lost their exclusive right to game.

The dispute centers over compacts the tribes signed, agreeing to share eight percent of their slot machine revenues with the state. The provision applied so long as the tribes had the "exclusive right to operate" the Class III electronic games.

The exclusive right changed when the state approved gaming in the city of Detroit. A court had previously ruled, however, that the payments had to continue until the state issued a license for an actual casino.

So when gaming was approved for four additional tribes in 1999, the state believed the other seven should continue to share their revenues until a new tribe actually opened a casino. But the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday disagreed, and said once the new compacts became effective, the obligation for the seven tribes ended.

The court said the payments should not be calculated beyond February 18, 1999. In practical terms, though, the tribes were to have stopped paying as of July 28, 1999, because that was the date the Detroit casino was licensed.

The tribes involved are the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians; the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community; the Hannahville Indian Community; the Bay Mills Indian Community; the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians; and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.

Get the Case:
SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF CHIPPAWA INDIANS v. ENGLER, No 001277 (6th Cir. November 07, 2001)