Tribal Sovereign Immunity For Land Taking Debated Before High Court

Mealey's (March 21, 2018, 3:43 PM EDT) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s top justices repeatedly expressed their frustration March 21 that a Washington state couple may not be able to litigate the title to a piece of property in state court due to the sovereign immunity of the Indian tribe claiming ownership of the land, with some suggesting that the answer may be to send the case back to the state Supreme Court to decide whether an exception to tribal immunity from suit based on the “immovable property” doctrine should apply (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Sharline Lundgren, et vir, No. 17-387, U.S. Sup.)....