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Experience
Litigation Experience
U.S. Supreme Court
Poarch Band of Creek Indians v. Wilkes
Represented clients injured in an automobile accident in defending the decision of the Alabama Supreme Court, which held that tribal sovereign immunity does not bar tort claims asserted by individuals who have no personal or commercial relationship with the tribe and who have been injured by the tribe’s off-reservation commercial conduct. (17-1175)
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren
Represented property owners during the petition and merits stages before the U.S. Supreme Court, defending the decision of the Washington Supreme Court, which held that tribal sovereign immunity does not bar in rem actions in property dispute over fee land. (17-387)
Lewis v. Clarke
Represented clients injured in an automobile accident in the petition and merits stage before the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the Connecticut Supreme Court, which held that non-Indians are immune from suit for the torts they commit off-reservation in the course of their employment for a tribal entity. (15-1500)
Washington v. United States
Represented business, home building, real estate, farming, and municipal organizations in an amicus capacity on the question of whether tribal treaty fishing rights required the state of Washington to modify culverts that impair salmon populations. (17-269)
Herrera v. Wyoming
Represented Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in amicus capacity on the question of whether Wyoming’s admission to the Union or the establishment of the Bighorn National Forest abrogated tribal hunting rights in the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie. (17-532)
Federal Courts of Appeal and District Courts
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Riverside County
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court for Central District of California
Represented Riverside County, California in defending a challenge to the State of California’s possessory interest tax, as imposed on non-Indians leasing lands from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
New Mexico v. Black
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. District Court for New Mexico
Represented the State of New Mexico in challenging the Department of the Interior’s regulations for tribes to obtain gaming procedures in lieu of a tribal-state compact for class III gaming.
Citizens Against Reservation Shopping v. Haugrud
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Represented citizen group in challenging the Secretary of the Interior’s authority to acquire land in trust under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA), the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), and NEPA after Carcieri v. Salazar, 555 U.S. 379 (2009).
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Beaudreau
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Represented the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound in challenging the decisions of the BOEM and the U.S. Coast Guard to approve an off-shore wind energy project in Nantucket Sound under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and NEPA.
Kawaiisu Tribe v. Salazar
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
Defended Tejon Ranch, the largest private landowner in California, against aboriginal land and treaty claims by an unrecognized group of Indians.
Mashantucket Pequot Tribe v. Town of Ledyard
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. District Court for Connecticut
Defended the Town of Ledyard’s right to impose and collect personal property taxes on property owned by non-Indians but leased to an Indian tribe and used for gaming activities on a reservation.
Delaware Nation v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. District Court for Eastern District Pennsylvania
Defended the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against a land claim by the Delaware Nation based on the Indian Intercourse Act and federal common law.
State Courts and Administrative Boards
Albrecht et. al v. Riverside County
California Superior Court
Represented Riverside County, California in multi-party refund action for possessory interest taxes assessed on non-Indian possessory interests in tribal lands.
Herpel et. al v. Riverside County
California Court of Appeals
California Superior Court
Represented Riverside County, California in class action related to possessory interest taxes assessed on non-Indian possessory interests in tribal lands.
Citizens for a Better Way v. Governor Brown
California Supreme Court
Represented environmental group challenging the governor’s authorization of gaming on off-reservation land under IGRA and the California Constitution.
Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians v. BIA
Interior Board of Indian Appeals
Challenged a decision by the BIA to acquire land in trust for the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians within a few miles of the Viejas Reservation and Casino. We demonstrated that although the stated purpose of the trust acquisition was for the development of a health clinic, its real purpose was to facilitate plans by the Ewiiaapaayp Band to remove an existing health clinic from trust land to develop a casino. The Interior Board of Indian Appeals remanded the decision to BIA for violations of the Indian Reorganization Act, National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedure Act.
Regulatory Experience
Represents Governmental Entities and Utilities in Obtaining or Renewing Rights of Way and/or Easements Across Tribal Lands
Counseled a number of clients regarding BIAs’ new regulations governing rights-of-way or easements across tribal lands; assisted clients in negotiating new rights-of-way and regulatory compliance.
Environmental Counseling for Renewable Energy Projects
Represented solar company seeking permits to develop solar facilities on public lands in California. Representation involved counseling during the regulatory process, assessment of litigation risk, and development of regulatory and litigation strategy.
Environmental Counseling for Offshore Oil and Gas Development
Represented oil and gas companies seeking exploration and development permits in the offshore environment. Representation involved counseling during the regulatory process, assessment of litigation risk, and development of regulatory and litigation strategy.
