Krystal Energy Company v. Navajo Nation

BERZON, Circuit Judge:

Appellant Krystal Energy Company (“Krystal”) appeals the district court’s dismissal of its adversary action under the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §§ 505 and 542, against the Navajo Nation, an Indian tribe. The district court based its dismissal on the Navajo Nation’s sovereign immunity to suit in the absence of explicit abrogation of that immunity by Congress. Whether Congress has abrogated the sovereign immunity of Indian tribes by statute is a question of statutory interpretation and is reviewed de novo. Demontiney v. United States, 255 F.3d 801, 805 (9th Cir.2001).…