A Washington state appeals court has upheld a ruling that the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians is protected by sovereign immunity in a land dispute with a Snohomish County farm, Flying T Ranch Inc. The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of Flying T Ranch’s lawsuit to quiet title to certain land against the tribe.
Flying T Ranch argued that tribal sovereign immunity should not extend to disputes over “immovable property” located outside of reservation lands, claiming that the tribe’s immunity should be comparable to that of a foreign sovereign. The farm contended that immunity does not apply to questions of title and possession of nontribal land.
However, the three-judge panel concluded that sovereign immunity for tribes, like foreign sovereigns, can only be waived by Congress and is not subject to judicial decision alone. The panel emphasized that treating tribal immunity as lesser than that of foreign sovereigns would undermine the established principles of sovereign power.
