Practice Area

Litigation

We know from experience that the most comprehensive and cost-effective dispute resolutions are often secured at a bargaining table, not a courthouse. With that background, we work closely with our clients to analyze settlement strategies throughout all stages of litigation. But there are some questions that can only be resolved through litigation. For those cases, our tough-but-creative litigators have experience representing clients in tribal, federal, and state judicial and administrative forums (and sometimes in multiple forums at once), and before arbitration panels. Hogen Adams can help advise you at every stage of the proceeding, from determining whether to file a claim to protecting successful judgments on appeal.

Sovereign Immunity
  • Gavle v. Little Six, Inc., 555 N.W.2d 284 (Minn. 1996), cert. denied 524 U.S. 911 (1998).
  • Wells Fargo Bank, Nat. Ass’n v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 658 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011).
  • Harris v. Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Case No. 11-CV-188(Wis. Cir. Ct., WI June 6, 2014), Appeal No. 2014AP001692 (Wis. Ct. App., 2014 – present).
Indian Gaming
  • K&D Gaming v. Osage Nation (Arbitration 2007).
  • Wells Fargo Bank, Nat. Ass’n v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 658 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011).
  • Michigan v. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, 737 F.3d 1075 (6th Cir. 2013).
  • City of Duluth v. Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, 702 F.3d 1147 (8th Cir. 2013).
  • Saybrook Tax Exempt Investors LLC v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, (Wis. Cir. Ct. 2012 – present).
The National Labor Relations Act and unionization issues
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan v. N.L.R.B., 838 F. Supp. 2d 598 (E.D. Mich. 2011).
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan v. N.L.R.B., Case Nos. 13-1569, 13-1629 (6th Cir. 2014).
  • Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort v. Int’l Union, United Auto., Aerospace, and Agric. Implement Workers of Am., Case No. 07-CA-053586 (2011 – present).
  • Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort v. Int’l Union, Sec., Police and Fire Prof’l of Am. Case No. 07-RC-129013 (NLRB 2014 – present).
Treaty rights, reservation boundaries, and tribal jurisdiction
  • Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness et al. v. Bosworth, 437 F.3d 815 (8th Cir. 2006).
  • Melby v. Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, 1998 WL 1769706 (D. Minn. 1998).
  • Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians v. State of Minn., 526 U.S. 172 (1999).
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe v. Granholm, 2010 WL 5185114 (E.D. Mich. 2010).
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Tribe et al. v. Wisconsin, Case No. 74-C-313-C (W.D. Wis. 2012 -present).
Tribal-court exhaustion and concurrent jurisdiction
  • Melby v. Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, 1998 WL 1769706 (D. Minn. 1998).
  • Miodowski v. Miodowski, 2006 WL 3454797 (D. Neb. 2006).
  • Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp.n v. Saybrook Tax Exempt Investors, LLC, (Lac du Flambeau Tribal Court 2013 – present).
  • Stifel, Nicolaus Co., Inc. v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Case Nos. 14-2150, 14-2287 (7th Cir. 2013 – present).
Environmental law
  • Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. United States Bureau of Land Management, 496 Fed. Appx. 712 (9th Cir. 2012). Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. FERC, Case No. 10-1389 (D.C. Cir. 2010-2011). Wisconsin v. E.P.A., 266 F.3d 741 (7th Cir. 2001).
  • Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. FERC, Case No. 10-1389 (D.C. Cir. 2010-2011).
  • Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. United States Bureau of Land Management, 496 Fed. Appx. 712 (9th Cir. 2012).
Administrative law
  • Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Cmty. v. Babbitt, 107 F.3d 667 (8th Cir. 1997).
  • St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin v. Kempthorne, et al., 2008 WL 4449620 (D.D.C. 2008), 535 F. Supp. 2d 33 (D.D.C. 2008).
Taxability of tribal lands and assets
  • Pourier v. South Dakota Dep’t of Revenue, 658 N.W.2d 395 (S.D. 2003), vacated in part by 674 N.W.2d 314 (S.D. 2004), cert. denied 541 U.S. 1064 (2004).
  • Tunica-Biloxi Tribe v. Bridges, 437 F. Supp. 2d 599 (M.D. La. 2006).
Indian Child Welfare Act
  • Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, 133 S. Ct. 2552 (U.S. 2013).
Membership issues
  • Feezor v. Babbit, 953 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1996).
  • Smith v. Babbitt, 100 F.3d 556 (8th Cir. 1996).
  • St. Pierre v. Norton, 498 F. Supp. 2d 214 (D.D.C. 2007).
Commercial disputes
  • Sidney Small v. RBC Wealth Management and Timothy David Disparte, FINRA Case No. 09-04996 (FINRA 2010).
  • Eddie L. Cressy v. OM Financial Life Insurance Co., case number 2:11-cv-05871  (C.D. Cal. 2012).
  • Waste Management of Minnesota, Inc., WM Corporate Services, Inc. vs Thomas Lance, SKB Environmental, Inc., Case No. 19HA-CV-12-635 (D. Minn. 2013).
  • DT-Trak Consulting, Inc. v. Prue, 814 N.W.2d 804 (S.D. 2012).
Public Law 280 and state civil-regulatory jurisdiction
  • State v. Stone, 572 N.W.2d 725 (Minn. 1997).
Sovereign Immunity
  • Jacobs v. Creapeau,No. 2:24-cv-00212 (E.D. Wis. 2024)
  • Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, 599 U.S. __, 143 S. Ct. 1689 (2023)
  • Mestek v. Lac Courte Oreilles Community Health Center,72 F.4th 255 (7th Cir. 2023)
  • Fitzgerald v. Wildcat,No. 3:20-cv-00044 (W.D. Va. Aug. 18, 2023).
  • Coughlin v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians,33 F.4th 600 (1st Cir. 2022)
  • Miller v. Stockbridge-Munsee Community,No. 2017-AA-0004 (Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Court 2021)
  • Jones v. Wildcat et al.,No. 19-CV-2493-JS (E.D. Pa. 2019)
  • Bruguier v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians,237 F. Supp. 3d 867 (W.D. Wis. 2017)
  • Harris v. Lake of the Torches Resort & Casino,862 N.W.2d 903 (Wis. Ct. App. 2015)
  • Wells Fargo Bank, Nat. Ass’n v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp.,658 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011)
  • Gavle v. Little Six, Inc.555 N.W.2d 284 (Minn. 1996), cert. denied 524 U.S. 911 (1998)
Indian Gaming
  • Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Haaland No. 23-5076 (D.C. Cir. June 28, 2024)
  • St. Croix Chippewa Indians v. Stuart Bearheart; Carmen Bugg; Duane Emery; Elmer Emery; Lawrence Larsen; Leva Oustigoff; Crystal Peterson; Jeff Taylor; Kate Wolfe Taylor, Nos. 20-CV-200—211 (St. Croix Tribal Court 2020 – present)
  • Saybrook Tax-Exempt Investors, Inc. v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (Wis. Cir. Ct., Dec. 13, 2016)
  • City of Duluth v. Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, 702 F.3d 1147 (8th Cir. 2013)
  • Michigan v. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, 737 F.3d 1075 (6th Cir. 2013)
  • Wells Fargo Bank, Nat. Ass’n v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 658 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011)
  • K&D Gaming v. Osage Nation (Arbitration 2007)
Treaty rights, reservation boundaries, and tribal jurisdiction
  • Pollard v. Johnson, 694 F. Supp. 3d 1080 (W.D. Wis. 2023)
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, et al. v. Evers, 46 F.4th 552 (7th Cir. 2022)
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Tribe v. Wisconsin, No. 74-C-313-C (W.D. Wis. 2012 – present)
  • Oneida Nation v. Village of Hobart, 968 F.3d 664 (7th Cir. 2020)
  • Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians v. Whitmer, 398 F. Supp. 3d 201 (W.D. Mich. 2019)
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe v. Granholm, No. 1:2005-cv-10296 (E.D. Mich. 2010)
  • Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians v. Minnesota 526 U.S. 172 (1999)
  • Melby v. Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, No. CIV 97-2065, 1998 WL 1769706 (D. Minn. 1998)
  • Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness v. Bosworth, 437 F.3d 815 (8th Cir. 2006)
Commercial disputes
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe v. Vungarala, et al  (FINRA Arbitration 2019)
  • Eddie L. Cressy v. OM Financial Life Insurance Co.,No. 2:11-cv-05871 (C.D. Cal. 2013)
  • Waste Management of Minnesota, Inc. v. Lance,No. 19HA-CV-12635 (D. Minn. 2013)
  • DT-Trak Consulting, Inc. v. Prue,814 N.W.2d 804 (S.D. 2012)
  • Sidney Small v. RBC Wealth Management and Timothy David Disparte (FINRA Arbitration 2010)
Tribal-court exhaustion, Public Law 83-280, and concurrent jurisdiction
  • Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Howard Bros., No. 23-CV-109 (Lac du Flambeau Tribal Court 2023- present)
  • Stifel, Nicolaus Co., Inc. v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, 807 F.3d 184 (7th Cir. 2015)
  • Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp. v. Saybrook Tax Exempt Investors, LLC, (Lac du Flambeau Tribal Court 2013)
  • Miodowski v. Miodowski,  No. 8:06-cv-443, 2006 WL 3454797 (D. Neb. 2006)
  • Melby v. Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, No. CIV 97-2065, 1998 WL 1769706 (D. Minn. 1998)
  • State v. Stone,  572 N.W.2d 725 (Minn. 1997)
Environmental law
  • In the Matter of the September 29, 2022, Approval of Howard Bros. Inc.’s Application of Septage on the Plummer 7 Lot, in the Town of Lac du Flambeau, County of Vilas, State of Wisconsin, No. DNR 23-0001 (Wis. Div. Hrg. App. 2024)
  • Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. United States Bureau of Land Management, 496 Fed. Appx. 712 (9th Cir. 2012)
  • Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. Federal Energy Regulatory Comm’n, No. 10-1389 (D.C. Cir. 2011)
  • Wisconsin v. Environmental Protection Agency, 266 F.3d 741 (7th Cir. 2001)
Administrative law
  • Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Haaland, 25 F.4th 12 (D.C. Cir. 2022)
  • St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin v. Kempthorne, 535 F. Supp. 2d 33 (D.D.C. 2008)
  • Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Cmty. v. Babbitt, 107 F.3d 667 (8th Cir. 1997)
Tribal Membership issues
  • St. Pierre v. Norton, 498 F. Supp. 2d 214 (D.D.C. 2007)
  • Smith v. Babbitt, 100 F.3d 556 (8th Cir. 1996)
  • Feezor v. Babbit, 953 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1996)
Tribal Land and Asset Taxability
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa v. Evers, 46 F.4th 552 (7th Cir. 2022)
  • Tunica-Biloxi Tribe v. Bridges, 437 F. Supp. 2d 599 (M.D. La. 2006)
  • Pourier v. South Dakota Dep’t of Revenue, 658 N.W.2d 395 (S.D. 2003), vacated in part by 674 N.W.2d 314 (S.D. 2004), cert. denied 541 U.S. 1064 (2004)
Trademarks
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan v. Hebei Red Eagle Industrial and Trade Co. Ltd., Cancellation No. 92057445 (USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board 2013)
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan v. Coastal Wine Merchants, Opposition No. 91210751 (USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board 2013)
National Labor Relations Act and unionization issues
  • Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort v. Int’l Union, United Auto., Aerospace, and Agric. Implement Workers of Am., Case No. 07-CA-053586 (2016)
  • Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort v. National Labor Relations Board, 791 F.3d 648 (6th Cir. 2015)
  • Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan v. National Labor Relations Board, 838 F. Supp. 2d 598 (E.D. Mich. 2011).
Healthcare
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. McKesson Corp. et al., No. 18-cv-00286 (W.D. Wisc. 2018)

Case Citation

Sidney Small v. RBC Wealth Management and Timothy David Disparte, FINRA Case No. 09-04996 (FINRA 2010).
Eddie L. Cressy v. OM Financial Life Insurance Co., case number 2:11-cv-05871  (C.D. Cal. 2012).
Waste Management of Minnesota, Inc., WM Corporate Services, Inc. vs Thomas Lance, SKB Environmental, Inc., Case No. 19HA-CV-12-635 (D. Minn. 2013).
Feezor v. Babbit, 953 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1996).
Smith v. Babbitt, 100 F.3d 556 (8th Cir. 1996).
Pourier v. South Dakota Dep’t of Revenue, 658 N.W.2d 395 (S.D. 2003), vacated in part by 674 N.W.2d 314 (S.D. 2004), cert. denied 541 U.S. 1064 (2004).
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Cmty. v. Babbitt, 107 F.3d 667 (8th Cir. 1997).
State v. Stone, 572 N.W.2d 725 (Minn. 1997).
DT-Trak Consulting, Inc. v. Prue, 814 N.W.2d 804 (S.D. 2012).
St. Pierre v. Norton, 498 F. Supp. 2d 214 (D.D.C. 2007).
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, 133 S. Ct. 2552 (U.S. 2013).
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe v. Bridges, 437 F. Supp. 2d 599 (M.D. La. 2006).
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin v. Kempthorne, et al., 2008 WL 4449620 (D.D.C. 2008), 535 F. Supp. 2d 33 (D.D.C. 2008).
Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. United States Bureau of Land Management, 496 Fed. Appx. 712 (9th Cir. 2012). Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. FERC, Case No. 10-1389 (D.C. Cir. 2010-2011). Wisconsin v. E.P.A., 266 F.3d 741 (7th Cir. 2001).
Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. FERC, Case No. 10-1389 (D.C. Cir. 2010-2011).
Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada v. United States Bureau of Land Management, 496 Fed. Appx. 712 (9th Cir. 2012).
Melby v. Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, 1998 WL 1769706 (D. Minn. 1998).
Miodowski v. Miodowski, 2006 WL 3454797 (D. Neb. 2006).
Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp.n v. Saybrook Tax Exempt Investors, LLC, (Lac du Flambeau Tribal Court 2013 – present).
Stifel, Nicolaus Co., Inc. v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Case Nos. 14-2150, 14-2287 (7th Cir. 2013 – present).
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness et al. v. Bosworth, 437 F.3d 815 (8th Cir. 2006).
Melby v. Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, 1998 WL 1769706 (D. Minn. 1998).
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians v. State of Minn., 526 U.S. 172 (1999).
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe v. Granholm, 2010 WL 5185114 (E.D. Mich. 2010).
Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Tribe et al. v. Wisconsin, Case No. 74-C-313-C (W.D. Wis. 2012 -present).
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan v. N.L.R.B., 838 F. Supp. 2d 598 (E.D. Mich. 2011).
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan v. N.L.R.B., Case Nos. 13-1569, 13-1629 (6th Cir. 2014).
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort v. Int’l Union, United Auto., Aerospace, and Agric. Implement Workers of Am., Case No. 07-CA-053586 (2011 – present).
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort v. Int’l Union, Sec., Police and Fire Prof’l of Am. Case No. 07-RC-129013 (NLRB 2014 – present).
K&D Gaming v. Osage Nation (Arbitration 2007).
Wells Fargo Bank, Nat. Ass’n v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 658 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011).
Michigan v. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, 737 F.3d 1075 (6th Cir. 2013).
City of Duluth v. Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, 702 F.3d 1147 (8th Cir. 2013).
Saybrook Tax Exempt Investors LLC v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, (Wis. Cir. Ct. 2012 – present).
Gavle v. Little Six, Inc., 555 N.W.2d 284 (Minn. 1996), cert. denied 524 U.S. 911 (1998).
Wells Fargo Bank, Nat. Ass’n v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 658 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011).
Harris v. Lake of the Torches Resort Casino, Case No. 11-CV-188(Wis. Cir. Ct., WI June 6, 2014), Appeal No. 2014AP001692 (Wis. Ct. App., 2014 – present).