Scotts Valley Band gains tribal backing in casino legal battle with the DOI

The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians has secured further support in its ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) filed an amicus brief urging a federal court to halt the Department’s reconsideration of the Tribe’s casino land eligibility.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the amicus curiae brief aligns with the Tribe’s motion for a preliminary injunction aimed at blocking the Department’s March 27 decision to rescind its earlier approval of the Tribe’s gaming land determination.

COLT, which represents federally recognized tribes with expansive land holdings, warned in the filing that the Department’s actions could undermine the sovereignty and stability of all tribal nations, not only Scotts Valley.

“We are deeply grateful to the Coalition of Large Tribes for standing with us,” said Shawn Davis, Chairman of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians. “This case is about more than one tribe — it’s about the basic right of all tribal nations to rely on final decisions from the United States government.”

The project, proposed for a 160-acre site near Interstate 80 and Highway 37 in Solano County, includes a $700 million, 400,000-square-foot casino complex with 24 single-family homes, a tribal administrative center, a parking facility, and a 45-acre biological preserve.

Designed to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the project is expected to generate thousands of jobs and contribute significantly to the local economy.

The Tribe maintains that the land in question continues to hold trust status and constitutes sovereign tribal land, irrespective of the Department’s reconsideration of its gaming eligibility under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

“As COLT recognized in its brief, the Department’s about-face has consequences for every tribe seeking to achieve economic self-sufficiency,” Davis said. “After enduring centuries of mistreatment by the federal government, we will not allow our work to develop our homeland to be deterred or derailed.”

The court case, Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians v. U.S. Department of the Interior (Case No. 1:25-cv-00958-TNM), emerged after the Department announced its intent to review the Tribe’s previously approved gaming eligibility. In response, the Tribe filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the reversal from taking effect while legal proceedings unfold.

In a related development, U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden ruled in April that three other tribes, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and United Auburn Indian Community, could not intervene in the case. The judge found the tribes lacked standing, narrowing the dispute to the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the federal government.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for Friday in Washington, D.C., as the Tribe seeks to move forward with its plans despite the regulatory setback.