Tribal Consumer Lender Fails to Get Sovereign Immunity on Appeal

A consumer lender owned by an indigenous tribe can’t assert sovereign immunity in a lawsuit alleging state consumer protection law violations, a federal appeals court said.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled a lower court correctly denied GreatPlains Finance LLC’s motion to dismiss and motion to reconsider that dismissal. It remanded the case back to the US District Court for the District of New Jersey on Monday.

While GreatPlains is “mostly controlled” by Montana’s Fort Belknap Indian Community, ...