FOLLOW US

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.

The dispute centers on a triangular parcel of land along the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River. The parcel is bounded by Flying T's property, the White Horse Trail, and the river. Despite Flying T's claims that the parcel had been privately owned and maintained by previous landowners since 1961, the county conveyed the land to the tribe in 2022, just before the superior court heard the tribe's motion to dismiss.

The tribe acquired the property using funds from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conservation grant to increase the population of Puget Sound Chinook salmon.

Flying T Ranch filed its lawsuit in Snohomish County Superior Court, seeking to quiet title to the land. The farm argued that tribal sovereign immunity should not prevent its claim to quiet title.

The appellate court, however, rejected this argument, stating that there is no established immovable property exception that overrides tribal sovereign immunity. The court highlighted that it is Congress, not the judiciary, that has the authority to limit tribal immunity, referencing the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community.

The panel’s decision affirmed that the Stillaguamish Tribe's immunity extends to the disputed land, effectively dismissing Flying T Ranch’s claims.

Representatives for Flying T Ranch and the Stillaguamish Tribe did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Judges Ian S. Birk, Leonard J. Feldman, and Stephen J. Dwyer presided over the case.