Burlington Northern Railroad Company v. Crow Tribal Council

The Crow Tribe enacted an ordinance establishing a commission to regulate railroads crossing the Crow Reservation. Burlington Northern Railroad (“BN”) sought a declaratory judgment in federal court invalidating the ordinance as exceeding tribal jurisdiction. The Tribe moved for dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, and the district court denied the motion. The district court later granted default judgment to BN for the Tribe’s failure to comply with an order compelling the Tribe’s answers to discovery. The Tribe appeals. We vacate judgment and remand.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

BN operates the only railroad line across the Crow Reservation, located in southeastern Montana. An 1889 Act of Congress established BN’s right-of-way across the Reservation. 25 Stat. 660 (1889). Until 1986, BN maintained a freight station at Lodge Grass on the reservation, but it did not provide passenger service. In October 1982, the Crow Tribal Council adopted Resolution 88-6, thereby enacting the Crow Tribal Common Carrier Ordinance, a regulatory ordinance patterned after Montana statutes. The ordinance establishes “general duties” for common carriers operating on the Crow Reservation and a…