ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) An appeal is planned to challenge a judge's ruling that personal injury lawsuits against tribal casinos regarding the serving of alcohol must be filed in tribal courts, not New Mexico state courts. The case involves a lawsuit against the company that operates the Santa Ana Pueblo's casino. It stems from a fatal 2006 motor vehicle accident.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in state District Court under provisions of the tribe's gambling compact with the state. However, U.S. District Judge C. LeRoy Hansen ruled in September that the federal Indian gambling law doesn't allow jurisdiction over customers' lawsuits to be shifted from tribal courts to state courts
The plaintiffs have filed notice of an appeal to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
