Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lauri A. Damrell ruled Friday morning that the gaming tribes’ case against the state’s cardrooms is precluded by federal law and cannot proceed.
Adam Lauridsen, the tribes’ lawyer, quickly informed the judge that the tribes would appeal, prolonging a torturous and nasty dispute between California’s two largest gambling rivals.
The long-running controversy revolves around banking table games such as blackjack, which usually pit gamblers against the house.
The cardrooms say that the tribes had the opportunity to protest the cardrooms’ actions during their talks with California’s governor over their gaming compacts, as outlined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
ALSO READ: How gambling shapes lives in Whatcom County through rolling the dice
Benjamin Horwich, the lead lawyer for the cardrooms, informed Damrell on Friday that “there is a process through which things work.”
The judge’s decision came after less than an hour of back and forth between the two lawyers.
Damrell declared, “I am going to adopt my tentative [ruling].” “I might be mistaken. Additionally, I anticipate an appeal. Therefore, I also appreciate the Court of Appeal’s instruction on this, and we’ll see where it goes.
“I believe we do plan to appeal,” Lauridsen replied right away, asking that all evidence that had been kept in accordance with the judge’s directions be kept intact throughout any appeal.
On November 4, Damrell planned a “status conference” to talk further about the issue.
If not, it is assumed that the appeal will now be heard by the Third District Court of Appeal, which normally considers appeals from the Sacramento County Superior Court, but this is a special instance. Before the tribes’ position on this matter is once more taken into consideration in court, it will probably be months.
A legislative remedy
After the California Legislature passed SB 549 last year, the tribes, which as sovereign nations lack the legal standing to file a lawsuit in state court, were granted the ability to do so.
Due to a lack of standing, tribes’ previous attempts to sue cardrooms over banked games were rejected by judges who held that, as sovereign nations, the tribes lacked the legal capacity to file a lawsuit.
Courtesy: https://www.covers.com, https://www.casino.org, https://pechanga.net
