In both contract negotiation and public policy, the duty of good faith and fair dealing remains a fundamental one.<\/p>\n
In Arizona, unfortunately, the Tohono O’odham tribe has repeatedly violated that duty, which now requires Congressional action to remedy the situation.<\/p>\n
By way of background, this regrettable and wholly unnecessary dispute arises from a $400 million casino in the western Phoenix metro area set for completion later this month.<\/p>\n
Back in 2001, the Tohono O\u2019odham continued seeking casino properties even while participating in compact negotiations with a coalition of 16 other Arizona tribes.\u00a0 The coalition collectively promised Arizona voters and elected officials in 2002 that there would be no additional casinos within the Phoenix metropolitan area until the agreed-upon compact expired in 2027.\u00a0 Arizona voters subsequently approved the agreement and granted it the force of law.<\/p>\n
Just one year later, however, the Tohono O’odham tribe violated that pledge by purchasing a casino site through a shell corporation to conceal its ownership.<\/p>\n
Then, in 2009, the tribe launched the current battle by declaring that a \u201clegal loophole\u201d in the state\u2019s existing gaming compact gave it the right to build a casino in Phoenix on a plot of land situated across the street from a high school and close to a number of residential areas. \u00a0Beyond the tawdry behind-the-scenes scheming and legal trickery, that constitutes a deep violation of the trust Arizona voters and their elected and appointed officials had placed in the tribe. \u00a0The Tohono O\u2019odham tribe, however, flouts the law under color of a legal defense of tribal sovereign immunity.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, the tribe refuses to be held accountable by the compact itself, as well as the state and tribes with which it negotiated.<\/p>\n