Duluth Files Another Lawsuit Against Fond Du Lac Band
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DULUTH - The battle between the city of Duluth the Fond –du-Luth Casino has become even more complex. Wednesday, the city filed another lawsuit against the Fond du Lac Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa.
This time, it's on allegations of breaching contract. The federal lawsuit filed has two main parts:
The first has to do with the band attempting to take over the nearby Carter Hotel. The city is saying the band violated the agreement on the hotel, and they want the band to ask for approval to obtain the property. Until then, Duluth is hoping for an injunction, which means nobody can touch it until it goes through the courts.
The second part of the lawsuit states the band violated the contract signed back in 1994 by allegedly going behind the city's back, and asking the National Indian Gaming Commission for their help breaking the contract with the city.
The agreement states the casino should have been paying the city 19 percent of slot income, which had added up to approximately $6 million a year. According to city officials, the casino hasn’t paid anything since 2009.
In January 2013, the courts ruled the 20-year-old contract between the city and casino violated the Indian Gaming Regulation Act, and was illegal. Meaning, the band no longer had to pay the city, but the city didn't agree.
"There's a couple ways to solve these types of problems,” explained Duluth city attorney, Gunnar Johnson. “We can litigate them, or we can sit down and resolve them.”
Johnson stated the city has been and remains willing to try and sit down and resolve the controversy.
The band released a statement Wednesday on the lawsuit stating, "It is regretful that the City of Duluth continues to reject the Band’s efforts to discuss a global settlement consistent with the law. To date, the Band has been successful in defending itself against all of the numerous lawsuits filed by the city. We will continue to defend ourselves, and would rather encourage the City to focus its efforts and resources on repairing its relationship with the Fond du Lac Band. The Band continues to have interest in making economic investments in Duluth, but the continued legal actions of the City are an obstacle to pursuing those initiatives.”
There is no court date set for this specific lawsuit.