Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Indian Tribes Litigant Properly Denied Fee Recovery Because Their Federal Claim Had No Fee Predicate Basis For Recovery Of Fees

Tribes Only Prevailed On A Federal Claim, But Fees Not Allowed On That Claim; Lurking State Law Issues Did Not Alter The Result.

            In Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians v. State of California, Case No. 21-15751 (9^th Cir. Apr. 25, 2023) (published), Tribes successfully sued California for failure to comply with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a result salted away in a prior appeal.  Tribes then sought attorney’s fees for litigating a prior appeal which established its success against California.  The Ninth Circuit panel denied the fee request.  Because Tribes prevailed solely on a federal cause of the action, entitlement to fees depended on whether federal law allowed them.  IGRA had no fee-shifting provision.  As such, the lack of entitlement under federal law was dispositive, notwithstanding that state law issues “lurked” in the background.