BILLY CYPRESS AND DEXTER LEHTINEN, PETITIONERS,
v.
TAMIAMI PARTNERS, LTD., A FLORIDA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, TAMIAMI DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, A FLORIDA CORPORATION; JOHN SISTO AND CYE MANDEL, INDIVIDUALLY, RESPONDENTS
PER CURIAM.
Petitioners Billy Cypress and Dexter Leht-inen, officials of the Miccosukee Tribe, seek certiorari review of the trial court’s discovery order setting their depositions. We grant certiorari, finding that sovereign immunity protects petitioners.
Florida state courts do not have subject matter jurisdiction over a Native American tribe unless the tribe has expressly consented to suit or Congress has waived the tribe’s sovereign immunity to civil actions. Houghtaling v. Seminole Tribe of Florida, 611 So. 2d 1235 (Fla.1993). Here, the record clearly shows that sovereign immunity has attached to shield petitioners from suit. Accordingly, the discovery order below must be quashed as a departure from the essential requirements of law. See Martin-Johnson, Inc. v. Savage, 509 So. 2d 1097 (Fla.1987); Greenstein v. Baxas Howell Mobley, Inc, 583 So. 2d 402 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991).
Certiorari granted; order quashed.
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Miccosukee Tribe OF Indians OF Florida v. Bermudez, 92 So. 3d 232 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)…is not a one-way street. Mr. Roman cannot seek to participate in or influence litigation in another sovereign entity, the State of Florida, then retreat into his own sovereign when it suits him. Similarly, neither Cypress v. Tamiami Partners, Ltd., 662 So. 2d 1292 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995), nor Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. Napoleoni, 890 So. 2d 1152 (Fla. [*235] 1st DCA 2004), offer any succor to Mr. Roman in this case. Although we quashed the depositions of two Miccosukee Tribe officials in Cypress, the opinion d…
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The Miccosukee Tribe OF Indians v. Napoleoni, 890 So. 2d 1152 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)…ld that state workers’ compensation laws are inapplicable to Indian tribes and that state compensation courts lack subject matter jurisdiction over Indian tribes in connection with workers’ compensation claims. In Cypress v. Tamiami Partners, Ltd., 662 So. 2d 1292 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995), the trial court issued a discovery order setting the depositions of two officials of the Mic-eosukee Tribe, the same Tribe involved in this case. The action was brought by a non-tribal company hired to manage the Tribe’s bingo ga…
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Tamiami P'rs, Ltd. v. Miccosukee Tribe OF Indians OF Florida, 177 F.3d 1212 (11th Cir. 1999)…ERSED. We REMAND this case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. IT IS SO ORDERED. . The dispute between these parties has not been confined solely to federal court. See, e.g., Cypress v. Tamiami Partners, Ltd., 662 So. 2d 1292 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (quashing discovery order on basis of sovereign immunity); Mandel v. Miccosukee Tribal Gaming Agency, No. CV 93-18, 22 Indian L. Rep. 6148 (Miccosukee Tribal Ct. Jan. 31, 1994) (affirming denial of gaming license applica-lions by…
Authorities Cited
- Martin-Johnson, Inc. v. Savage, 509 So. 2d 1097 (Fla. 1987)
- Houghtaling v. Seminole Tribe OF Florida, 611 So. 2d 1235 (Fla. 1993)
- Latour v. Latour, 583 So. 2d 402 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)