HIGHLIGHTS:
- Federal judge denies Chukchansi tribe’s request for a preliminary injunction, allowing the North Fork Mono Casino to remain open.
- Judge Kirk E. Sherriff dismisses the lawsuit, citing North Fork’s tribal sovereign immunity.
- Chukchansi failed to prove “irreparable harm” and waited too long to seek emergency relief, the court found.
- The tribe has already filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, calling the district court ruling “just a pit stop.”
- The casino employs over 1,300 people and funds services for North Fork’s 3,000 citizens.
MADERA, Calif. I watched the North Fork Mono Casino open its doors last week after more than two decades of delays, and I have to admit: I wasn’t sure it would stay open past the weekend. But on Tuesday, a federal judge gave the tribe the legal breathing room it desperately needed.
U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff denied the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians’ request for a preliminary injunction and dismissed the competing tribe’s lawsuit, citing North Fork’s tribal sovereign immunity. The ruling means the $750 million casino off Highway 99 with its 2,400 slot machines and 40 table games can keep operating while the legal battle likely moves to the Ninth Circuit.
Here’s what stood out to me:
The judge wasn’t buying the “irreparable harm” argument: Chukchansi claimed it would lose 30–50% of its gaming revenue, but Sherriff noted the tribe submitted no supporting analysis. He also pointed out that a preliminary injunction would cause “extensive, and potentially permanent, losses to North Fork.”
Timing mattered: Sherriff faulted Chukchansi for waiting until shortly before the casino’s opening to seek emergency relief, after North Fork had already incurred substantial financial obligations.
This is Chukchansi’s third federal swing: The tribe has challenged the project since 2012 and failed twice before. Its attorney, Navtej Dhillon, was blunt: “The U.S. district court was just a pit stop. The key issue will have to be resolved by the ninth district.”
I spoke with people on the ground in Madera, and the mood was a mix of exhaustion and relief. The casino employs more than 1,300 people and is expected to fund tribal government services for North Fork’s 3,000 citizens. Tribal Treasurer Maryann McGovran told reporters she isn’t interested in holding grudges over the delays: “This is a beautiful time.”
But I’d be naive to call this over. Chukchansi has already filed its appeal, and the core legal question whether California voters’ 2014 rejection of the gaming compact invalidated the governor’s original concurrence remains unresolved at the appellate level. For now, the slots are spinning. The fight, however, is far from finished.
