Featured Case

Tribe Can’t Block Construction by Non-Indian Property Owners

Quinault Indian Nation v. Sea Crest Land Development Co.

Contact:      Brian T. Hodges

Status:      PLF's amicus brief in support of the property owner filed September, 2009. The Tribe voluntarily dismissed its petition to the Washington  Supreme Court, which was a favorable result for the property owner. Case closed on November 30, 2009.

Summary:
Sea Crest Land Development owns a tract within the boundaries of the Quinault Indian Reservation and located in Jefferson County, Washington. Jefferson County issued a permit to Sea Crest to build a new single-family cabin. However, the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) has attempted to block the construction, filing a petition with the Jefferson County Superior Court to enforce a tribal order against Sea Crest. The superior court denied the petition, on the grounds that the QIN lacks jurisdiction over non-Indian owners of fee land within the reservation. QIN appealed and the Supreme Court accepted direct review.

The tribe claims jurisdiction over Sea Crest’s property by claiming that the development of a single-family home threatens the integrity of the tribe. But this “integrity of the tribe” doctrine has been applied only once, where the property was located in a “closed” area of the reservation. As amicus at the state Supreme Court, PLF will argue that there is no basis to apply this exception where the property is located on the exterior boundary of the reservation.