Gun Lake: Tribal Slot Barn loses appeal

Michigan casino foe wins appeal in lawsuit

A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit challenging a new casino in southwestern Michigan's Allegan County.

The court said today that David Patchak of Wayland Township can challenge how the federal government placed the land in trust for the Gun Lake Tribe of Pottawatomi Indians.

The ruling came on the same day that the tribe plans to announce when it will open the casino in Wayland Township, about 20 miles south of Grand Rapids. Tribe spokesman James Nye says there will be no delay.

Patchak's lawyer, John Bursch, says the court order means the lawsuit will get a new start in federal court in Washington, D.C. He says the casino will "destroy the rural lifestyle."


Gun Lake Casino will open Feb. 11; anti-casino lawsuit casts shadow over announcement

The Gun Lake Casino in Wayland Township will open Friday, Feb. 11, despite a recent court decision that revives an anti-casino effort.

Earlier in the day, the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a federal court's dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the legality of placing land in trust for the tribe, according lawyers for the firm handling the appeal.

John Bursch chairs the appellate practice at that Grand Rapids firm, Warner, Norcross & Judd LLP. He said the three-judge appellate reversal disagreed with both major points on which the dismissal was based.

The lawsuit filed by his client, former Wayland Township trustee David Patchak, challenges the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's 2005 decision to place 147 acres in the township in trust for the tribe, also known as the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish-Band of Pottawatomi Indians

Patchak's case was dismissed in August 2009 on grounds that he had no legal standing to bring the case.

If the appellate court's overturning of that dismissal stands, the tribe's sovereign claim on its land would again be challenged.

If the tribe loses that sovereignty, the $160 million casino it has constructed during the last two years would no longer qualify for a Class III gaming license, a permit that enables it to offer most of the games of chance traditionally associated with modern casinos, such as slot machines, roulette tables and card tables for blackjack and poker.

Mike Jandernoa chairman of the anti-gambling organization "23 is Enough," responded to the news by saying that all work on and investment in the casino should halt.

"The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in their ruling confirmed that Mr. Patchak has standing and that the lower court should not have dismissed this case," Jandernoa said. "If victorious at the lower court, the land the casino is built on could be taken out of trust, which would make their operation illegal under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

"Our fight all along has been that these venues do not increase economic activity and are given a competitive advantage over the many entertainment venues in Grand Rapids who adhere to all regulations and pay their fair share of taxes to all units of government."

What's next:
Bursch said the tribe and federal government have 14 days to request to have the appeal re-heard before the entire court of appeals. They have 90 days to request a review of the appeal in U.S. Supreme Court.

If the dismissal remains reversed, proceedings would transfer back to be handled by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.