Opinion ID: 169792
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Dry Creek Exception

Text: The Miner parties' final argument against the Nation's immunity from suit relies on this court's decision in Dry Creek, 623 F.2d 682, in which we recognized an exception to the Supreme Court's ruling in Santa Clara Pueblo. The non-Indian plaintiffs in Dry Creek were involved in a land-related dispute with two Indian tribes. See 623 F.2d at 684. They originally sought a remedy in a tribal court, but were refused access to that forum. In response to the same claims in federal court, the tribes challenged the district court's jurisdiction. See id. We held that the district court erred in dismissing the claims against the tribes. We distinguished Santa Clara Pueblo, noting that the Supreme Court in that case emphasized the availability of the tribal courts and the intra-tribal nature of the issues, whereas in Dry Creek the plaintiffs were non-Indians who had been denied any remedy in a tribal forum. Id. at 685. This court later expressly limited the holding in Dry Creek to apply only where the tribal remedy is shown to be nonexistent by an actual attempt and not merely by an allegation that resort to a tribal remedy would be futile. White v. Pueblo of San Juan, 728 F.2d 1307, 1313 (10th Cir.1984). The Dry Creek rule has minimal precedential value; in fact, this court has never held it to be applicable other than in the Dry Creek decision itself. Walton, 443 F.3d at 1278 (quotation omitted). The Miner parties clearly fail to come within the narrow Dry Creek exception to tribal sovereign immunity. Considering whether they could have brought this action in the Tribal Court rather than the district court, they hypothesize that the Nation would have claimed immunity from suit in that forum as well. But they must show an actual attempt; their assumption of futility of the tribal-court remedy is not enough. Moreover, [a] tribal court's dismissal of a suit as barred by sovereign immunity is simply not the same thing as having no tribal forum to hear the dispute. Walton, 443 F.2d at 1279. In any event, the Miner parties participated in the Tribal Court forfeiture proceeding and they affirmatively contended in their district court complaint that they have exhausted all tribal remedies. This certainly belies their assertion that such remedies were nonexistent, as is required by White, 728 F.2d at 1313.