Superior Court Judge Dismisses Lawsuit To Stop Construction of Health Clinic, Casino
State Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett last month dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Viejas Indian band to prevent the Ewiiaapaayp tribe from building a health clinic and casino in Alpine, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Ewiiaapaayp was seeking to build a new health clinic and a casino on a 10-acre parcel in Alpine, where a clinic already operates. Viejas, however, in August sued the Southern Indian Health Council, which operates the current clinic, and six of the seven tribal leaders on the council's board of directors to keep the clinic and casino from being built. Viejas, which operates a nearby casino, said in the lawsuit that Ewiaapaayp's plan and its approval by the council might "jeopardize" health services for the seven East San Diego County tribes that the clinic helps serve. However, Cowett found that the council is sovereign and has federal immunity from civil suits because it is a tribal organization (Barfield, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/3).
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