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Foster v. Luce3/16/1993
Opinion
Defendants appeal from a judgment awarding Plaintiff compensatory and punitive damages in a tort action which grew out of their purchase of cattle on the Navajo Indian Reservation. We discuss: (1) whether the district court had jurisdiction over a tort claim filed by Plaintiff, a Navajo Indian, against Defendants for alleged wrongful acts which occurred, in part, on the Navajo Indian Reservation; (2) whether the district court erred in ruling that Defendants waived their right to a jury trial; and (3) whether the district court erred in awarding Plaintiff prejudgment interest. Other issues raised in the docketing statement but not briefed are waived. We affirm the judgment entered below.
Defendants, who are non-Indians, purchased cattle from Plaintiff's brother on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The cattle were owned by Plaintiff, who resides off the reservation. Plaintiff filed suit in the San Juan County District Court for damages, alleging that Defendants, in purchasing the cattle and disposing of them, "knew or should have known [the cattle] were stolen."
Defendants filed an answer but failed to make a timely demand for a jury trial, and the district court denied their subsequent request for trial by jury. At the Conclusion of the trial, the court awarded Plaintiff $6,093.77 compensatory damages, punitive damages in the amount of $2,135, and prejudgment interest on the compensatory damage award, together with costs.
I. JURISDICTIONAL ISSUE
Defendants contest the jurisdiction of the district court to adjudicate Plaintiff's tort claim involving the alleged wrongful taking of livestock owned by Plaintiff where the facts demonstrated that the
property was acquired by Defendants on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Relying in part upon , Defendants argue that the state court here was without jurisdiction to adjudicate Plaintiff's claim alleging wrongful conduct on the part of Defendants, because the acts in question occurred on the Navajo Indian Reservation, the exercise of jurisdiction by the state court impermissibly infringes upon tribal sovereignty, and that the acts in question are controlled by tribal law.
Did the district court lack jurisdiction in the present case? We are unpersuaded by Defendants' jurisdictional challenge. In Chino our Supreme Court reiterated its recognition of the "infringement test" in order to determine whether a state court has jurisdiction to adjudicate claims involving property held by Indians. The Chino Court stated:
In considering [the infringement] test it is helpful to summarize certain criteria to determine whether or not the application of state law would infringe upon the self-government of the Indians. These are the following: (1) whether the parties are Indians or non-Indians, (2) whether the cause of action arose within the Indian reservation, and (3) what is the nature of the interest to be protected.
Applying the test set forth in Chino to the facts herein, it is clear that Plaintiff's complaint sought to recover damages for loss of his personal property resulting from Defendants' alleged improper conduct. Nothing in the record before us shows that litigation of this claim in the state court impermissibly infringes upon Navajo tribal sovereignty. See Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Eng'g, P.C., 467 U.S. 138, 148, 104 S. Ct. 2267, 2274, 81 L. Ed. 2d 113 (1984); ; Whiting v. Hoffine, 294 N.W.2d 921, 923-24 (S.D.1980); see also McCrea v. Busch, 164 Mont. 442, 524 P.2d 781, 782 (1974) (upholding right of Indian to bring a
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