Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation v. Unite Here Int'l Union

Citation346 F.Supp.3d 1365
Decision Date28 September 2018
Docket NumberCase No. 16-cv-2660-BAS-AGS
Parties PAUMA BAND OF LUISENO MISSION INDIANS OF THE PAUMA AND YUIMA RESERVATION, Plaintiff, v. UNITE HERE INTERNATIONAL UNION ; State of California; Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Southern District of California

Kevin Michael Cochrane, Cheryl A. Williams, Williams & Cochrane, LLP, San Diego, CA, for Plaintiff.

Kristin L. Martin, David, Cowell & Bowe, LLP, Yonina Etke Alexander, McCracken, Stemerman & Holsberry, LLP, San Francisco, CA, Jennifer T. Henderson, Department of Justice, Sacramento, CA, T. Michelle Laird, Office of the Attorney General, San Diego, CA, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING:

(1) DEFENDANTS STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND EDMUND G. BROWN, JR.'S MOTION TO DISMISS; AND

(2) DEFENDANT UNITE HERE INTERNATIONAL UNION'S MOTION TO DISMISS

[ECF Nos. 34, 36]

Hon. Cynthia Bashant, United States District Judge

OVERVIEW

This action is an offshoot from a bitter labor dispute between a union and a casino operator. Plaintiff Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation ("Pauma" or "Tribe") is a federally-recognized tribe that operates Casino Pauma on its reservation in Northern San Diego County. "About 2,900 customers visit Casino Pauma each day," and the Casino "employs 462 employees." Pauma v. N.L.R.B. , 888 F.3d 1066, 1070 (9th Cir. 2018).

In 2013, Defendant UNITE HERE International Union ("Union"), which represents service and manufacturing employees, began an organizing drive at Casino Pauma. The Tribe claims this organizing effort involved a series of "antics," including the Union inviting The San Diego Union Tribune to a "staged rally." (Second Am. Compl. ("SAC") ¶¶ 151–54, 45:26, ECF No. 33.) There, the Tribe highlights that a casino employee allegedly spoke "exclusively through a translator" and "explained that she was ‘a cook in the casino's pizza restaurant’ who had a ‘$16 hourly salary,’ but nevertheless struggled to pay ‘$260 a month for health insurance for her family’ of undisclosed size." (Id. ¶ 154.)

As another tactic, Pauma alleges the Union "went berserk," filing a flurry of unfair labor practice charges against Casino Pauma with the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB"). (SAC ¶ 5.) Pauma claims that "the one thing that all of these charges have in common is that they seek to turn Casino Pauma into a soapbox for the Union, whereby sympathetic employees can communicate the Union's message directly to customers in any ‘guest area’ of the gaming facility or associated property—whether that is within a shuttle bus, across a restaurant table, inside a family changing room, or underneath a bathroom stall." (Id. (emphasis in original).)

Ultimately, however, the Union's charges led to the General Counsel of the NLRB filing several administrative complaints against Casino Pauma for unfair labor practices. Pauma v. N.L.R.B. , 888 F.3d at 1071. The General Counsel's allegations included that Casino Pauma had "interfere[ed] with the distribution of union literature by employees near the public entrance to [the] casino," "threaten[ed] employees with discipline for distributing union literature at that location," and "interrogat[ed] an employee about her union activity." Id. at 1071 n.1. After a three-day trial, an administrative law judge determined "Casino Pauma violated the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. , in most of the ways the General Counsel alleged," and the NLRB affirmed. Id. at 1071 ; see also Casino Pauma (Casino Pauma II) , 363 N.L.R.B. No. 60 (Dec. 3, 2015).

Then, during the pendency of this action, the Tribe and the Union continued their dispute in the Court of Appeals. The NLRB filed a petition for enforcement of its order against Casino Pauma in the Ninth Circuit, the Tribe filed a separate petition for review, and the Union intervened in opposition to Pauma. See Pauma v. N.L.R.B. , 888 F.3d at 1072. The Ninth Circuit rejected the Tribe's challenges and granted the NLRB's petition for enforcement. Id. at 1085. In doing so, the Ninth Circuit upheld the NLRB's "determination that tribe-owned casinos can be NLRA-covered employers," and the court concluded "the NLRA governs the relationship between Casino Pauma and its employees." See id. at 1079.

In the offshoot before this Court, Pauma alleges that by filing the series of unfair labor practice charges directly with the NLRB, the Union has skirted a binding dispute resolution process. (SAC ¶¶ 5, 150–64.) This dispute resolution process is found in a tribal labor ordinance that the State required Pauma to enact to engage in casino-style gaming. (Id. ¶ 2 & n.1.) The Tribe requests that this Court rein in the Union by ordering it to comply with the dispute resolution process and pay Pauma "the costs involved in litigating" the labor charges filed with the NLRB. (Id. Prayer ¶¶ 2–4.) The Union, on the other hand, argues this ancillary labor dispute is an "improper collateral attack on NLRB proceedings," an effort "to circumvent Ninth Circuit review" of the NLRB's order discussed above, and the product of "procedural gamesmanship." (ECF No. 34-1.)

It appears the reason the Tribe and the Union's dispute has spilled over into this Court, however, is because the Tribe is also suing two other defendants—the State of California and Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (collectively, "State"). Pauma tries to pull the State into the fray by alleging the State has failed to take "reasonable efforts to ensure" the Union would comply with the dispute resolution process, including by failing to "direct[ ] [the Union] to first file any such unfair labor practice claims through" that process, as opposed to proceeding directly before the NLRB. (SAC ¶ 285.) The State moves to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, arguing Pauma fails to demonstrate a justiciable controversy between these two parties. (State's Mot., ECF No. 36-1.) The Union similarly moves to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. (Union's Mot., ECF No. 34-1.) Pauma opposes.1 (Opp'n to State's Mot., ECF No. 38; Opp'n to Union's Mot., ECF No. 37.)

Pauma's detailed pleading interweaves a retelling of the history of tribal-state compacting in California, exposition on the NLRB's jurisdictional jurisprudence, and colorful criticisms of the Union's efforts to organize workers at Casino Pauma. But the Court is unconvinced by Pauma's attempt to construct a justiciable controversy against the State to invoke federal jurisdiction. At most, Pauma's factual allegations demonstrate the State has declined to participate in the Tribe's labor dispute, has taken "no official position on the matter," and has rejected Pauma's request to voluntarily agree "to be bound by a judgment issued by the Court in this case." (SAC ¶¶ 168, 171.) These allegations do not reveal an actual controversy between Pauma and the State. And the Court discerns no independent basis to exercise jurisdiction over the Tribe's remaining declaratory relief and breach of contract claims against the Union. Consequently, for the following reasons, the Court GRANTS the State's and the Union's motions to dismiss.

BACKGROUND2

As will be seen, Pauma claims this case turns on a model tribal ordinance that is an addendum to a tribal-state gaming compact. Pauma and the State of California entered into this gaming compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ("IGRA"), 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701 – 21. Hence, the Court first provides a brief overview of IGRA before expanding upon the Tribe's allegations.

I. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

"In 1988, Congress attempted to strike a delicate balance between the sovereignty of states and federally recognized Native American tribes by passing IGRA." Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of Pauma & Yuima Reservation v. California , 813 F.3d 1155, 1160 (9th Cir. 2015). IGRA's general purpose is "to provide a statutory basis for the operation of gaming by Indian tribes as a means of promoting tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments." 25 U.S.C. § 2702(1).

To accomplish this purpose, IGRA "creates a framework for regulating gaming activity on Indian lands." Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Cmty. , 572 U.S. 782, 134 S.Ct. 2024, 2028, 188 L.Ed.2d 1071 (2014) (citing 25 U.S.C. § 2702(3) ). "The Act divides gaming on Indian lands into three classes—I, II, and III." Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. Florida , 517 U.S. 44, 48, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996). IGRA then "assigns authority to regulate gaming to tribal and state governments depending on the class of gaming involved." Big Lagoon Rancheria v. California , 789 F.3d 947, 949 (9th Cir. 2015) (en banc).

The final category—Class III gaming—"includes the types of high-stakes games usually associated with Nevada-style gambling."

In re Indian Gaming Related Cases , 331 F.3d 1094, 1097 (9th Cir. 2003) (" Coyote Valley "). "As a result, Class III gaming is subjected to the greatest degree of control under IGRA's regulations." Pauma v. California , 813 F.3d at 1160. A tribe may conduct Class III gaming "only if such activities are conducted pursuant to a Tribal-State Compact entered into by the tribe and a state that permits such gaming, and the Compact is approved by the Secretary of the Interior." Id. (citing Coyote Valley , 331 F.3d at 1097 ); see also 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(1), (3)(B). Thus, IGRA contemplates that a tribe and the relevant state shall negotiate to enter into a compact that (i) permits Class III gaming and (ii) may address various regulatory issues related to this type of gaming. See 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(3)(A), (C) (identifying the permissible gaming compact topics to include standards for "maintenance of the gaming facility" and "licensing").

II. Pauma's Compact with the State

Historically, Pauma's members "relied upon subsistence farming and federal funding to stave off destitution." (SAC ¶ 111.) In 2000, Pauma sought to improve its members' circumstances by opening a tribal gaming facility. (See id. ¶¶ 111–16.) To do so, the...

To continue reading

Request your trial
1 cases
  • Oneida Indian Nation v. Phillips, 5:17-CV-1035 (GTS/ATB)
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of New York
    • November 15, 2018
    ...of pretrial scheduling deadlines.1 See, e.g., Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Paula and Yuima Reservation v. Unite Here Int'l Union , 16-CV-2660, 346 F.Supp.3d 1365, 1374–75, 2018 WL 4680029, at *6 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 28, 2018) ; Oglala Sioux Tribe v. C & W Enter., Inc. , 607 F.Su......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT