Pueblo of Pojoaque v. New Mexico

221 F. Supp. 3d 1289, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152157, 2016 WL 7246109
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Pueblo of Pojoaque v. New Mexico. Read the opinion of the Court — 214 F. Supp. 3d 1028
District Court, D. New Mexico·Decided November 2, 2016·No. No. CIV 15-0625 JB/GBW·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES 0. BROWNING, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on: (i) the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s Order, filed October 17, 2016 (Doc. 128)(“Tenth Circuit Order”); and (ii) the Plaintiffs’ Reply to Defendants’ Response to Motion to Stay Order and Restore the Preliminary Injunction Pending Appeal, filed October 26, 2016 (Doc. 131)(“Motion Reply”). The Court held a hearing on October 27, 2016. The primary issues are: (i) whether the Court’s Final Judgment, filed September 30, 2016 (Doc. 119), is a final judgment; and (ii) if the Court’s Final Judgment is not final, whether the Court should vacate the Final Judgment as the Plaintiffs Pueblo of Pojoaque and Joseph M. Talachy (collectively “Pojoaque Pueblo”) insist.1 Af[1292]*1292ter careful consideration of the law, the circumstances of the case, and the parties’ analysis, the Court concludes that its characterization of the Final Judgment as a final judgment is correct, because the Final Judgment and the Court’s Memorandum Opinion and Order, filed September 30, 2016 (Doc. 118)(“MOO”), “end[] the litigation on the merits and leave[] nothing for the court to do but execute judgment.” Cunningham v. Hamilton County, Ohio, 527 U.S. 198, 204, 119 S.Ct. 1915, 144 L.Ed.2d 184 (1999)(internal quotation marks omitted).

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Court divides its discussion of the facts and procedural background of the case into two sections. First, the Court will provide a brief overview of the circumstances leading up to the present litigation and will review the primary conclusions in its September 30, 2016, MOO. Second, the Court will discuss the issues raised on Pojoaque Pueblo’s appeal of the Court’s MOO by the Tenth Circuit Order and Motion Reply regarding the finality of the Court’s Final Judgment.

1. The Court’s Memorandum Opinion and Order and Final Judgment.

The factual and procedural details of this case are discussed at length in the Court’s MOO. See MOO at 4-47. In short, this action arises out of New Mexico and Pojoaque Pueblo’s failure to negotiate a state-tribal gambling compact pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2721 (“IGRA”), and a resultant dispute over the State’s authority to take regulatory enforcement actions against non-Indian, state-licensed gaming manufacturer vendors doing business with Pojoaque Pueblo’s gaming enterprises, notwithstanding the absence of a compact. On October 7, 2015, the Honorable Robert C. Brack, United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, issued a preliminary injunction barring the Defendants from taking such regulatory actions, holding that New Mexico lacked “authority or jurisdiction” absent a gaming compact to “harass[ ] and threaten! ]” Pojoaque Pueblo’s vendors. Pueblo of Pojoaque v. New Mexico, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178096, at *29 (D.N.M. 2015)(Brack, J.). The Defendants filed an interlocutory appeal of the preliminary injunction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on October 29, 2015. See Pueblo of Pojoaque v. State of New Mexico, 15-2187; Notice of Appeal at 1, filed October 29, 2015 (Doc. 40).

The Court issued its MOO and Final Judgment on September 30, 2016. See MOO at 1; Final Judgment at 1. In the MOO, the Court concluded that, despite the Defendants’ interlocutory appeal of the preliminary injunction, the Court had “jurisdiction to ‘proceed to determine the action on the merits.’ ” MOO at 97 (quoting Free Speech v. Fed. Election Comm’n, 720 F.3d 788, 791 (10th Cir. 2013)). Having established its jurisdiction, the Court concluded that the Defendants did not violate Pojoaque Pueblo’s federal rights by taking regulatory enforcement actions against Pojoaque Pueblo’s gaming vendors. First, regarding the litigation’s central preemption issue, the Court held that IGRA “does not preempt New Mexico’s regulatory actions with respect to non-Indian, state-licensed vendors doing business with non-Indian gaming operators.” MOO at 120. The Court then concluded that the Defendants’ actions did not otherwise violate Pojoaque Pueblo’s federal rights under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States of America or under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985. See MOO at 121-126. Based on these rulings, and pursuant to the New Mexico Tort Claims Act, [1293]*1293which grants State officers and employees immunity from tort liability, the Court dismissed with prejudice all claims against the individual named Defendants. See MOO at 98-132, 137-138 & 146. The Court likewise dismissed all claims against the Defendant State of New Mexico without prejudice, in light of New Mexico’s assertion of sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America as an affirmative defense. See MOO at 134-137, 146.

Turning to the October 7, 2015, preliminary injunction, the Court invoked its authority under rule 62(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and stayed the injunction. See MOO at 138-144. The Court reasoned that rule 62(c) empowers a district court to “‘suspend, modify, restore, or grant an injunction’ ” during the pendency of an appeal “ ‘from an interlocutory order or final judgment that grants, dissolves, or denies an injunction.’” MOO at 139 (quoting Fed.R.Civ. P. 62(c)). The Court noted that “the same legal standards that govern stays of injunctions under Rule 62(c) also govern grants of injunctions pursuant to Rule 65,” and that a stay will be granted absent a robust probability of success on the merits where a “ ‘preliminary injunction seeks to stay governmental action taken in the public interest pursuant to a statutory or regulatory scheme.... ” MOO at 140 (quoting Heideman v. S. Salt Lake City, 348 F.3d 1182, 1189 (10th Cir. 2003)). Given the Court’s conclusion that the Defendants’ regulatory actions did not violate Pojoaque Pueblo’s federal rights, the Court held that Poj-oaque Pueblo failed to make the requisite “ ‘strong showing1 ” that it was likely to succeed on the merits of its claim underlying the preliminary injunction. MOO at 141 (quoting Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776, 107 S.Ct. 2113, 95 L.Ed.2d 724 (1987)). Accordingly, the Court stayed the preliminary injunction. See MOO at 144.

The Court left the preliminary injunction intact, however. See MOO at 144-145. The Court reasoned that “[a] district court [ ] has no jurisdiction to vacate or dissolve a preliminary injunction that has been appealed.” MOO at 145 (citing Coastal Corp. v. Tex. E. Corp., 869 F.2d 817, 819-820 (5th Cir. 1989)).

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Pueblo of Pojoaque v. New Mexico, 221 F. Supp. 3d 1289, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152157, 2016 WL 7246109 (D.N.M. 2016).

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