Washington High Court: In Rem Action Trumps Tribe’s Immunity Defense

Mealey's (February 17, 2017, 12:29 PM EST) -- OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Supreme Court on Feb. 16, in a 5-4 decision, held that an Indian tribe does not have an interest in a disputed strip of land on the boundary of property purchased by the tribe, so it cannot use the tribe’s sovereign immunity to shield it from a couple’s in rem adverse possession action to quiet title (Sharline Lundgren and Ray Lundgren v. Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, No. 91622-5, Wash. Sup., 2017 Wash. LEXIS 219)....