California Can Sue Tribal Officials for Cigarette Tax Violations

Officials of a federally recognized Indian tribe aren’t immune from a lawsuit filed by California to enforce state cigarette tax laws, the Ninth Circuit held Friday.

A federal exception to tribal sovereign immunity that allows trial courts to issue injunctions against tribal officials for violations of federal law applies, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said.

Qualified immunity also doesn’t protect the officials because it is a defense for suits vindicating individual rights, “not a license to ignore the law, nor a permanent immunity to avoid rendering to California what is California’s,” Judge Mark J. Bennett wrote ...