Friday, January 29, 2021
In
Mitchell v. Bailey, 2020 WL 7329219 (5th Cir. 2020), the Hoopa Valley Tribe (Hoopa Valley) had created the AmeriCorps Hoopa Tribal Civilian Community Corps (Tribal CCC) with a federal grant. Following severe floods and the resulting federal disaster declaration covering certain Texas counties, several AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams, including Hoopa Tribal CCC, were deployed to Wimberley, Texas. Mitchell, a non-Indian resident of Texas, was injured while participating in the Wimberley disaster relief efforts, allegedly as a result of negligence caused by Bailey, a member of the Hoopa Tribal CCC. Mitchell sued Bailey and the Hoopa Valley Tribe for violations of state tort and contract law. The District Court, ruling on a 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss, held that sovereign immunity barred suit against Bailey, in his official capacity, and the Hoopa Valley Tribe, and dismissed the claims asserted against these parties with prejudice. The Fifth Ci
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No Arbitration For Tribal Loans, Says Bible-Quoting Judge
Law360 (December 11, 2020, 10:14 PM EST) A Florida federal judge has relied on readings from the Bible, Greek philosophy and ancient law to vehemently reject arbitration bids by a collection company seeking payment on a tribally owned firm s loans in two suits claiming lending law violations, saying the plaintiffs must have their day in court.
U.S. District Judge William F. Jung s Thursday order said consumer collection company Global Trust Management LLC s arbitration agreements are unconscionable and thus unenforceable because the conditions under which borrowers Ami Dunn and Ashanti McIntosh agreed to arbitrate their claims reflect a lack of meaningful choice.