On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a tribal court has jurisdiction over COVID-19 business interruption coverage claims put forward by the Suquamish tribe against several insurance companies, including Lexington Insurance Co. This ruling means that these off-reservation insurers are required to face the claims in Suquamish Tribal Court.
This legal position emerged from a contract centered on the Suquamish tribe and these insurance companies, transacted on tribal land. According to longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, tribal authorities have power over activities of nonmembers who enter into consensual relationships with tribes. Therefore, this precedent played a crucial role in the Ninth Circuit’s conclusions.
“The transaction had tribe and tribal lands written all over it,” was the statement rendered by the appeals court in its ruling. A detailed account of the ruling can be found at the National Law Journal.