New Mexico
New Mexico Supreme Court rules tribal courts have jurisdiction over casino injury cases
Originally Published: January 30, 2024 7:20 a.m.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Jan. 23 ruled that tribal courts have jurisdiction over personal injury and property damage cases brought against Native American casinos, ending a long battle that saw pueblos and other tribes advocate for protecting sovereignty when such legal claims arise.
The decision stemmed from a 2016 lawsuit in which an employee of an electrical company claimed he was severely injured while making a delivery at Pojoaque Pueblo’s casino. The state Court of Appeals had reversed a lower court ruling that initially called for the case to be dismissed.
The tribe then asked the state Supreme Court to settle the question over jurisdiction.
In its ruling, the court pointed to previous decisions in two federal cases that effectively terminated a provision in tribal-state gambling compacts that waived sovereign immunity to allow jurisdiction to be moved from tribal court to state court for some damage claims.
One of those federal cases involved a personal injury claim involving the over-serving of alcohol at Santa Ana Pueblo’s casino. The other was a slip-and-fall lawsuit brought in state court by a visitor to the Navajo Nation’s casino in northwestern New Mexico.
Attorney Richard Hughes had filed a brief on behalf of Santa Ana and Santa Clara pueblos, with seven other pueblos signing on. He told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the ruling was significant and long overdue.
“We’ve been fighting state court jurisdiction over these cases for 20 years and so it’s the end of a long struggle to keep state courts out of determining tribal affairs,” he said.
He and others have argued that nowhere in the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act did Congress authorize state courts to exercise jurisdiction over personal injury claims.
The New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the ruling.
Those who have advocated to have state courts hear personal injury cases contend that the people suing tribal gambling operations could face an unfair disadvantage in tribal court.
Some experts expect personal injury lawyers to opt for arbitration before heading to tribal court, but Hughes said tribal courts are “perfectly competent to handle cases like this in a very fair and equitable fashion.”
This post is brought to you by FanDuel, proud partner of SBNation.
Lobos most likely to join the Aztecs in MW Championship.
The voters picked Boise State over Utah State by the slimmest of margins… and that’s exactly what happened in the game on Friday, with the Broncos securing a one-point victory over the Aggies. With the win, they keep their conference championship hopes alive.
Utah State going bowling?
Fans went 2 for 2 this week predicting games. They picked New Mexico to beat San Diego State at home and that’s exactly what happened. Will it be enough for the Lobos to find a place in the MW Championship?
Dashcam shows moment UPS cargo plane crashed in Louisville
Dashcam video shows the UPS cargo plane crashing shortly past the runway of Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Two people were killed in a private plane crash in southern New Mexico ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The plane took off around 11:30 a.m. Nov. 26 and was scheduled to return to its “airport of origin” an hour later, according to New Mexico State Police.
Officials didn’t specify what airport that was, though they said the plane was last known to be near the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport, around 60 miles northeast of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
A family member of one of the passengers reported the plane missing after the person didn’t return from the flight, according to KOAT-TV in Albuquerque.
Search and rescue personnel found the plane on the morning of Nov. 27 near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, a small community within the Lincoln National Forest that’s just over a dozen miles away from the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport.
New Mexico State Police, the Alamogordo police and fire departments and New Mexico Search and Rescue were among the agencies involved in the effort.
The plane was found burned with two bodies inside. The names of the deceased were not immediately made public.
The incident was listed as an accidental crash on the National Transportation Safety Board’s incident database as of Nov. 28. An investigation is ongoing.
Incident follows other plane crashes in 2025
The New Mexico crash comes toward the end of a tumultuous year for aviation.
A mid-air collision between a commercial passenger jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killed 67 people in January. It marked the first high-profile commercial aviation crash since 2009, when a commercial plane crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing 50 people.
Two more people were killed several weeks after the Potomac River crash when two fixed-wing, single-engine planes crashed mid-air near Marana, Arizona.
Earlier in November, a UPS cargo plane burst into flames and crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 14 people.
Amid flight and airport chaos stemming from the historic government shutdown, President Donald Trump pledged on Nov. 10 that the United States would soon be “getting the finest air traffic control system anywhere in the world.”
Trump did not provide many details but said companies including IBM and Raytheon were bidding to build the new national infrastructure.
“…We’re going to pick the best one, and it’ll get built relatively quickly, and we’re going to have the greatest air traffic control system anywhere in the world,” he said.
Details affecting local, regional and national news events of the day are provided by the Eyewitness News 4 Team, as well as updates on weather and traffic.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The weather is expected to be quiet Friday with mostly sunny skies and temperatures a little warmer than usual.
A backdoor cold front will bring low temperatures into the teens and 20s overnight Saturday.
Some slick and icy roads are expected from snow across the northern and west central high terrain from Sunday night into Monday morning.
Early next week, colder weather will bring high temperatures slightly below average in western and central New Mexico.
The 201 Black Friday deals you can still get
Antifa agitation turns violent in Germany, bolstering Trump administration’s foreign terror label
Rep Troy Nehls, a Trump ally, will not seek re-election as twin brother announces campaign to replace him
Pumpkin’s secret health powers go far beyond the holidays, experts say
West Virginia football game holds moment of silence for two National Guard soldiers shot in DC attack
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Rep Troy Nehls, a Trump ally, will not seek re-election as twin brother announces campaign to replace him
EU weighs Plan B for Ukraine as Belgium raises bar on reparations loan
Northwestern settles with Trump administration in $75M deal to regain federal funding
Video: Meet the Theremin, an Instrument You Don’t Have to Touch to Play
USCIS halts ‘all asylum decisions’ after DC shooting of National Guard members
-
Science1 week agoWashington state resident dies of new H5N5 form of bird flu
-
Business5 days agoStruggling Six Flags names new CEO. What does that mean for Knott’s and Magic Mountain?
-
World1 week agoUnclear numbers: What we know about Italian military aid to Ukraine
-
Politics2 days agoRep. Swalwell’s suit alleges abuse of power, adds to scrutiny of Trump official’s mortgage probes
-
Northeast1 week agoCamelot or Cringe?: Meet JFK’s grandson turned congressional candidate for the scrolling generation
-
Ohio4 days agoSnow set to surge across Northeast Ohio, threatening Thanksgiving travel
-
Southeast1 week agoAlabama teacher arrested, fired after alleged beating of son captured on camera
-
News1 week agoAnalysis: Why Democrats are warning about Trump giving illegal orders | CNN Politics