Court Opinion

ID: 9795321
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 03:25:58.07222+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:29:30.644126
License: Public Domain

KAUGER, J.,
with whom EDMONDSON, V.C.J., joins dissenting.
T1 Someday, the determinative issue will be whether sovereign immunity bars a private civil dram shop action brought against a Tribe and its gaming enterprise by a person injured in an automobile accident after being struck by a driver who allegedly became intoxicated at the tribal casino. Answering the question at this stage in the litigation appears premature because the only evidence in the record is that the driver of the automobile which struck the plaintiff was not at the easino prior to the accident.
T2 The majority ignores the holding in Kiowa Tribe of Okla. v. Mfg. Techs., 523 U.S. 751, 754-55, 760, 118 S.Ct. 1700, 140 L.Ed.2d 981 (1998), that there is difference between the right to demand compliance with state law and the means available to enforce it. Nevertheless, because it feels compelled to issue an advisory opinion assuming that the Tribe or gaming enterprise is involved in this fact scenario and that it implicitly waived sovereign immunity,1 a less complicated anal*829ysis of the issues is required. As a public policy matter, I oppose the possibility that a commercial vendor of any kind may be able to sell aleohol to an intoxicated driver and allow that person to drive on the highways without being subject to dram shop liability in state court. However, unless Congress or the United States Supreme Court makes a change in the current law or until the State of Oklahoma begins conditioning the granting of a liquor license to a tribe or gaming enterprise on an express waiver of sovereign immunity for private dram shop actions (Just as parties have learned to do in private contracts), I must dissent to the majority opinion because it ignores controlling precedents.
FACTS
T3 On April 30, 2004, the plaintiff/appellant Shatona Bittle (Bittle) was driving westbound on State Highway 9 in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. The defendant/appellant Valentine Bahe (Babe), driving a vehicle owned by his passenger Val Tsosie (Tsosie), was traveling eastbound on Highway 9 when he crossed the center line and collided with Bittle. Bahe died at the scene of the collision and Bittle suffered multiple injuries.
T4 On December 7, 2005, Bittle sued Bahe, Tsosie, and the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, Inc., doing business as Thunderbird Entertainment Center and Thunderbird Wild West Casino (gaming enterprise/casino) for personal injuries resulting from the accident. She alleged that employees of either the Tribe and/or the gaming enterprise served an excessive amount of alcohol to Bahe in violation of state liquor laws, 37 O.S.2001 § 501 et seq., when the employees knew or should have known that Bahe was intoxicated. The Tribe and the casino contend that: 1) neither Bahe nor Tsosie were ever at the casino prior to the accident;2 2) the casino closed at 2:00 a.m., but the accident occurred 5 hours later at 7:15 am.; and 3) open containers of alcohol were discovered in Tso-sie's automobile.
T5 On January 3, 2006, the Tribe filed a Special Entry of Appearance, a Motion to Quash Summons, and Motion to Dismiss. The Tribe argued that: 1) the Absentee Shawnee Tribe is not a corporate entity,3 but rather a sovereign nation not subject to suit in Oklahoma State Courts absent Congressional authorization or an express waiver of sovereign immunity; 2) the gaming enterprises were not properly-named defendants; and 3) the plaintiff, on December 8, 2005, filed an identical suit in tribal court and could not proceed simultaneously in both courts. Before the trial court held a hearing, the parties agreed that the plaintiff could amend her petition, and an amended petition was filed on February 2, 2006, renaming the Tribe and Thunderbird Entertainment Center as defendants.4
1 6 After a hearing on the matter, the trial court on August- 1, 2006, entered an order of dismissal, finding that the case should be dismissed because the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the controversy. Concerning the gaming enterprise, the court determined that it had not clearly or expressly waived sovereign immunity by applying for and accepting a state license to sell and distribute alcoholic beverages in accordance *830with the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, 37 0.9$.2001 § 501 et seq.5 Regarding the Tribe, the court determined that it did not hold an alcoholic beverage license,6 nor did it clearly or expressly waive sovereign immunity by adopting its own aleohol regulation statutes.7
T7 On September 7, 2006, the trial court amended the order to provide that it was a final order and that there was no just reason for delay for its immediate appeal. Bittle appealed and the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed, holding that the Tribe and the gaming enterprise were immune from suit. Bit-tle filed a petition for certiorari on April 11, 2007, and we granted certiorari on June 4, 2007.
T8 NEITHER CONGRESS NOR THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT HAS CLEARLY DETERMINED THAT THE DOCTRINE OF soVEREIGN IMMUNITY HAS BEEN WAIVED OR IS INAPPLICABLE TO PRIVATE DRAM SHOP ACTIONS.
T 9 Neither party disputes the State's ability to regulate the sale of alcoholic beverages by either a tribe or gaming enterprise. Both parties agree that Rice v. Rehner, 463 U.S. 713, 103 S.Ct. 3291, 77 L.Ed.2d 961 (1983), is dispositive of this issue, but they differ strongly on its application. The Tribe argues that: 1) a private cause of action for the illegal sale of alcohol to an already intoxicated person does not exist against a Tribe or gaming enterprise; and 2) even if it did exist, sovereign immunity precludes state court jurisdiction over the action. Bittle contends that: 1) dram shop liability exists and is applicable to the Tribe and gaming enterprise; and 2) sovereign immunity is inapplicable altogether, but even if it were not, both the Tribe and gaming enterprise waived it.
a. Dram Shop Liability.
10 Sovereign immunity notwithstanding, this Court has not expressly determined that a dram shop action may be maintained against a tribe or gaming enterprise. However, in Brigance v. Velvet Dove Restaurant, Inc., 1986 OK 41, ¶¶ 15-17, 725 P.2d 300, we abrogated the common law rule that a tavern owner could not be held liable for furnishing alcoholic beverages to one who, after becoming intoxicated, injured either himself or another.
¶11 Brigance determined that a commercial vendor for on-the-premises consumption is under a duty, imposed both by statute8 and common law principles, to exercise reasonable care in selling or furnishing alcoholic beverages to persons who by previous intoxication may lack full capacity or self-control to operate a motor vehicle and who, therefore, could subsequently injure a third party. The injured party may summon a commercial vendor who breaches that duty into court in a common law negligence action to recover for injury caused by breach of that duty. Brigance, supra at ¶ 17.
112 We have since expanded Brigance.9 In Tomlinson v. Love's Country Stores, Inc., 1993 OK 83, ¶ 18, 854 P.2d 910, a convenience *831store sold beer to three minors for consumption off premises. The driver, one of the minors, became intoxicated, lost control of his vehicle and wrecked it, killing another one of the minors. We extended Brigance to include off-premises consumption when the vendors sell to minors.
113 The next year in Mansfield v. Circle K Corp., 1994 OK 80, ¶ 13, 877 P.2d 1130, after a minor illegally purchased beer at a convenience store, the minor got drunk and injured himself by jumping into a shallow swimming pool. The Court held that: 1) a commercial vendor is prohibited by statute from selling beer to minors; 2) the vendor's statutory duty not to sell beer to a minor is not limited to on-the-premises consumption; and 3) if the minor is injured after consuming the beer purchased from the vendor, the minor may have a cause of action against the vendor. In Busby v. Quail Creek Golf & Country Club, 1994 OK 63, ¶ 12, 885 P.2d 1326, we extended Mansfield to on-the-premises consumption when a minor was injured when she fell off a balcony at a country club party after she had been served there.
T14 Finally, in Copeland v. Tela Corp., 1999 OK 81, ¶ 10, 996 P.2d 931, the Court determined that a pedestrian struck by an intoxicated driver who was a customer of a bar where the customer had been drinking alcoholic beverages could bring an negligence action against the commercial vendor. Neither the Tribe nor the casino offer a persuasive reason as to why Brigance and its progeny would not extend to them when either is acting as a commercial vendor providing al-cobol to patrons.10 However, the question remains as to whether sovereign immunity would preclude an action from being brought in state district court.
b. The State may regulate the sale of alcoholic beverages by either a tribe or gaming enterprise, but tribal sovereign immunity, whether asserted by a tribe or gaming enterprise, precludes a private dram shop action from being brought in state court.
[ 15 Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1154, it is a Federal crime to dispense intoxicants on Indian lands.11 Section 1154 provides in pertinent part:
(a) Whoever sells, gives away, disposes of, exchanges, or barters any malt, spirituous, or vinous liquor, including beer, ale, and wine, or any ardent or other intoxicating liquor of any kind whatsoever, except for scientific, sacramental, medicinal or mechanical purposes, or any essence, extract, bitters, preparation, compound, composition, or any article whatsoever, under any name, label, or brand, which produces intoxication, to any Indian to whom an allotment of land has been made while the title to the same shall be held in trust by the Government, or to any Indian who is a ward of the Government under charge of any Indian superintendent, or to any Indian, including mixed bloods, over whom the Government, through its departments, exercises guardianship, and whoever introduces or attempts to introduce any malt, spirituous, or vinous liquor, including beer, ale, and wine or any ardent or intoxicating liquor of any kind whatsoever into the Indian country, shall, for the first offense, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and, for each subsequent offense, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five *832years, or both. ... 12
An exception to criminal liability is found in 18 U.S.C. § 1161 which provides:
The provisions of sections 1154, 1156, 8113, 3488, and 8669, of this title, shall not apply within any area that is not Indian country, nor to any act or transaction within any area of Indian country provided such act or transaction is in conformity both with the laws of the State in which such act or transaction occurs and with an ordinance duly adopted by the tribe having jurisdiction over such area of Indian country, certified by the Secretary of the Interior and published in the Federal Register.
In Rice v. Rehner, 463 U.S. 713, 103 S.Ct. 3291, 77 L.Ed.2d 961, the United States Supreme Court addressed the meaning of § 1161 and whether it allows a state to regulate and license alcohol transactions on tribal land.
T16 Rice involved a tribal member and federally-licensed Indian trader who operated a general store on the Pala Reservation in San Diego, California. The Pala Tribe had adopted an ordinance permitting the sale of liquor on the reservation pursuant to § 1161. Rehner asked the State of California for an exemption from its license requirement to sell liquor for off-premises consumption and the State denied the request. Rehner sought an injunction in federal district court. The federal court determined that § 1161 required Rehner to have a state license and dismissed his petition.
T 17 The United State Supreme Court determined that 18 U.S.C. § 1161 authorized, rather than pre-empted state regulation of Indian liquor transactions. The Court noted that, in the area of liquor regulation, there was no traditional tribal self-governance nor was there any tradition of tribal sovereign immunity in favor of liquor regulation by Indians. The Court recognized state and federal concurrent jurisdiction over alcoholic beverages in Indian country. Rice also recognized that the states' authority to regulate liquor transactions on Indian lands was based solely on § 1161 without regard to the fact that California was a Public Law 280 state which already possessed general civil and eriminal jurisdiction over Indian Country.13 Consequently, under Rice v. Rehner there is no doubt that the State of Oklahoma, even though it is not a PL 280 state, has the authority under § 1161 to regulate and license the sale of alcoholic beverages by either a tribe or gaming enterprise.
118 Admittedly, the Supreme Court utilized broad language when discussing a state's interest in regulating and lHcensing liquor:
Rehner's distribution of liquor has a significant impact beyond the limits of the Pala Reservation. The State has an unquestionable interest in the liquor traffic that occurs within it borders, and this interest *833is independent of the authority conferred on the States by the Twenty-first Amendment. (citation omitted). Liquor sold by Rebhner to other Pala tribal members or to non-members can easily find its way out of the reservation and into the hands of those whom, for whatever reason, the State does not wish to possess alcoholic beverages, or to possess them through a distribution network over which the State has no control. This particular "spillover" effect is qualitatively different from any "spillover" effects of income taxes or taxes on cigarettes. "A State's regulatory interest will be particularly substantial if the State can points to off-reservation effects that necessitate State intervention." (citation omitted.).
There ean be no doubt that Congress has divested the Indians of any inherent power to regulate in this area. In the area of liquor regulation, we find no "congressional enactments demonstrating a firm federal policy of promoting tribal self-sufficiency and economic development." (citation omitted). With respect to the regulation of liquor transactions, as opposed to the state income taxation involved in McClanahan, Indians cannot be said to "possess the usual accoutrements of tribal self-government." (citation omitted).... Because we find that there is no tradition of sovereign immunity that favors the Indians in this respect, and because we must consider that the activity in which Rehner seeks to engage potentially has a substantial impact beyond the reservation, we may accord little if any weight to any asserted interest in tribal sovereignty in this case. Rice v. Rehner, 463 U.S. 713, 724, 103 S.Ct. 3291, 3298, 77 L.Ed.2d 961.
While this language is very broad, it was written in the context of the regulation and licensing of liquor, not in the context of whether sovereign immunity could extend to a private party lawsuit against a tribe or gaming enterprise. It takes a great leap of jurisprudence to determine that Rice v. Rehner is dispositive of the issue of sovereign immunity as it relates to private dram shop actions.
{19 I am not alone in my concern. Four appellate courts have addressed the precise issue we are faced with today and have unanimously concluded that Rice v. Rehner does not extend to private dram shop actions. In Foxworthy v. Puyallup Tribe of Indians Association, 141 Wash.App. 221, 169 P.3d 53 (2007), the Washington Court of Appeals addressed whether the state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by an injured motorist who was involved in a collision with an intoxicated driver. The driver had been served alcohol by the Emerald Queen Casino, owned and operated by the Puyallup Tribe on tribal land.
T20 The injured driver sued the Tribe alleging dram shop liability. The Tribe filed a motion to dismiss, asserting lack of subject matter jurisdiction because of sovereign immunity from the private lawsuit in state court. The trial court granted the motion and the injured driver appealed. The driver argued that Congress, by enacting 18 U.S.C. § 1161, implicitly waived tribal sovereign immunity from private lawsuits arising from a tribe's sale of alcohol to an intoxicated person in violation of a state dram shop act. The Foxworthy Court disagreed. Citing Kiowa Tribe of Okla. v. Manufacturing Techs., 523 U.S. 751, 754-55, 760, 118 S.Ct. 1700, 140 L.Ed.2d 981 (1998), the court noted that a tribe's sovereign immunity extends to tribal commercial and governmental activities both on and off the tribe's reservation, and it provides a defense to suits filed against them in state and federal court. It also noted that there were only two ways to waive immunity: from a tribe's express waiver or through a Congressional statute expressly abrogating tribal immunity.
121 Foxworthy discussed Rice v. Rehner and concluded that the state could regulate alcohol under § 1161; noting, however, that central to Rice's holding was the long-standing lack of tribal control over aleohol which had always been subject to regulation by some nontribal governmental entity-initially the federal government, and now the states. There was, however, no analogous legislative history which would support a private dram shop action against the tribe. The Foxworthy Court stated:
Moreover, Foxworthy disregards Rehmer's narrow holding, which by its own language *834limits waiver of tribal sovereignty to the states' regulation of alcohol licensing and distribution. Rehner does not expand such waiver to private lawsuits. We conclude, therefore, that the narrow waiver of tribal sovereignty immunity in Rehner does not apply here to establish waiver of tribal sovereign immunity from private tort lawsuits in state court based on Dram Shop violations. Foxworthy v. Puyallup, supra at 1 25.
122 Regarding arguments that immunity was inconsistent with public policy or unfair because the plaintiff's ability to recover damages depends upon the fortuitous cireum-stance that the intoxicated driver was served from a tribal casino instead of a non-Indian establishment off of the reservation, the Fox-worthy Court said:
Regardless of whether the current state of dram shop case law tolerates inequities, to date, Congress has not implemented a change or acted to abrogate tribal sovereign immunity in private dram-shop-related tort actions such as Foxworthy's. We hold, therefore, that tribal sovereign immunity remains intact and that the Kiowa Tribe holding supports, rather than undermines, the trial court's dismissal of Fox-worthy's complaint. Foxworthy v. Puyall-up, supra at ¶ 37.
123 Appellate Courts in Arizona and Texas have reached the same conclusion in Filer v. Tohono O'Odham Nation Gaming, 212 Ariz. 167, 129 P.3d 78 (App.2006), review denied Sept. 26, 2006, and Holguin v. Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, 954 S.W.2d 843 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1997), review denied June 5, 1998. In Filer, an injured motorist sued a tribal casino that had served excessive amounts of alcohol to a motorist who then caused an accident that injured Filer and killed his wife. In affirming the trial court's dismissal of the Filers' negligence action against the tribe that owned and ran the casino, the court determined that: 1) § 1161 does not even reference tribal sovereign immunity, much less provide a waiver of such immunity for dram-shop-related litigation; and 2) Rice v. Rehner demanded tribal compliance with state law but it did not address a private right of action to enforce a state law against a tribe. Filer v. Tohono, supra at 82-83.
124 Similarly, in Holguin, the victim's family brought a private dram shop action against a tribe that had served alcohol to an intoxicated driver who left the tribal casino and later collided with and killed Hoguin. The Texas Court recognized that under Rice v. Rehner, the tribe was subject to state alcohol licensing and permitting requirements, but noted the difference between state regulation of alcohol and a state's ability to collect monetary damages. The court held that waiver of sovereign immunity for one did not indicate a waiver for the other. Finally, the court determined that § 1161 neither created a private action under the Texas dram shop act nor waived tribal sovereign immunity for a private lawsuit based on the Texas dram shop act.
£25 Finally, our own Court of Civil Appeals in this cause reached the same result as the other appellate courts. It recognized that § 1161 reflects neither a clear and express Congressional authorization of suit against a tribe for violation of state alcoholic beverage laws, nor a clear and express wailyver of tribal sovereign immunity. Additionally, it determined that the Tribe's agreement by ordinance to adhere and comply with state regulations for the service and sales of alcoholic beverages on tribal land does not constitute the requisite clear and express waiver of tribal sovereign immunity for a private right of action.
126 While I realize that these appellate court opinions are not binding or prece-dential in our Court, I find their reasoning more persuasive than the majority opinion because they follow the traditional legal analysis of the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may choose to extend Rice. It may determine that Rice allows such an action, but it will do so by following precedent within the framework of its procedure rather than by ignoring it. The long line of cases from the United States Supreme Court all stand on the fundamental foundation that for Congress to waive sovereign immunity it must be "unequivocally" express for that purpose, and for a tribe to relinquish its immunity, a tribe's waiver must be express, in writing and "clear." C & L Enter*835prises, Inc. v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Okighoma, 532 U.S. 411, 418, 121 S.Ct. 1589, 1594, 149 L.E.2d 623 (2001); Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, 498 U.S. 505, 509, 111 S.Ct. 905, 909, 112 L.Ed.2d 1112 (1991); Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49, 58, 98 S.Ct. 1670, 56 L.Ed.2d 106 (1978). Business has learned this lesson, sometimes painfully, that the absence of the magic words renders contracts unenforceable, while the inclusion of the magic sentence imposes legal responsibility.
T27 Consequently, I would hold that Congress did not clearly and expressly abrogate tribal immunity from private, state-court, dram-shop litigation when it required tribal compliance with state liquor laws, nor has the United States Supreme Court made such a determination. Until Congress or the United States Supreme Court makes a change in the current law or until the State of Oklahoma begins conditioning the granting of a liquor license to a tribe or gaming enterprise on an express waiver of sovereign immunity for private dram shop actions, much like people have learned to do in private contracts, the Tribe and gaming enterprise are entitled to assert sovereign immunity.
c. Waiver of Sovereign Immunity May Not be Implied.
« 28 The majority concludes that sovereign immunity is inapplicable to these proceedings. Nevertheless, it spends nine paragraphs discussing whether the Tribe has waived sovereign immunity "[ilf the Tribe has any immunity from judicial enforcement of the alcoholic beverage laws." This dicta is unnecessary, irrelevant, and limited to the narrow and limited context of aleohol regulation.
T29 The majority acknowledges that waiver of sovereign immunity for a federally recognized Tribe to be sued must be unequivocal.14 Indian tribes have long been recognized as possessing the common-law immunity from suit traditionally enjoyed by sovereign powers.15 Thus, suits against Indian tribes are barred absent a clear waiver by the tribe or congressional abrogation.16 A waiver of sovereign immunity cannot be implied but must be unequivocally expressed.17
[ 30 In Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751, 118 S.Ct. 1700, 140 L.Ed.2d 981 (1998), the United States Supreme Court noted that an Indian tribe is subject to suit only where Congress has authorized the suit or the tribe has waived its immunity. Kiowa involved a tribe which, through a promissory note, agreed to pay Manufacturing Technologies $285,000 plus interest. The note contained no waiver of immunity. When the tribe defaulted, Manufacturing Technologies sued in state court and the United States Supreme *836Court held that the tribe was immune from suit.
131 In Kiowa, the Court noted that to date, it had sustained tribal immunity from suit without drawing a distinction based on where the tribal activities occurred. Nor had it drawn a distinction between governmental and commercial activities of a tribe. When asked to confine sovereign immunity to reservations or to noncommercial activities, the Court declined to draw such a distinction and deferred the role to Congress through explicit legislation. Because Congress had not abrogated immunity from suits on contracts, whether those contracts involve governmental or commercial activities and whether they were made on or off a reservation, and because the tribe did not waive it, immunity governed the cause.
1 32 The majority opinion does not discuss previous ways in which a waiver has been determined to be "express" by a tribe. Nor does it cite to any authority in which a tribe has been held to have waived immunity simply by applying for and receiving a required state license of any kind. Yet, the majority determines that because this Tribe authorized a tribal corporation to apply for an aleoholic beverage license, both the Tribe and the gaming enterprise implicitly waived immunity from tort liability based on an alleged violation of the regulations. This reasoning is inconsistent with Kiowa's determination that a waiver of immunity must be through express Congressional legislation or done expressly by a tribe.
1383 Federal Courts have rejected the argument that a tribe, by agreeing to comply with federal law, could somehow have implicitly waived sovereign immunity. For instance, in Dillon v. Yankton Sioux Tribe Housing Authority, 144 F.3d 581, 584 (8th Cir.1998), the plaintiff alleged that the tribe fired him on the basis of race in violation of federal civil rights statutes. The tribe asserted sovereign immunity. The plaintiff argued that because the tribe's housing authority received federal financial assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and agreed to comply with federal civil rights laws, it waived sovereign immunity. The Court rejected this argument holding that the taking of federal funds, even when accompanied by an agreement not to discriminate in violation of federal laws, does not necessarily effect a waiver of tribal sovereign immunity for suits brought under those laws.
§34 The Dillon Court noted that there was no provision in the regulations which mandated a waiver of sovereign immunity when a tribal housing authority entered into an agreement with HUD. Because the Authority did not explicitly waive its sovereign immunity, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the dispute.
135 The same reasoning was applied by the 114" Circuit in Sanderlin v. Seminole Tribe of Florida, 243 F.3d 1282, 1288 (11th Cir.2001), when it determined that even if a tribal Chief did have authority to waive immunity under tribal law, there was no evidence he did so. The Chief entered into contracts for federal financial assistance in which he promised the tribe would not discriminate in violation of federal civil rights laws. The court held this was merely a promise not to discriminate, but it in no way constituted an express and unequivocal waiver of sovereign immunity and consent to be sued in federal court. There was no voluntary waiver of immunity.
"36 The same rationale seems fairly applicable to a tribe or tribal enterprise agreeing to comply with State law when it applies for and receives a liquor license without a state mandate of a waiver of sovereign immunity for private party tort claims as a condition for the license. Public policy ean be protected without a tortured construction of the law. If tribes or their gaming enterprises choose to do business in the form of alcohol sales, they can sign an express waiver of immunity. There is no "express" waiver merely by a tribe's authorization of the sale of aleohol on tribal land pursuant to federal law or its gaming enterprise's agreement to comply with state law when it obtains its liquor license. Accepting the license is nothing more than a promise to comply with state liquor laws, not a voluntary waiver of sovereign immunity for private party lawsuits. The majority's conclusion is inconsistent with *837the well-settled rule that a waiver of fimmunity must be clear and express.18
CONCLUSION
T 37 While Congress and the United States Supreme Court have determined that a state may regulate and license alcoholic beverages on Indian land, neither has addressed the waiver of tribal sovereignty immunity from private dramshop actions in a state court. Accordingly, I must dissent until a change in the current law is made or until the State of Oklahoma begins conditioning the granting of a liquor license to a tribe or gaming enterprise on an express waiver of sovereign immunity for private dram shop actions much like parties have learned to do in private contracts.

. Because the majority decides the matter as if the driver had visited the gaming enterprise, it should be noted that if the incident had occurred at the facility the matter could be decided on different grounds. Although no gaming compact is mentioned or provided for in the record, gaming compacts in Oklahoma are governed by provisions of the Model Tribal Gaming Compact, 3A O.S. Supp.2004 § 281. Compacts entered into with the State of Oklahoma appear to include provisions and remedies for tort claims which arise out of incidents occurring at a gaming facility. The compact would be inapplicable under these facts because the accident did not occur at the gaming facility. However, had an intoxicated patron been illegally served alcohol at the facility and then got behind the wheel and hit another person exiting the building, the matter might have been governed by the compact. For future compacts, the Legislature could amend § 281 to expressly include tort claims arising out the illegal sale of alcohol at a gaming facility regardless of where the accident takes place, and the tribe could agree to such terms and consent to suit in courts of competent jurisdiction for such torts and plaintiffs would not be left without a remedy. However, the compact *829would be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

. Although Bittle insists that the Tsosie admitted to the investigating Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper that she and Bahe were at the Thunderbird Casino, the accident report is not in the record. Tsosie, by affidavit, states that she and Bahe were never at the casino before the accident.

. According to the Tribe, it was a domestic not-for-profit corporation that was incorporated in July of 1973, but the corporation was dissolved in December of 18, 1974. A tribe may be incorporated under Section 17 to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 25 U.S.C. § 477m, by which the Secretary of the Interior issues the tribe a corporate charter providing separate legal entities to conduct government and business activities. It is unclear as to whether this is the corporation to which the Tribe is referring.

. According to the Tribe, Thunderbird Entertainment Center, Inc. is a Tribal Corporation created and authorized by the Tribe. Included in the record is the Certificate of Incorporation from the Office of the Secretary of the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma dated June 8, 2000. In the application for the liquor license on behalf of Thunderbird Entertainment Center, Inc., the gaming enterprise refers to itself as wholly owned by the Tribe.

. Although neither party disputes that the gaming enterprise did in fact hold an alcoholic beverage license from the State of Oklahoma, no such license is included in the record. However, the application for the license was included. Also included is a document from the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission which refers to a license number.

. Nothing in the record indicates that the Tribe had ever sought, obtained or otherwise held an alcoholic beverage license from the State of Oklahoma.

. The Absentee Shawnee Tribe has enacted Alcohol Regulations found in their tribal statutes § 1-O01 et seq.

. Title 37 O.S.2001 § 237 provides in pertinent part:
A. No person shall:
1. Knowingly sell, deliver, or furnish alcoholic beverages to any person under twenty-one (21) years of age;
2. Sell, deliver or knowingly furnish alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated person or to any person who has been adjudged insane or mentally deficient;. ...

. But see, Ohio Casualty Ins. Co. v. Todd, 1991 OK 54, ¶, 813 P.2d 508, wherein the Court declined to extend Brigance to an adult who voluntarily becomes intoxicated and is injured as a result of his own inability to drive a vehicle properly.

. There is no allegation that the tribe or the gaming enterprise was selling alcoholic beverages without a valid license. If one were, not only would it be subjected to civil dram shop liability, but it would be exposed to criminal penalties as well.

. Title 18 U.S.C. § 1151 defines Indian country and provides:
Except as otherwise provided in sections 1154 and 115 of this title, the term 'Indian country', as used in this chapter means (a) all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running through the reservation, (b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state, and (c) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.

. Title 18 U.S.C. § 1156 provides in pertinent part:
Whoever, except for scientific, sacramental, medicinal, or mechanical purposes, possesses intoxicating liquors in the Indian country or where the introduction is prohibited by treaty or an Act of Congress, shall, for the first offense, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and, for each subsequent offense, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both....

. Public law 83-280 (commonly referred to as Public Law 280 or PL 280) was a transfer of legal authority (jurisdiction) from the federal government to state governments. Some states, including California, were given extensive criminal and civil jurisdiction over tribal lands within the affected states. In Rice, the Supreme Court noted in footnote 6 that "[blecause we base our holding on § 1161, we do not reach the issue whether the Twenty-first Amendment permits the State to exercise jurisdiction over liquor transactions on reservation. We also do not consider whether the State effectively has authority to regulate licensing and distribution of liquor transactions on reservations under any other statute." Consequently, Public law 280 is insignificant to § 1161's application or analysis. The 10th Circuit noted this as well in Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma v. Oklahoma Tax Commission, 975 F.2d 1459, 1461 (10th Cir.1992), recognizing that California, the state at issue in Rice, has general civil and criminal jurisdiction over Indian country whereas Oklahoma has not equivalent authority to apply or enforce its state civil or criminal laws in Indian county, but a state's authority to regulate liquor transactions is not dependent on the state's exercise of jurisdiction over Indian country. Rice's recognitions of states' authority to regulate liquor transactions on Indian lands was based solely on § 1161.

. Tribal Immunity is a matter of federal law and is not subject to diminution by the States. Hoover v. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, 1999 OK 61, ¶ 5, 986 P.2d 516. Congress must 'unequivocally' express the abrogation of tribal immunity and a tribe's waiver must be 'clear.' C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Okla., 532 U.S. 411, 418, 121 S.Ct. 1589, 1594, 149 L.Ed.2d 623 (2001). Common-law sovereign immunity possessed by an Indian tribe is necessary corollary to Indian sovereignty and self-governance. Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation v. Wold Engineering, 476 U.S. 877, 891, 106 S.Ct. 2305, 2313, 90 L.Ed.2d 881 (1986). Absent an effective waiver or consent, it is settled that a state court may not exercise jurisdiction over a recognized Indian tribe. Puyallup Tribe, Inc. v. Department of Game State of Wash., 433 U.S. 165, 172, 97 S.Ct. 2616, 2621, 53 L.Ed.2d 667 (1977).

. C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, see note 13, supra; Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, 498 U.S. 505, 509, 111 S.Ct. 905, 909, 112 L.Ed.2d 1112 (1991); Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49, 58, 98 S.Ct 1670, 56 LEd.2d 106 (1978).

. C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, see note 14, supra; Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, see note 14, supra; Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, see note 14, supra.

. C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, see note 14, supra; Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, see note 14, supra; Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, see note 14, supra.

. The majority opinion today once again mis-perceives the issue of tribal sovereign immunity. This Court has had four strikeouts in five attempts to resolve issues relating to and involving tribal sovereign immunity correctly. Hoover v. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, 1995 OK 136, 909 P.2d 59, judgment vacated by the United States Supreme Court, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Hoover, 525 U.S. 801, 119 S.Ct. 32, 142 L.Ed.2d 25 (1998); Aircraft Equipment Co. v. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, 1996 OK 81, 921 P.2d 359, over ruled by Carl E. Gungoll Exploration Joint Venture v. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, 1998 OK 128, 975 P.2d 442; Aircraft Equipment Co. v. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, 1997 OK 59, 939 P.2d 1143, judgment vacated by Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Aircraft Equipment Co., 524 U.S. 901, 118 S.Ct. 2058, 141 L.Ed.2d 136 (1998); Hoover v. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, 1998 OK 23, 957 P.2d 81, judgment vacated by Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Hoover, 525 U.S. 801, 119 S.Ct. 32, 142 L.Ed.2d 25 (1998). Finally, in Hoover v. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, 1999 OK 61, 986 P.2d 516, the Court got one right. While the make-up of the United States Supreme Court has changed and the outcome today could be different than the outcome ten years ago, any change has yet to be effectuated in the caselaw regarding tribal sovereign immunity and as Justice Summers pointed out in Hoover, "'the Court would be wise to use restraint" until such time as the United State Supreme Court has spoken.