The U.S. Department of Justice, represented by the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento, said it has until January to answer the complaint. In the Eastern District of California, encompassing 43 federally recognized tribes – most of them small – the federal government has not had to defend itself against claims in tribal court, said Sylvia Quast, chief of the Defense Litigation Unit.
Should the tribal court judge, based in Sacramento, rule against the bureau, the federal government may claim sovereign immunity. Experts said the tribe would then likely have to seek redress in federal court.
The case involves a portion of the millions of dollars in Federal Highway Administration funds from gasoline taxes earmarked for repairs on roads in Indian country. If left unrepaired, these rough, remote roads can cause fatal crashes and make it difficult for tribal members to escape wildfires, according to the BIA.
The BIA's Pacific Region, which has jurisdiction over approximately 630 miles of roads serving California's 105 federal recognized tribes, has only enough money to keep 18 percent of the roads and bridges in California Indian country "in acceptable condition," said Dale Risling, deputy regional director of Indian services. The lack of funds "leaves many of our roads in unsafe condition," Risling said.
PAIKI's complaint alleges that the BIA, acting as the tribe's administrator over the road design and construction, shut down the new intersection "without a reasonable or good faith basis." The company is asking for legal fees and alleges that the BIA "contributed, in whole or in part, to the injuries and damages allegedly sustained" by the Fort Independence Tribe.
Should the BIA be held partly liable, it could open the door for similar lawsuits in tribal court filed by other California tribes doing road work under the aegis of the BIA.