The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled the Omaha Tribe can be subject to a lawsuit over payment for work on its casinos, racetrack and other facilities.
The tribe was sued in 2009 by Omaha-based building contractor StoreVisions for breach of contract. The lawsuit says the tribe has not paid for construction work.
The Omaha Tribe argued it is immune from lawsuits because the federal government has granted American Indian tribes sovereign immunity. The tribe said in court documents that a waiver of sovereign immunity signed in 2008 by the tribal chairman and vice chairman for StoreVisions isn't valid, and the case should be thrown out.
A Thurston County district judge disagreed, ruling the lawsuit can proceed. The state's highest court affirmed that ruling in an opinion issued Friday.
