Cougar Den, Inc. v. Dep't of Licensing

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court held that the Yakama Nation Treaty of 1855 protects the Yakamas' right to travel on public highways for trade and commerce. The court concluded that Washington's fuel-importation taxes, licensing requirements, and related penalties impermissibly burdened Cougar Den's treaty-protected transportation of fuel to the Yakama Indian Reservation. The court affirmed the superior court's reversal of the Department of Licensing's assessment; Chief Justice Fairhurst dissented.

Holdings

1. The Yakama Treaty of 1855 protects the Yakamas' historical practice of using public roads to engage in trade and commerce, including transporting goods to market.
2. Washington's fuel-importation tax, importer-license requirement, and related penalties are preempted as applied to Cougar Den because they impose a condition on the Yakamas' treaty-protected transportation of goods over public highways.
3. The fuel-tax and licensing requirements do not fall within the regulatory exception because their stated purpose is tax collection rather than a purely regulatory purpose.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Yakama Treaty of 1855's right-to-travel provision protects the transportation of fuel into Washington for commercial purposes.
2. Whether Washington's fuel taxes, importer-license requirements, and related penalties are preempted by the Yakama Treaty when they burden the transportation of fuel over public highways.
3. Whether the Department director's order should be reversed under the Washington Administrative Procedure Act.

Disposition

affirmed