The Sault Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan, has hired a new law firm as it seeks relief from $88.8m fined in damages for two failed casino projects. The Tribe ended its relationship with legal counsel Patterson Law Firm and will now be represented by Grewal Law PLLC.
This news comes two weeks after the Ingham County Circuit Court ordered the Kewadin Casinos Gaming Authority (KCGA), a Tribe-owned entity, to pay $88.8m due to breach of contract damages to developers behind casino proposals in Lansing and New Boston.
Judge Joyce Draganchuk said the KCGA had ‘fraudulently misrepresented’ itself to these developers. Investors in the respective projects initially loaned the KCGA $8.8m to advance the enterprises.
They based this investment on the Tribe’s claims that the off-reservation land would be taken into trust to facilitate the building of casinos at both sites. However, court filings indicate that the Tribe never submitted additional documents to the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to have the off-reservation land taken into trust.
The BIA had indicated that KGCA’s application was left open so “the Tribe could present additional evidence that the acquisitions would enhance Tribal lands. That did not happen,” according to Draganchuk.
Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes has indicated it will fight the ruling, commenting: “The Sault Tribe is deeply concerned with what it has discovered in reading the Court’s opinion. Our board has met with our legal counsel and is hopeful a new direction will lead to a better outcome.”
Sault Tribe will first seek relief from Judge Draganchuk before potentially appealing the ruling to the state Court of Appeals if this fails.
The $88.8m award in damages accounts for $11.4m in principal and interest on the initial loans, and more than $75m in lost revenue, a figure calculated from the temporary and permanent casinos never launching.
