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