Belcourt Pub. Sch. Dist. v. Davis

786 F.3d 653

BELCOURT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT;

Angel Poitra, Plaintiffs–Appellants

v.Ella DAVIS, Defendant–Appellee

Turtle Mountain Tribal Court, Defendant

Belcourt Public School District, Plaintiff–Appellant

v.Erica Malaterre, Defendant–Appellee

Turtle Mountain Tribal Court, Defendant

Belcourt Public School District;

Chris Parisien, Plaintiffs–Appellantsv.Mike Nelson;

Judy Nelson on behalf of their Minor Child S.N., Defendants–Appellees

Turtle Mountain Tribal Court, Defendant

Belcourt Public School District;

Roman Marcellais;

School Board Members for the Belcourt Public School District, Plaintiffs–Appellantsv.Bruce Allard;

Martin Desjarlais;

Jeff Laducer;

Chad Marcellais;

Robert St. Germaine, Defendants–Appellees

Turtle Mountain Tribal Court, Defendant

Belcourt Public School District;

Roman Marcellais;

School Board Members for the Belcourt Public School District, Plaintiffs–Appellants

v.Steve Herman, Defendant–Appellee

Turtle Mountain Tribal Court, Defendant.

Nos. 14–1541

14–1542

14–1543

14–1545

14–1548.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: Dec. 10, 2014.

Filed: May 15, 2015.

Rachel Bruner–Kaufman, argued, Jonathan P. Sanstead, on the brief, Bismarck, ND, for Plaintiffs–Appellants.

Reed Soderstrom, argued and on the brief, Minot, ND, for Defendant–Appellee Erica Malaterre.

Donald George Bruce, argued and on the brief, Belcourt, ND, for Defendant–Appellee Ella Davis, Mike and Judy Nelson, Bruce Allard, Martin Desjarlais, Jeff Laducer, Chad Marcellais, Robert St. Germaine, and Steve Herman.

Before BYE, SMITH, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.

Opinion

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff–Appellants, Belcourt Public School District (“School District”) and certain of its employees, brought an action against Defendant–Appellees, members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (“Tribe”) and the Turtle Mountain Tribal Court (“Tribal Court”), seeking (1) a declaration that the Tribal Court lacks jurisdiction over claims that the Tribe members filed against Plaintiff–Appellants in Tribal Court, and (2) injunctions prohibiting the prosecution of the claims before the Tribal Court. Plaintiff–Appellants also moved for default judgment against one of the Tribe members. The district court denied the motion for default judgment and found that the Tribal Court had jurisdiction.

For the reasons stated herein, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. Background

The School District is a political subdivision of the State of North Dakota, Bismarck Pub. Sch. Dist. # 1 v. State By and Through N.D. Legislative Assembly, 511 N.W.2d 247, 251 (N.D.1994), that operates within the exterior boundaries of the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation (“Reservation”). The Constitution of North Dakota requires that the School District provide education to all children in North Dakota, including children who are Indians or reside on Indian reservations. N.D. Const. art. VIII, § 1 (“[P]ublic schools [ ] shall be open to all children of the state of North Dakota....”).

The Tribe and School District have agreed to mutually share the responsibility for educating students, both Indian and non-Indian, residing on the Reservation. Accordingly, the Tribe and School District entered into agreements (“Plans of Operations”) in both 2006 and 2009 that provided the School District with exclusive authority to administer the “day-to-day operations” of the Turtle Mountain Community High School (“Grant High School”), subject to applicable laws. This arrangement vested the School District with exclusive administrative authority over, among other things, the supervision and employment of staff at Grant High School.¹

Several Tribe members filed suit against the School District and its employees in Tribal Court, alleging defamation, excessive use of force, and multiple employment-related claims. The Tribal Court ultimately dismissed the claims pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Nevada v. Hicks, 533 U.S. 353, 121 S.Ct. 2304, 150 L.Ed.2d 398 (2001), on the grounds that the Tribal Court lacked jurisdiction over the School District and its employees for claims related to the employees' performance of their official duties. On appeal, however, the Turtle Mountain Tribal Court of Appeals (“Tribal Court of Appeals”) reversed the Tribal Court's decision, finding that Hicks was not dispositive in part because the School District signed the Plans of Operations, thereby subjecting itself to Tribal jurisdiction.² The School District and its employees thereafter filed actions in federal court, seeking (1) a declaration that the Tribal Court lacks jurisdiction over the claims, and (2) injunctions prohibiting the Tribal members from pursuing the claims and likewise prohibiting the Tribal Court from adjudicating them.

The School District and its employees later moved for default judgment in one of the actions (“Nelson ” action) based on the defendants' alleged failure to defend against the claims. The district court exercised its discretion to deny the motion, however, holding that, at least in that case, “default judgment is not the appropriate avenue” to issue declaratory relief.

The School District and its employees then moved for summary judgment in all of the actions. The district court ultimately denied the motions and concluded that the Tribal Court, in fact, had jurisdiction over the claims. In so holding, the district court found inapplicable the United States Supreme Court's decision in Montana v. United States, 450 U.S. 544, 101 S.Ct. 1245, 67 L.Ed.2d 493 (1981). It further found that, even if Montana were applicable, the Tribal Court would nevertheless have jurisdiction because the School District entered into the Plans of Operations with the Tribe.

II. Discussion

A. Tribal Court Jurisdiction

The School District and its employees argue on appeal that the Tribal Court lacked jurisdiction over them and, consequently, that the district court erred in denying their motions for summary judgment. We review de novo a district court's denial of summary judgment. Solomon v. Petray, 699 F.3d 1034, 1038 (8th Cir.2012) (citation omitted). “The extent of tribal court subject matter jurisdiction over claims against nonmembers of the Tribe is a question of federal law which we review de novo.” Attorney's Process & Investigation Servs., Inc. v. Sac & Fox Tribe of Miss. in Iowa, 609 F.3d 927, 934 (8th Cir.2010) (citation omitted).

No federal statute or a treaty specifically provides the Tribal Court with jurisdiction over the claims at issue in this case; therefore, the Tribal Court's jurisdiction must arise from its “retained or inherent sovereignty.” Atkinson Trading Co., Inc. v. Shirley, 532 U.S. 645, 649–50, 121 S.Ct. 1825, 149 L.Ed.2d 889 (2001). We analyze the contours of a tribal court's inherent jurisdiction over nonmembers of the tribe within the framework and principles set forth in Montana, which remains the “ ‘pathmarking case’ ” on the subject. Hicks, 533 U.S. at 358, 121 S.Ct. 2304 (quoting Strate, 520 U.S. at 445, 117 S.Ct. 1404 ). In Montana, the Supreme Court addressed whether a tribe could prohibit hunting and fishing activities by non-Indians on reservation land owned in fee simple by non-Indians. As a general matter, the Court held, “the inherent sovereign powers of an Indian tribe do not extend to the activities of non members of the tribe.” 450 U.S. at 565, 101 S.Ct. 1245 (emphases added). The Court then noted, however, two relatively narrow exceptions to this general rule:

To be sure, Indian tribes retain inherent sovereign power to exercise some forms of civil jurisdiction over non-Indians on their reservations, even on non-Indian fee lands. A tribe may regulate, through taxation, licensing, or other means, the activities of nonmembers who enter consensual relationships with the tribe or its members, through commercial dealing, contracts, leases, or other arrangements. A tribe may also retain inherent power to exercise civil authority over the conduct of non-Indians on fee lands within its reservation when that conduct threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or the health or welfare of the tribe.

Id. at 565–66, 101 S.Ct. 1245 (emphases added) (internal citations omitted).³ These two categories of nonmember conduct that Indian tribes may regulate are commonly referred to as the “Montana exceptions.” The Court in Montana ultimately found that neither exception provided the tribe with jurisdiction over non-Indians' hunting and fishing on non-Indian land. Id. at 566, 101 S.Ct. 1245.

Given the general rule set forth and applied in Montana —that a tribe's inherent sovereign powers do not vest it with jurisdiction over the activities of nonmembers—the Tribal Court presumably does not have jurisdiction over the claims asserted in this case. “The burden rests on the tribe” to establish that one of the Montana exceptions applies. Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co., 554 U.S. 316, 330, 128 S.Ct. 2709, 171 L.Ed.2d 457 (2008).

1. First Montana Exception

The School District agreed to provide educational services to students residing on the Reservation, as memorialized, at least in part, in the Plans of Operations. But these agreements between the School District and the Tribe do not alone confer jurisdiction on the Tribal Court under the first Montana exception. Notably, North Dakota law specifies that a school district cannot “[a]uthorize an agreement that enlarges or diminishes the jurisdiction over civil or criminal matters that may be exercised by ... tribal governments located in North Dakota.” N.D. Cent.Code § 54–40.2–08. The agreements do not state that the School District intended to, or represented that it could, deviate from North Dakota law.

Moreover, even assuming arguendo that the School District could agree to an expansion of Tribal Court jurisdiction under North Dakota law, the first Montana exception still would not provide the Tribal Court with jurisdiction. Indeed, in Hicks, the Supreme...