Jamul Action Committee
Jamul Action Committee Jamul Action Committee

Legal Update May 22, 2015

On May 20th, JAC and JCC filed their immediate appeal of the ruling issued last Friday by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller rejecting their first bid to block construction of the JIV’s proposed casino and to force the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Indian Gaming Commission to do an environmental review of the entire project before any further construction is allowed.

Though Judge Mueller refused to enter a preliminary injunction against the Defendants, at this time, finding that it would be premature since the federal officials are still considering whether to approve the gambling management contract with Penn National Gaming Inc., she did find that approval of the management contract would trigger a mandatory environmental review of the casino project.

In addition to going after federal authorities, the appeal is directed against the chairman of the Jamul Indian Village, several JIV council members and the JIV’s development partners on the casino project, Penn National Gaming Inc. subsidiary San Diego Gaming Ventures LLC and general contractor for the JIV, C.W. Driver Inc.

The merits of JAC’s suit remain in the federal trial court, and continue to allege that by approving the casino management contract, the BIA and the NIGC are violating NEPA, the Native American Graves Protection Act, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Indian Reorganization Act, the Tenth Amendment, California’s public nuisance laws and the California-JIV Gaming Compact.

JAC and JCC remain confident that when the merits of their lawsuit are finally decided, there will be no casino in Jamul.

The federal government’s portion of the Jamul Indian cemetery upon which the JIV is illegally trying to construct a casino has never qualified for Indian gambling under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Moreover, the illegal desecration of the Native American families’ human remains and funerary objects on the government’s portion of the cemetery further precludes gambling on the site.

Please support JAC with your donation to our legal fund. Please send your donations to:
JAC
P.O. Box 1317
Jamul, CA 91935

You may also use Paypal to send a secure donation: