Lewis v. Clarke

• Citation: 581 U.S. 155,137 S.Ct. 1285,197 L.Ed.2d 631
• Docket Number: 15–1500
• Decision Date: 25 April 2017
• Parties: Brian LEWIS et al., Petitioners v. William CLARKE.
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

581 U.S. 155

137 S.Ct. 1285

197 L.Ed.2d 631

Brian LEWIS et al., Petitioners

v.William CLARKE.

No. 15–1500

Supreme Court of the United States

Argued Jan. 9, 2017.

Decided April 25, 2017.

Eric D. Miller, Seattle, WA, for Petitioners.

Ann O'Connell, for the United States as amicus curiae, by special leave of the Court, supporting reversal.

Neal K. Katyal, Washington, DC, for Respondent.

James M. Harrington, Polito & Associates, LLC, Waterford, CT, Jennifer A. MacLean, Perkins Coie LLP, Washington, DC, Eric D. Miller, Luke M. Rona, Perkins Coie LLP, Seattle, WA, for Petitioners.

Daniel J. Krisch, Halloran & Sage LLP, Hartford, CT, Neal Kumar Katyal, Morgan L. Goodspeed, Mitchell P. Reich, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Washington, DC, for Respondent.

Justice SOTOMAYOR delivered the opinion of the Court.

Indian tribes are generally entitled to immunity from suit. This Court has considered the scope of that immunity in a number of circumstances. This case presents an ordinary negligence action brought against a tribal employee in state court under state law. We granted certiorari to resolve whether an Indian tribe's sovereign immunity bars individual-capacity damages actions against tribal employees for torts committed within the scope of their employment and for which the employees are indemnified by the tribe.

We hold that, in a suit brought against a tribal employee in his individual capacity, the employee, not the tribe, is the real party in interest and the tribe's sovereign immunity is not implicated. That an employee was acting within the scope of his employment at the time the tort was committed is not, on its own, sufficient to bar a suit against that employee on the basis of tribal sovereign immunity. We hold further that an indemnification provision does not extend a tribe's sovereign immunity where it otherwise would not reach. Accordingly, we reverse and remand.

I

A

The Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut traces its lineage back centuries. Originally part of the Lenni Lenape, the Tribe formed the independent Mohegan Tribe under the leadership of Sachem Uncas in the early 1600's. M. Fawcett, The Lasting of the Mohegans 7, 11–13 (1995). In 1994, in accordance with the petition procedures established by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Tribe attained federal recognition.¹

See 59 Fed.Reg. 12140 (1994) ; Mohegan Const. Preamble and Art. II.

As one means of maintaining its economic self-sufficiency, the Tribe entered into a Gaming Compact with the State of Connecticut pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 102 Stat. 2467, 25 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq. The compact authorizes the Tribe to conduct gaming on its land, subject to certain conditions including establishment of the Gaming Disputes Court. See 59 Fed.Reg. 65130 (approving the Tribal–State Compact Between the Mohegan Indian Tribe and the State of Connecticut (May 17, 1994)); Mohegan Const. Art. XIII, § 2 ; Mohegan Tribe Code 3–248(a) (Supp. 2016). The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, an arm of the Tribe, exercises the powers of the Mohegan Tribe over tribal gaming activities. Mohegan Const. Art. XIII, § 1 ; Mohegan Tribe Code § 2–21.

Of particular relevance here, Mohegan law sets out sovereign immunity and indemnification policies applicable to disputes arising from gaming activities. The Gaming Authority has waived its sovereign immunity and consented to be sued in the Mohegan Gaming Disputes Court. Mohegan Const. Art. XIII, § 1 ; Mohegan Tribe Code § 3–250(b). Neither the Tribe nor the Gaming Authority has consented to suit for claims arising under Connecticut state law. See Mohegan Const. Art. IX, § 2 (t); Mohegan Tribe Code § 3–250(g); see also Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak, 501 U.S. 775, 782, 111 S.Ct. 2578, 115 L.Ed.2d 686 (1991) (observing that Indian tribes have not surrendered their immunity against suits by States). Further, Mohegan Tribe Code § 4–52 provides that the Gaming Authority "shall save harmless and indemnify its Officer or Employee from financial loss and expense arising out of any claim, demand, or suit by reason of his or her alleged negligence ... if the Officer or Employee is found to have been acting in the discharge of his or her duties or within the scope of his or her employment." The Gaming Authority does not indemnify employees who engage in "wanton, reckless or malicious" activity. Mohegan Tribe Code § 4–52.

B

Petitioners Brian and Michelle Lewis were driving down Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut, when a limousine driven by respondent William Clarke hit their vehicle from behind. Clarke, a Gaming Authority employee, was transporting patrons of the Mohegan Sun Casino to their homes. For purposes of this appeal, it is undisputed that Clarke caused the accident.

The Lewises filed suit against Clarke in his individual capacity in Connecticut state court, and Clarke moved to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction on the basis of tribal sovereign immunity. See 2014 WL 5354956, *2 (Super.Ct.Conn., Sept. 10, 2014) (Cole–Chu, J.). Clarke argued that because the Gaming Authority, an arm of the Tribe, was entitled to sovereign immunity, he, an employee of the Gaming Authority acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident, was similarly entitled to sovereign immunity against suit. According to Clarke, denying the motion would abrogate the Tribe's sovereign immunity.

The trial court denied Clarke's motion to dismiss. Id., at *8. The court agreed with the Lewises that the sovereign immunity analysis should focus on the remedy sought in their complaint. To that end, the court identified Clarke, not the Gaming Authority or the Tribe, as the real party in interest because the damages remedy sought was solely against Clarke and would in no way affect the Tribe's ability to govern itself independently. The court therefore concluded that tribal sovereign immunity was not implicated. Id ., at *2–*8. It also rejected Clarke's alternative argument that because the Gaming Authority was obligated to indemnify him pursuant to Mohegan Tribe Code § 4–52 and would end up paying the damages, he should prevail under the remedy analysis. Id., at *7. The trial court reasoned that a "voluntary undertaking cannot be used to extend sovereign immunity where it did not otherwise exist." Ibid.

The Supreme Court of Connecticut reversed, holding that tribal sovereign immunity did bar the suit. 320 Conn. 706, 135 A.3d 677 (2016). The court agreed with Clarke that "because he was acting within the scope of his employment for the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority is an arm of the Mohegan Tribe, tribal sovereign immunity bars the plaintiffs' claims against him." Id., at 709, 135 A.3d, at 680. Of particular significance to the court was ensuring that "plaintiffs cannot circumvent tribal immunity by merely naming the defendant, an employee of the tribe, when the complaint concerns actions taken within the scope of his duties and the complaint does not allege, nor have the plaintiffs offered any other evidence, that he acted outside the scope of his authority." Id., at 720, 135 A.3d, at 685. To do otherwise, the court reasoned, would " ‘eviscerate’ " the protections of tribal immunity. Id., at 717, 135 A.3d, at 684 (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted). Because the court determined that Clarke was entitled to sovereign immunity on the sole basis that he was acting within the scope of his employment when the accident occurred, id., at 720, 135 A.3d, at 685–686, it did not consider whether Clarke should be entitled to sovereign immunity on the basis of the indemnification statute.

We granted certiorari to consider whether tribal sovereign immunity bars the Lewises' suit against Clarke, 579 U.S. ––––, 137 S.Ct. 31, 195 L.Ed.2d 903 (2016), and we now reverse the judgment of the Supreme Court of Connecticut.

II

Two issues require our resolution: (1) whether the sovereign immunity of an Indian tribe bars individual-capacity damages against tribal employees for torts committed within the scope of their employment; and (2) what role, if any, a tribe's decision to indemnify its employees plays in this analysis. We decide this case under the framework of our precedents regarding tribal immunity.

A

Our cases establish that, in the context of lawsuits against state and federal employees or entities, courts should look to whether the sovereign is the real party in interest to determine whether sovereign immunity bars the suit. See Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 25, 112 S.Ct. 358, 116 L.Ed.2d 301 (1991). In making this assessment, courts may not simply rely on the characterization of the parties in the complaint, but rather must determine in the first instance whether the remedy sought is truly against the sovereign. See, e.g., Ex parte New York, 256 U.S. 490, 500–502, 41 S.Ct. 588, 65 L.Ed. 1057 (1921). If, for example, an action is in essence against a State even if the State is not a named party, then the State is the real party in interest and is entitled to invoke the Eleventh Amendment's protection. For this reason, an arm or instrumentality of the State generally enjoys the same immunity as the sovereign itself. E.g., Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Doe, 519 U.S. 425, 429–430, 117 S.Ct. 900, 137 L.Ed.2d 55 (1997). Similarly, lawsuits brought against employees in their official capacity "represent only another way of pleading an action against an entity of which an officer is an agent," and they may also be barred by sovereign immunity. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165–166, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985) (internal quotation marks omitted).

The distinction between individual- and official-capacity suits is paramount here. In an official-capacity claim, the relief sought is only nominally against the official and in fact is against the official's office and thus the sovereign itself. Will v. Michigan Dept. of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989) ; Dugan v....