Court subjects Choctaw Nation to casino lawsuits

Thursday, July 9, 2009  

The Choctaw Nation can be sued by casino patrons in state court, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on June 30.

In two separate decisions, the court determined that the tribal-state compact allows negligence lawsuits to be heard in the state court system. The rulings were based on the use of the phrase "in a court of competent jurisdiction" in the compact.

The tribe argued that lawsuits could only be filed in tribal court. The court, however, said the phrase includes state courts.

"The language in the compact could have easily restricted casino patrons' tort remedy to tribal courts, if the tribal government representatives and the state government representatives who proposed the state-tribal gaming legislation directed that those words be used in the measure," the decision in one of the cases stated.

The tribe is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Get the Story:
Court rules casino lawsuits can be heard in state courts (The Oklahoma Journal Record 7/9)

Oklahoma Supreme Court Decisions:
Griffith v. Choctaw Nation (June 30, 2009) | Dye v. Choctaw Nation (June 30, 2009)