Tribal Employee Granted Immunity in Connecticut Personal Injury Case
by
Joseph C. Maya on Jun. 14, 2017
Accident & Injury Personal Injury Employment Employee Rights
Summary: A blog post about a Connecticut Court ruling the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity extends to both the tribe as a whole and its employees as individuals.
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Connecticut’s Indian tribes scored a major legal victory in the Connecticut Supreme Court, as justices overturned a trial judge’s decision that would have allowed a Connecticut couple to sue a Mohegan Sun limousine driver who caused an accident on state property.
Connecticut’s tribal nations, including the Mohegans, have long claimed they are sovereign nations and enjoy immunity from many legal claims. And while state courts have agreed that the tribes can claim sovereignty in lawsuits targeting their casinos and other business interests, the trial judge ruled the same immunity claim could not be applied to a tribal employee as an individual.
But in a unanimous decision penned by Justice Dennis Eveleigh, the justices saw it differently. “We conclude that the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity extends to the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendant because the undisputed facts of this case establish that he was an employee of the tribe and was acting within the scope of his employment when the accident occurred,” wrote Eveleigh. “The plaintiffs cannot circumvent tribal immunity by merely naming the defendant, an employee of the tribe, when the complaint concerns actions taken within the scope of his duties and the complaint does not allege, nor have the plaintiffs offered any other evidence, that he acted outside the scope of his authority.”
On Oct. 22, 2011, at around 6:30 p.m., limo driver William Clarke was driving two couples from the casino to their homes in Greenwich. While heading south on Interstate 95 in Norwalk, they encountered traffic that was backed up on the highway.
According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, James Harrington, of Polito & Associates in Waterford, Clarke did not notice the traffic had stopped. Traveling at about 80 mph, he smashed into a vehicle driven by Brian Lewis. Lewis’ wife, Michelle, another named plaintiff, was with him.
Harrington said the impact forced the second vehicle into the Jersey barrier on the side of the interstate. The two front wheels went over the top of the barrier. While the car remained suspended on the barrier, it caught fire.
Brian Lewis suffered a moderate-to-severe concussion while his wife sustained facial fractures. Their combined medical bills were around $75,000.
“It was quite a traumatic experience to say the least,” said Harrington.
One of the limo’s passengers suffered a serious back injury. He sued the casino in the Mohegan Tribal Court, not the driver individually, per the rules of the tribal court. There is a one-year statute of limitations to bring a claim in tribal court and had the case gone to trial, it would have been a bench trial. There are no jury trials in the tribal court. There is also a cap on damages.
That case ultimately settled for $770,000. The other limo passengers suffered minor injuries and settled their claims for a total of $50,000.
The Lewises decided to try their luck by suing Clarke individually in state court, as opposed to suing Mohegan Sun in tribal court. Mohegan Sun, on Clarke’s behalf, attempted to get the state lawsuit dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds. When the trial judge wouldn’t dismiss the lawsuit, Clarke appealed and the state Supreme Court decided to take the case.
Harrington explained that the general consensus going into this case was that tribal employees were exempt from lawsuits as long as their conduct was in the course of their employment. However, Harrington said prior cases involved conduct that typically furthered the tribe’s interests, such as a tribal employer firing a tribal employee. Here, Harrington argued the driver’s conduct had nothing to do with his connection to the tribe.
“The distinction we tried to draw in this case was that the manner in which [Clarke] operated the motor vehicle was really individual in nature. It had nothing to do with the tribe’s business interests,” said Harrington. “The decision to speed, following the car in front of him as close as he did in no way touched upon the tribe and how the tribe operated. We felt given that, a suit against him was one that could be brought in state court.”
Mohegan Sun was represented on the appeal by Daniel Krisch of Halloran & Sage in Hartford, who declined to comment for this article. But Eveleigh stated the bottom line is that the plaintiffs didn’t offer “evidence that the defendant was acting outside the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The undisputed facts establish that the defendant was acting within the scope of his employment when the accident that injured the plaintiffs occurred.”
At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained.
Source: CT Law Tribune
