And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "Victor Rocha" Subject: Bad River band wins dispute against former casino manager Bad River band wins dispute against former casino manager By ROBERT IMRIE / Associated Press Writer WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- A state appeals court decision Tuesday reinforced the power of tribal courts and saved the Bad River Chippewa band several hundred thousand dollars. The case involves the Bad River band' s dispute with its casino manager who was fired in 1995. The 3rd District Court of Appeals said the Bad River Indians were wrongly ordered to pay $400, 000 to former casino manager Jerry Teague because a tribal court had jurisdiction in the dispute, even though the disagreement began in state court. The three-judge panel said the tribe reached a decision on Teague' s employment contract first, ruling it was invalid and unenforceable, thus the Indian court' s decision was binding in the matter. " We can find no authority for the proposition that the circuit court is empowered to deprive the tribal court of the authority to address issues that are properly raised before it, " Judge Gordon Myse wrote. Ashland County Circuit Judge Thomas Gallagher erred when he refused to recognize the tribal court' s ruling, the panel said. The panel noted Teague' s concern over partiality of tribal courts when lawsuits pit tribal members against non-tribal members. According to court records, Teague was hired as casino manager in 1993 and eventually signed two employment contracts, the last in March 1995, that provided him bonus and severance benefits. In the spring of 1995, Teague, who had a good working relationship with then-tribal Chairwoman Elizabeth Drake, began receiving threats as political pressure on the reservation escalated, court records said. Drake fired him July 18, 1995, " out of genuine concern for his health and safety, " court records said. Teague filed a lawsuit in November 1995 seeking his severance benefits under a provision of his employment contract that called for an arbitrator to resolve disputes. Eventually, an Ashland County jury ruled Teague' s employment contract was valid, the tribe was ordered to participate in arbitration process and the arbitrator awarded Teague $390, 000. Before that trial, however, the tribal court had ruled the contracts were invalid because neither the tribal council nor the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs had approved them. Various appeals were then filed, leading to Tuesday' s decision. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=80795734 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
