Redding Rancheria v. Superior Court

Here we hold an Indian tribe and its commercial entity are immune from an ordinary tort suit arising outside of Indian country.

Suzanne Hansard (plaintiff) sued Win River Casino and several Does in Shasta County Superior Court. She alleged she was working as a bartender at a Redding hotel, attending to a party “for defendant Win River and its employees, who had booked one of the facility’s banquet rooms[.]” “[O]ne or more” of the employees threw gifts into the crowd, and a package struck her, causing injury. She framed the complaint in terms of negligence, assault and battery.

Redding Ranchería (Tribe) moved to quash service of summons (Code Civ. Proc., § 418.10, subd. (a)(1)), alleging Win River Casino is “an economic enterprise of the Redding Ranchería, a federally recognized Indian tribe,” and, hence, immune from a state tort suit. The Tribe also alleged: “Plaintiff failed to exhaust her tribal administrative remedies, which, under tribal law, is a prerequisite to filing suit.” The facts regarding the Tribe’s status, tribal laws, and the structure of Win River Casino as a tribal enterprise were supported by a declaration of the Tribe’s attorney. In part, she…