Judge declines to dismiss tribe's lawsuit against state

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut judge has declined to dismiss a lawsuit against the state by the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, which is seeking $610 million for land it says the state seized from the tribe from 1801 to 1918.

The Connecticut Law Tribune reports that Judge Thomas Moukawsher rejected the state's argument that the Tribal Nation lacks standing to file the lawsuit because at least two other factions of the tribe claim leadership authority. The judge issued the ruling last week.

The state also asked that the lawsuit be dismissed on grounds of government immunity from such lawsuits.

The Tribal Nation alleges the state took 2,000 of the 2,400 acres in the tribe's reservation in western Connecticut and sold the land, but never compensated the tribe.