Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren
Issues
Should there be an exception to the rule of tribal sovereign immunity when the action is an in rem proceeding and the Indian tribe purchased the land in question commercially?
In this case, the Supreme Court will decide whether there will be an exception to the rule of tribal sovereign immunity when a tribe is sued in an in rem proceeding. Petitioner Upper Skagit Indian Tribe argues that there should not be an exception for in rem proceedings because actions against a tribe’s land challenge its sovereignty and cannot be distinguished from in personam actions in the way they affect a tribe’s personal interests. The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe asserts that because the Court has never recognized this exception it is up to Congress instead to weigh the policy considerations at issue and create new legislation if necessary. Respondents Sharline and Ray Lundgren argue that the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe does not have sovereignty over the land at issue because it lost title to the land in 1855 and cannot regain sovereignty through a commercial purchase, which is how it got the land back in 2013. Furthermore, the Lundgrens argue that there should be an exception to tribal sovereign immunity for cases of in rem jurisdiction because of the state interest in regulating the conditions of title to property within its territory. This case will determine whether there will be a new class of cases in which a private individual can subject an Indian tribe to a lawsuit.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Does a court’s exercise of in rem jurisdiction overcome the jurisdictional bar of tribal sovereign immunity when the tribe has not waived immunity and Congress has not unequivocally abrogated it?
In 1981, Sharline and Ray Lundgren purchased 10 acres of land in Skagit County, Washington. Lundgren v. Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, 187 Wash.2d 857, at 2. The land had previously belonged to Sharline’s grandmother, who purchased it in 1947.
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Additional Resources
- Brian L. Pierson, Washington Supreme Court Rejects Sovereign Immunity Defense in Quiet Title Action, The National Law Review (March 21, 2017).