Corporation chartered by sovereign Indian tribe is not entitled to sovereign immunity from ordinary civil action.

The Seneca Nation, a federally recognized sovereign tribe, chartered corporations under its own laws and were wholly owned by the Nation. The plaintiff entered into a contract with one such corporation to construct a golf course. Relations soured, and the plaintiff claimed amounts owing. It asserted a mechanic’s lien and filed a suit against the corporation for breach of contract and related torts. The corporation, pointing to its Seneca charter and wholly owned status, moved to dismiss and asserted sovereign immunity under the protection of the Nation. The court of appeals affirmed the denial of the motion. Analyzing the factors from Matter of Ransom (NY 1995), the court concluded that the corporation was not an arm of the Tribe and so can be exposed to suit in the usual course.

Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015