Omaha tribe asks Supreme Court to review lawsuit

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska-based American Indian tribe has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the tribe's sovereign immunity protects it from a construction company's lawsuit over unpaid bills.

Ben Thompson, an attorney for the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, said he believes the case could have consequences for other tribes in the state and nation.

The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in March that the lawsuit by StoreVisions Inc. could proceed in Thurston County District Court. The Omaha-based building contractor sued the tribe in October 2009, alleging that tribal authorities hadn't paid the company for construction work it did on a casino, racetrack and other facilities.

The tribal chairman and vice chairman had signed an agreement with the company waiving their sovereign immunity from lawsuits. But Thompson argued that the two officials didn't have the authority to waive those rights, because that power is not specified in the tribe's constitution and bylaws.

Thompson, whose practice is based in Omaha, said the state Supreme Court ruling could allow lone officials to waive their tribe's sovereignty without full council approval. Nebraska has four recognized American Indian tribes: The Omaha, Ponca, Winnebago and Santee Sioux.

“There are four tribes in Nebraska now that have to worry about what individual tribal officials are doing behind their back,” Thompson said Friday.

The Macy-based tribe had asked the high court to throw out the case, arguing that it is immune from lawsuits because the federal government has granted American Indian tribes sovereign immunity.

“There is no dispute that the tribe is a separate sovereign and generally entitled to immunity from suit,” the high court said in the opinion. “Nor is there any dispute that this immunity exists unless limited by Congress or waived by the tribe.”

However, the court continued, StoreVisions had reason to believe the tribal chairman and vice chairman had authority to sign the waiver. The two officials had approved the contracts, and the waiver was signed at tribal headquarters in the presence of several members of the tribal council, the court said.

In July, the Nebraska Supreme Court amended its ruling to note that the two tribal officials signed a separate sovereignty waiver in addition to the contracts, in the presence of three other council members.

The tribe had hired StoreVisions to complete 11 building projects since April 2008, according to the copies of the agreements filed in district court. Those projects included work on the tribe's casinos, racetrack, convenience store, sports complex and RV park. Copies of StoreVisions' work estimates filed in district court indicate the contracts were worth more than $690,000.

Attorneys have declined to specify how much was unpaid because the case has not been resolved. Tribal leaders have conceded that past mismanagement left the tribe with a high debt load, unpaid bills and back taxes.

The state court decisions against the tribe relied partly on a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling in a similar case with the Ute Indian Tribe.

The Colorado appeals court ruled that the tribe's chief financial officer had “apparent authority” to sign a contract with a computer software company that included a waiver of tribal immunity from lawsuits. The company sued the Ute tribe when officials failed to make payments.