Federal Court Holds Tribal Exhaustion Doctrine Does Not Apply to ERISA Claims

Here are the materials in Coppe v. Sac & Fox Casino Healthcare Plan (D. Kan.):

9 Sac and Fox Motion to Dismiss

13 Response

14 Reply

15 DCT Order

An excerpt:

This case is now before the court upon a motion to dismiss or stay for failure to exhaust tribal remedies. The motion is brought by defendant Sac & Fox Casino Healthcare Plan. This motion asks the court to rule as a matter of comity that before bringing a claim in this court, plaintiff must bring an ERISA action for recovery of insurance benefits under the casino’s nongovernmental plan in tribal court. We assume for purposes of this order that plaintiff is not a member of the Sac & Fox Tribe and that the Plan is not a “governmental plan” as defined in ERISA. We hold that Congress has preempted the tribe’s adjudicatory authority over ERISA claims and, therefore, exhaustion of tribal remedies is not required.