Tribe invokes sovereign immunity, defense responds with mass discovery demands

A major California gaming tribe has invoked its sovereignty to oppose defense motions in two recent cases against financial companies they said negligently lost their money. One of these companies has turned the tables, seeking thousands of pages of the tribe's internal documents through discovery that was debated in a law and motion hearing Tuesday.

The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians sued Fredericks Peebles &Morgan LLP, a Sacramento firm that specializes in offering financial and legal advice to tribes, last year over $10 million in investment losses the plaintiffs said was incurred "in a matter of days in February 2018." Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians v. Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP, 34-2019-00258539-CU-PN-GDS (Sac. Super. Ct., filed June 13, 2019).

The firm filed a motion to compel last month seeking additional documents. The tribe quickly replied with an opposition motion claiming it had already "produced 6,628 pages of documents." They claimed the new documents sought -- including email communications, meeting minutes and legal agreements -- had either already been provided or were not relevant to the case.

"There is a whole host of information in these tribal minutes and agendas that have absolutely nothing to the do with the claims in the case," argued Nicole A. Ramirez, representing the tribe as an associate with Kiesel Law LLP in Beverley Hills, during a law and motion hearing on Tuesday. "There are discussions about child welfare issues, enrollment in the tribe, tribal members being removed from the tribe. Why should they be able to get that information?"

"Are you sure?" shot back Sacramento Superior Court Judge David I. Brown. "Relevance under California law is pretty broad."

He later asked why the tribe was trying so hard to protect the information if it wasn't relevant, saying, "Lawyers are just paranoid, Ms. Ramirez. We're just a paranoid group."

The tribe operates the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, a 56,000 square foot casino with an attached hotel, located 23 miles from Yosemite National Park. In operation since 2003, it has led to great wealth for the tribe and, according to some, infighting. The tribe has become known for a series of disenrollment actions -- declaring certain people or families not legitimate members of the tribe -- going back more than a decade.

Fredericks Peebles is no stranger to litigation involving tribes. These cases can be challenging, in that tribes can often cite tribal sovereignty as a shield. Filing extensive discovery motions in these cases has sometimes been a means for opposing litigants to try to level the playing field.

The Chukchansi tribe invoked sovereignty in another recent case against a financial firm that it claims negligently lost their money. The tribe voluntarily dropped that case in May.

"Plaintiff retains its right to sovereign immunity from any counterclaims that may be asserted against it," the tribe argued in a complaint, also filed by Kiesel Law. Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians v. Goldenwise Capital Management, Inc., 1:20-cv-00183-DAD-BAM (E.D. Cal., filed Feb. 4, 2020).

The parties in the Sacramento case fought another breach of fiduciary duty case in the same venue a decade ago. It ended with a voluntary dismissal in 2017. Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians vs. Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP, 34-2010-00086288-CU-PN-GDS (Sac. Super. Ct., filed Aug. 27, 2010).