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Auto Insurer Declaratory Action Decides Tribal Court Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over Member Dispute
June 12, 2007
In Progressive Specialty Ins. Co. v. Burnette, 489 F.Supp.2d 955 (D.S.D. 2007), Attorneys Pat Meyers and Stephen Hoffman persuaded the U.S. District Court of South Dakota to permanently enjoin the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Court from proceeding with a tribal member's bad faith action against an automobile insurer arising from a claim for uninsured motorist benefits related to an accident on the reservation. The court held that it was not disputed that all the acts by the insurance company relating to the claim had occurred outside the reservation, and that the insurer had never had any physical presence on the reservation. Because no harm occurred on the reservation, the court reasoned, the case could not fall within the framework of Montana v. U.S., 450 U.S. 544 (1981). Under the rule that a tribe normally has no jurisdiction over non-members, the insurance company could thus not be sued in tribal court. The tribal court did initially appeal this ruling, but that appeal was subsequently dismissed.
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