New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Tribal Casino Immune From Workers' Compensation Claims

On January 16, 2020, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued its decision in Mendoza v. Isleta Resort and Casino, holding that a tribe does not waive its sovereign immunity to workers' compensation claims merely by committing in a tribal gaming compact1 to establish a workers' compensation program. Tribal employers that negotiate gaming compacts will find this case of interest.

Plaintiff's Claim

The plaintiff worked as a porter for Isleta Casino, owned and operated by the Isleta Pueblo. After injuring her knee at work, she filed an accident form with the Casino. The Pueblo's insurance administrator sent the plaintiff a letter, denying her claim as untimely.

The plaintiff responded by filing a claim with the New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration (WCA). The insurance administrator took the position that the WCA had no jurisdiction over this claim due to the tribal sovereign immunity. The WCA nonetheless submitted the plaintiff's claim to mediation. Based on the mediator's findings, the WCA's Director concluded that the Pueblo waived its sovereign immunity by entering a gaming compact (the Compact) with the State of New Mexico to operate the Casino that included a requirement that the Casino implement a workers' compensation program with recourse for denied claimants before tribal adjudicators. The Director then concluded that the WCA could exercise jurisdiction and the claim was compensable.

The Casino and insurance administrator disagreed and moved to dismiss the claim, arguing that tribal sovereign immunity deprived the WCA of subject matter jurisdiction. The Pueblo alone, they argued, had jurisdiction over the claim. The plaintiff responded that because neither the Pueblo nor the Casino had actually implemented tribal workers' compensation, the state system had to fill the gap. The WCA agreed with the Casino and insurance administrator, and, notwithstanding the position previously taken by the WCA's Director, dismissed the plaintiff's claim.

The plaintiff appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, which reversed the dismissal, holding that the insurance administrator was not immune to suit and that, even if the tribal entities had immunity, the insurance administrator and the insurer were not. Further holding that the Pueblo was not an indispensable party in the proceeding, the Court of Appeals determined the WCA could hear the plaintiff's claim. The Casino, insurance administrator, and insurer sought and obtained state supreme...