High Desert Recreation, Inc. v. Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
High Desert Recreation, Inc. (HDR) appeals the dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of its action against the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (Tribe), alleging breach of a lease of marina property within the Tribe’s reservation. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we dismiss HDR’s appeal.
An Indian tribe is subject to suit only where Congress unequivocally authorizes suit, or where the tribe has clearly and expressly waived its immunity. C & L Enters., Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe, 532 U.S. 411, 418 , 121 S.Ct. 1589 , 149 L.Ed.2d 623 (2001); Allen v. *327 Gold Country Casino, 464 F.3d 1044, 1047 (9th Cir.2006). Here, the attorney’s fee provision in the lease between HDR and the Tribe does not amount to a unambiguous waiver of the Tribe’s immunity because it does not identify a venue or a jurisdiction in the event of a suit. As a result, it is unclear whether the provision refers to suits brought before federal courts, or to suits brought before the Tribal Court, which has civil and criminal jurisdiction of all persons, including non-Indians acting within the exterior boundaries of the reservation.