Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida

219 F. Supp. 3d 1177, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155708, 2016 WL 6637706
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Florida
DecidedNovember 9, 2016
DocketCONSOLIDATED CASE NO. 4:15cv516-RH/CAS
StatusPublished

This text of 219 F. Supp. 3d 1177 (Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 219 F. Supp. 3d 1177, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155708, 2016 WL 6637706 (N.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION ON THE MERITS

Robert L. Hinkle, United States District Judge

The Seminole Tribe of Florida operates casinos under a Compact entered into with the State of Florida under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2721 (“IGRA”). The Compact became effective in 2010 and has a 20-year term. The Compact authorizes the Tribe to conduct banked card games—blackjack, for example—only during the first five years. That period has now ended. But there is an exception to the five-year limitation. The limitation does not apply—the Tribe may continue to conduct banked card games for the entire 20-year term—if “the State permits any other person [except another tribe] to conduct such games.”

The Tribe and the State have filed lawsuits against one another that have been consolidated. The cases present two central issues: whether the exception to the five-year limitation has been triggered; and whether the State has breached a duty under IGRA to negotiate in good faith for a modification of the Compact.

This order sets out the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law following a bench trial. The order declares that the exception has been triggered—that the Tribe may conduct banked card games for the Compact’s 20-year term. The order awards no further relief on the failure-to-negotiate claim.

I

The Tribe filed the first of these cases against the State in this district, asserting, [1181]*1181in count one, that the Tribe has- authority to conduct banked card games for the Compact’s full 20-year term. The Tribe asserts, in count two, that the State has breached its duty to negotiate with the Tribe in good faith.

The State filed the second of these cases four days later against the Tribe in the Middle District of Florida, asserting that the Tribe is improperly continuing to conduct banked card games. In count one, the State asserts the Tribe’s conduct of banked card games violates the Compact, and in count two, the State asserts the Tribe’s conduct of the games violates IGRA (because IGRA allows a tribe to conduct gaming of this kind only if authorized by the state where the gaming will occur). The Middle District transferred the State’s case here, where it was consolidated with the Tribe’s ease.

The State asserted Eleventh Amendment and sovereign immunity from the Tribe’s count two. In response, the Tribe asserted that the State waived its immunity by filing its own lawsuit. That led the State to announce, at the outset of the trial, that it wished to voluntarily dismiss its count two, rather than suffer a waiver. This order grants the voluntary dismissal, which, in light of the ruling on the merits, makes no difference anyway.

II

Indian tribes have their own sovereignty. Even so, Congress can adopt laws governing conduct on Indian lands. IGRA is such a law.

IGRA gives a tribe “exclusive jurisdiction” on its Indian lands over some forms of gaming—denominated “class I.” 25 U.S.C. § 2710(a). Class I gaming includes social games played for prizes of minimal value or traditional Indian gaming that is part of a tribal ceremony or celebration. Id. § 2703(6). Class I gaming is not at issue here.

IGRA allows a tribe to conduct “class II” gaming on its Indian lands if the state where the lands are located allows anyone else to conduct such gaming. Id. § 2710(b)(1). Bingo is an example of a class II game. Id. § 2703(7)(A)(i). So is a card game such as traditional poker. See id. § 2703(7)(A)(ii). But class II does not include “banking card games, including baccarat, chemin de fer, or blackjack (21),” id. § 2703(7)(B)(i), or “slot machines of any kind,” id. § 2703(7)(B)(ii).

Class III includes any form of gaming not included in class I or II. Id. § 2703(8). “Slot machines” and “banking card games”—the kind of gaming at issue in this case—thus are within class III. IGRA allows a tribe to conduct class III gaming on its Indian lands only if the state where the lands are located enters into a compact with the tribe allowing it to conduct such gaming.

Under this framework, a state can prohibit or regulate class III gaming on Indian lands, so long as it similarly prohibits or regulates gaming by others. See id. § 2710(d)(1)(B). But a state’s authority over gaming on Indian lands is not unlimited. IGRA obligates a state to negotiate with a tribe on this subject in good faith. Id. § 2710(d)(3)(A). And IGRA imposes limits on a state’s ability to exact payments from a tribe for allowing gaming. See id. § 2710(d)(3)(C). Payments can be made only if supported by a benefit the state confers on the tribe. See, e.g., Rincon Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of Rincon Reservation v. Schwarzenegger, 602 F.3d 1019, 1033 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting In re Indian Gaming Related Cases, 331 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2003)).

[1182]*1182III

Acting under this framework, the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida entered into a gaming compact (“the Compact”) in 2010. Under the Compact, “the Tribe is authorized to operate Covered Games on its Indian lands, as defined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, in accordance with the provisions of this Compact.” State’s Ex. 1 (“Compact") at § IV.A. The Compact defines “Covered Games” to include “Banking or banked card games, including baccarat, chemin de fer, and blackjack (21),” with an exception for two locations.

For this purpose the words “banking” and “banked” are synonyms. There is no difference in the meaning ascribed to these terms in the gaming industry, in relevant legal authorities, or in the Compact. Instead, the Compact uses the terms as alternative references to the same thing, much as one might say the number of eggs in a carton is usually “a dozen or 12.” For convenience, this order ordinarily refers only to “banked” games, not “banking or banked” games, except when quoting.

Florida law allows gaming under compacts with Indian tribes and in limited other circumstances. Under Florida Statutes § 849.086, licensed parimutuel facilities may operate cardrooms, but the statute explicitly forbids “banking” card games. Fla. Stat. § 849.086(12)(a).

Because of this statute, the Tribe’s authority under the Compact to conduct banked card games afforded the Tribe the right to conduct banked card games without competition from cardrooms, This was perhaps the most important benefit the Tribe obtained under the Compact. The most important benefit to the State was more than a billion dollars. Because IGRA prohibits a state from receiving a share of a tribe’s gaming revenue except to defray expenses or in exchange for a benefit conferred on the tribe, the Tribe’s billion-dollars-plus payments to the State under the Compact were justified in large part as compensation for the exclusive right to conduct banked card games—exclusive, that is, except for any competition from other tribes or other types of games.

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Bluebook (online)
219 F. Supp. 3d 1177, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155708, 2016 WL 6637706, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seminole-tribe-of-florida-v-florida-flnd-2016.