Outsource Services Management, LLC v. Nooksack Business Corp., 181 Wash. 2d 272

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court held that Washington state courts have subject matter jurisdiction over a contract claim against a tribal enterprise when the enterprise waived sovereign immunity and expressly consented to jurisdiction in Washington courts. The court concluded that honoring the tribal enterprise’s contractual consent did not infringe tribal sovereignty or the tribe’s right of self-rule. The court affirmed the Court of Appeals but declined to decide whether a waiver of sovereign immunity alone would confer state-court jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. Washington state-court jurisdiction over the contract claim does not infringe tribal sovereignty when the tribal enterprise has expressly waived sovereign immunity and consented in the contract to jurisdiction in Washington state courts.
2. Although parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction by agreement or consent, a tribal enterprise's consent to state-court jurisdiction may be considered in deciding whether exercising jurisdiction would infringe tribal sovereignty.
3. The court declined to decide whether waiver of sovereign immunity alone can establish state-court subject matter jurisdiction because Nooksack both waived sovereign immunity and consented to state-court jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a Washington superior court has subject matter jurisdiction over a contract claim arising on tribal land when a tribal enterprise waived sovereign immunity and expressly consented to jurisdiction in Washington state courts.
2. Whether the tribal enterprise's contractual consent to state-court jurisdiction may be considered in determining whether state-court jurisdiction would infringe the tribe's right to self-rule.
3. Whether waiver of sovereign immunity alone is sufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction on Washington state courts.

Disposition

affirmed