Cossey v. Cherokee Nation Enterprises, LLC

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court considers whether an Oklahoma state district court is a court of competent jurisdiction under the Tribal Gaming Compact between the Cherokee Nation and Oklahoma. The court addresses state-court jurisdiction, tribal sovereign immunity, Public Law 280, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and the Montana framework for tribal authority over nonmembers. It holds that the state court is a court of competent jurisdiction for the plaintiff's tort claim.

Holdings

1. The Oklahoma district court is a court of competent jurisdiction under the Cherokee Nation-State Tribal Gaming Compact to hear Cossey's tort claim.
2. Public Law 280 is not an impediment to Oklahoma state-court jurisdiction in this case and is inapplicable to the Compact-based tort claim.
3. Neither the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act nor this Compact enlarged the Cherokee Nation's tribal-court jurisdiction over Cossey's claim.
4. The Cherokee Nation's sovereign interests were not implicated in a manner requiring tribal-court jurisdiction because Cossey's visit to the casino did not fall within either Montana exception.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the District Court of Rogers County is a court of competent jurisdiction under the Cherokee Nation-State of Oklahoma Tribal Gaming Compact.
2. Whether Public Law 280 or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act precluded Oklahoma state-court jurisdiction over the non-Indian plaintiff's tort claim arising at a tribal casino.
3. Whether the Cherokee Nation's sovereign interests or the Montana exceptions required the claim to be heard in tribal court rather than state court.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded