Opinion ID: 1466405
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Terms of the Contract

Text: On July 3, 2002 the Tribe contracted with FEGV Corporation (FEGV) for the latter to develop and construct a gaming facility on a to-be-acquired parcel of land in Northern California. In December 2003 FEGV assigned to NGV its rights and duties under that contract, which comprised two separate documents: (1) a Development Agreement and Personal Property Lease (the Lease), and (2) a Cash Management Agreement. Here is the purpose of the transaction as described at the outset of the Lease: The Tribe requires assistance with (i) financing the day-to-day operations of the Tribal government, (ii) acquiring real property and petitioning the United States to accept title to such property in trust for the benefit of the Tribe ..., and (iii) the development, design, financing, construction and initial equipping of the Facility. Facility, the Lease explains, includes buildings and improvements that would be constructed on to-be-acquired real property and that would then be used to conduct Class II or Class III gaming [3] for the public. Both parties intended to transfer the to-be-acquired real property into trust, a process set forth under Section 465 that allows the United States to accept and hold property for the benefit of an Indian tribe. [4] But to be clear: No such land existed at the time the contract was entered intonothing had been identified or acquired or, least of all, had been placed in trust. NGV's role in that forward-looking endeavor was to use its experience, expertise and resources ... to assist the Tribe in accomplishing its objectives. In exchange NGV would be compensated through a combination of fixed payments and a percentage of gross and net revenues earned by the newly constructed gaming facility. In addition NGV would enjoy other rights related to the land. Most notably, under the Lease the Tribe could not without NGV's consent: Sell, dispose of, lease, assign, sublet, transfer, mortgage or encumber (whether voluntarily or by operation of law) all or any part of its right, title, or interest in or to the Trust Lands, the Facility, or the Equipment. Finally the Lease set forth several commitments, one of which is critically important to this appeal. It specified that the Tribe would [o]btain all necessary and appropriate federal and tribal permits and approvals necessary with respect to the enforceability of the [Lease and Cash Management Agreement] or the operation of the Facility. Among such potential federal approvals was the approval contemplated by Section 81. Another potentially relevant federal statute was Section 2710(b)(2)(A), which calls for the Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (Gaming Commission) to approve any tribal ordinance or resolution involving Class II gaming on Indian lands.