Post by blackcrowheart on Aug 30, 2006 15:49:12 GMT -5
Appeals court: Non-Indian ex-spouse may share tribal profits
www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/15346991.htm
<http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/15346991.htm> ST. PAUL,
Minn. - Money received by American Indians from their tribe's casino
profits is income and subject to division as marital property in divorce
cases even if both parties are not tribal members, the Minnesota Court
of Appeals has ruled. The court, in a 2-1 ruling Tuesday, said payments
from casino profits are not considered a gift or an inheritance. "That's
a pretty big deal. You're talking about some very wealthy tribes,"
Raleigh Hannah Levine, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law
who specializes in American Indian issues, said Wednesday. The appeals
court upheld a district court ruling in the case of a Prior Lake woman
who received $84,000 each month as a member of the Shakopee Mdewakanton
Sioux Community, which operates Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake.
Melinda Alice Zander, 31, was a member of the tribe when she married
Jeremy James Zander, 30, who was not an enrolled member, in September
2001. The appeals court noted that Jeremy Zander was "voluntarily
unemployed" during their marriage, and his wife received a monthly per
capita payment of $84,000, according to her 2004 federal income tax
form. The couple separated in January 2004 and Jeremy Zander filed for
divorce in state district court in Scott County, seeking what he
contended was his share of the payments. Under Minnesota law, property
or income obtained by either spouse during the marriage is presumed to
be marital property and can be divided in a divorce. However, the
property doesn't have to be split it if was a gift or an inheritance
meant for only one of the parties. Melinda Zander's attorneys argued
that the payments were "unique to her birthright" as a tribal member.
The Mdewakanton Sioux Tribal Domestic Relations Code specifically states
that per capita payments belong only to the tribal member and are not
marital assets. However, the district court judge said the tribe's
domestic code applied only in tribal court, not in a state court. The
judge ruled that while the wife's interest in the tribal casino was a
non-marital asset, the income she received from that asset during the
marriage was marital property. Melinda Zander appealed. Her lawyer,
Kevin Wetherille of Shakopee, said the issues in the case were uncharted
legal territory. "It's an interesting deal. It's something that has
never really been addressed in Minnesota, at least not on point, and it
appears to have never been addressed in the country," Wetherille said.
No decision had been made on whether to appeal, he said. Appeals Court
Judge David Minge dissented, saying per capita payments should be
likened to a gift and should not be divided between the divorcing
spouses. Willie Hardacker, the tribe's staff counsel, said he was aware
of the appeals court decision, but would not comment on it since the
tribe was not a party in the suit. Minnesota tribes have taken different
approaches to handling casino profits. Some tribes funnel the money into
tribal coffers, while the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux and others also
make regular payments to enrolled members of the tribe.
www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/15346991.htm
<http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/15346991.htm> ST. PAUL,
Minn. - Money received by American Indians from their tribe's casino
profits is income and subject to division as marital property in divorce
cases even if both parties are not tribal members, the Minnesota Court
of Appeals has ruled. The court, in a 2-1 ruling Tuesday, said payments
from casino profits are not considered a gift or an inheritance. "That's
a pretty big deal. You're talking about some very wealthy tribes,"
Raleigh Hannah Levine, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law
who specializes in American Indian issues, said Wednesday. The appeals
court upheld a district court ruling in the case of a Prior Lake woman
who received $84,000 each month as a member of the Shakopee Mdewakanton
Sioux Community, which operates Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake.
Melinda Alice Zander, 31, was a member of the tribe when she married
Jeremy James Zander, 30, who was not an enrolled member, in September
2001. The appeals court noted that Jeremy Zander was "voluntarily
unemployed" during their marriage, and his wife received a monthly per
capita payment of $84,000, according to her 2004 federal income tax
form. The couple separated in January 2004 and Jeremy Zander filed for
divorce in state district court in Scott County, seeking what he
contended was his share of the payments. Under Minnesota law, property
or income obtained by either spouse during the marriage is presumed to
be marital property and can be divided in a divorce. However, the
property doesn't have to be split it if was a gift or an inheritance
meant for only one of the parties. Melinda Zander's attorneys argued
that the payments were "unique to her birthright" as a tribal member.
The Mdewakanton Sioux Tribal Domestic Relations Code specifically states
that per capita payments belong only to the tribal member and are not
marital assets. However, the district court judge said the tribe's
domestic code applied only in tribal court, not in a state court. The
judge ruled that while the wife's interest in the tribal casino was a
non-marital asset, the income she received from that asset during the
marriage was marital property. Melinda Zander appealed. Her lawyer,
Kevin Wetherille of Shakopee, said the issues in the case were uncharted
legal territory. "It's an interesting deal. It's something that has
never really been addressed in Minnesota, at least not on point, and it
appears to have never been addressed in the country," Wetherille said.
No decision had been made on whether to appeal, he said. Appeals Court
Judge David Minge dissented, saying per capita payments should be
likened to a gift and should not be divided between the divorcing
spouses. Willie Hardacker, the tribe's staff counsel, said he was aware
of the appeals court decision, but would not comment on it since the
tribe was not a party in the suit. Minnesota tribes have taken different
approaches to handling casino profits. Some tribes funnel the money into
tribal coffers, while the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux and others also
make regular payments to enrolled members of the tribe.