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Charbonneau v. St. Paul Insurance Company

TMAC-08-019 (2009)

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Charbonneau v. St. Paul Insurance Company

Turtle Mountain Tribal Court of Appeals
TMAC-08-019 (2009)

Facts

The Sky Dancer Casino (the casino) was owned and operated by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (the tribe) in North Dakota. In establishing the casino, the tribe entered into a gaming compact with North Dakota that stated that the tribe waived its sovereign immunity for personal-injury lawsuits arising out of its gaming activities to the extent of its liability insurance coverage limits. In November 2003, Lonnie Charbonneau, a member of the tribe, was killed in an auto accident on the casino’s property in which Charbonneau was the passenger in a vehicle driven by his intoxicated brother. Charbonneau’s estate (the estate) (plaintiff) sued the casino in the Turtle Mountain tribal court (the tribal court) for wrongful death, claiming that the casino’s negligence in serving alcohol to Charbonneau’s brother after he was intoxicated proximately caused Charbonneau’s death. The casino moved to dismiss, claiming sovereign immunity, and the estate amended its complaint to add St. Paul Insurance Company (St. Paul) (defendant), which provided liability insurance to the casino, as a defendant. The district court added St. Paul and dismissed the casino. St. Paul moved for summary judgment. The tribal court granted the motion, and the estate appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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