Summary
holding that the tribe was entitled to sovereign immunity on a claim for damages that resulted from the plaintiff being pierced by a hypodermic needle left in a bed at the tribe's hotel
Summary of this case from Lesperance v. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa IndiansOpinion
December 7, 2000.
Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (O'Brien, J.), entered July 27, 1999 in Madison County, which granted defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Robert H. Lawler, De Witt, for appellant.
Zuckerman, Spaeder, Goldstein, Taylor Kolker LLP (Peter D. Carmen of MacKenzie, Smith, Lewis, Mitchell Hughes LLP, Syracuse, of counsel), Washington, D.C., for respondent.
Before: Crew III, J.P., Peters, Mugglin, Rose and Lahtinen, JJ.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Defendant owns and operates the Turning Stone Casino and Resort Hotel (hereinafter Hotel) which is located on land separate from the reservation of the Oneida Indian Nation. During the early morning hours of February 7, 1998, plaintiff's leg was pierced by a hypodermic needle projecting from his mattress at the Hotel. Although plaintiff's injury did not require hospitalization, since the incident plaintiff has continuously undergone HIV testing which has been negative. Initially, plaintiff sought compensation through the Indian Nation Peacemaker Court, ultimately rejecting a settlement offer. Although his case is apparently still pending in the tribal court system, plaintiff commenced this action seeking $20 million for mental pain and distress. Supreme Court granted defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (2), holding that defendant possesses sovereign immunity and, thus, the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to entertain the action. Plaintiff appeals.
We affirm. It is fundamental that Indian tribes possess sovereign immunity from suit in state and Federal courts (see, Oklahoma State Tax Commn. v. Potowatomi Tribe, 498 U.S. 505, 509; Matter of Ransom v. St. Regis Mohawk Educ. Community Fund, 86 N.Y.2d 553, 558; Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce v. Pataki, 275 A.D.2d 145, 151 712 N.Y.S.2d 687, 691 n 2; Matter of New York Assn. of Convenience Stores v. Urbach, 275 A.D.2d 520, 712 N.Y.S.2d 220, appeal dismissed 95 N.Y.2d 931 [Nov. 30, 2000]). We reject plaintiff's attempts to distinguish these cases, finding his reliance on Oneida Indian Nation v. Burr ( 132 A.D.2d 402) to be misplaced. Here, plaintiff is a non-Indian seeking to acquire jurisdiction over a sovereign nation. In Burr, the plaintiff, Oneida Indian Nation, commenced its lawsuit in the State court system (see,Ransom v. St. Regis Mohawk Educ. Community Fund,supra, at 560 n 3). Moreoever, the fact that plaintiff sustained injury at the Hotel, a commercial activity outside the Oneida Indian Reservation, provides no foundation for an exception to the sovereign immunity rule. Tribes are immune from suits arising from their commercial activities, whether conducted on or off the reservation (see, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, 523 U.S. 751, 760; see also,Romanella v. Hayward, 933 F. Supp. 163, affd 114 F.3d 15 [immunity bars suit by a plaintiff who slipped and fell in the parking lot of a tribe's casino]).
We have considered plaintiff's other contentions urging the creation of an exception to the sovereign immunity doctrine and find them likewise unavailing.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs.