The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said Thursday that a tribal court had jurisdiction over COVID-19 business interruption coverage claims the Suquamish tribe brought against several insurers.
The off-reservation insurance companies, including Lexington Insurance Co., must face the claims in Suquamish Tribal Court because the claims center on a contract between the tribe and insurers conducted on tribal land, the Ninth Circuit held. Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, tribes have power over “the activities of nonmembers who enter consensual relationships” with them, the Ninth Circuit said.
