UTE Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation v. Lawrence

Judge Clark Waddoups

This case presents a clash between the parties' claims as to which court has jurisdiction over a state law contract dispute: the Ute Indian Tribal Court or the state courts of Utah. The dispute is between a non-Indian, Lynn Becker, and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (the Tribe)1 under a contract that includes express waivers of the Tribe's sovereign immunity and any requirement for exhaustion of remedies in the Tribal Court. The Tribe's Business Committee approved the contract by a resolution that incorporated the contract by reference. The Tribe…