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Judge says Interior can review Scotts Valley tribe’s rights but Vallejo casino plans can proceed

Tribes sue to block Vallejo casino proposed by the Scotts Valley tribe on ancestral homeland grounds. Night cityscape of Vallejo

A federal judge in Washington has ruled that the Department of the Interior (DOI) violated the due process rights of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians when it suddenly took back the tribe’s gaming eligibility for a proposed casino project in Vallejo, California. However, Judge Trevor McFadden made clear that Scotts Valley can keep moving forward with the project even as the DOI continues reevaluating it.

Both Scotts Valley and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, one of the main opponents of the project, each called the ruling a win for their own side.

“This victory is about more than gaming. It’s about fairness, tribal sovereignty, and the fundamental right of our people to move forward in building a brighter future,” Scotts Valley Chairman Shawn Davis told Lake County News.

On the other side, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Chairman Anthony Roberts stated: “Today’s court decision correctly reaffirms the Department of the Interior’s decision to reevaluate this proposed casino, which would destroy irreparable cultural and ecological resources and has already been rejected three other times by the Department.”

The Scotts Valley Band Vallejo casino project plan

The ruling comes as tensions grow between the Scotts Valley Band and several nearby tribes. The tribes argue that the Vallejo property doesn’t qualify as restored lands under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and that a new casino would put their own gaming operations at risk.

Scotts Valley is planning to build a $700 million, 400,000-square-foot casino complex. The proposal also includes 24 homes and an administrative building on a 128-acre site near I-80 and Highway 37 in Vallejo.

However, in a detailed 35-page memorandum opinion reviewed by ReadWrite, the US District Court for the District of Columbia described the whole dispute as centered on “an agency’s reversal.” For almost ten years, the Scotts Valley Band had been pursuing a trust acquisition and gaming determination for the Vallejo site.

In January 2025, in the final days of former US President Joe Biden’s administration, the Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum approved the trust acquisition and said that “the Band may conduct gaming on the Vallejo Site once it is acquired in trust.” The department executed the trust deed that same day.

Less than eleven weeks later, after substantial outreach from neighboring tribes including the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, the Interior changed its position. In a March 27 letter, the agency informed Scotts Valley that “the Department [was] temporarily rescinding the Gaming Eligibility Determination for reconsideration” because “the Secretary [was] concerned that the Department did not consider additional evidence submitted after the 2022 Remand.”

The DOI also warned the tribe that “neither the Tribe nor any other entity or person should rely on the Gaming Eligibility Determination” while the agency re-examined the case.

The judge said that although the Interior Department’s choice to take another look at the issue wasn’t a final agency action and couldn’t be reviewed under the Administrative Procedure Act, the temporary rescission itself was final and could be challenged. The court rejected the tribe’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA) arguments, finding that the Interior’s move fit within its inherent authority and that the record didn’t show “improper political influence.”

Interior accused of violating Scotts Valley tribe’s rights

But the court also found that the Interior violated the Fifth Amendment because the tribe’s original gaming approval created a protected property interest. The judge wrote that the Band had “a legitimate claim of entitlement” to the January 10 gaming determination and that the Interior had given “too little process to rescind it.”

The Interior acknowledged that it didn’t give the tribe any advance notice before pulling back its approval. During that same time, the agency was holding several calls and meetings with neighboring tribes that opposed the project. The court said the one-sentence explanation the Interior offered left the Band “reduced to guessing what evidence can or should be submitted in response,” which wasn’t enough to meet basic due process standards.

The tribe said it relied on the January approval when it signed contracts and committed almost two million dollars to the project. The court pointed out that those reliance claims weren’t enough to win under the APA, but it also made clear that the due process violation didn’t depend on how much the tribe had spent.

The neighboring tribes, including Yocha Dehe, United Auburn, and Lytton Rancheria, have argued in separate suits that the DOI committed “legal error” in approving the Vallejo site in January.

In one email referenced in the opinion, a representative for Yocha Dehe urged the department that “if too much time passes, or if Scotts Valley starts breaking ground (or otherwise relies on the decision), there’s a real risk Interior might not be successful and or could be tied up in court.” The representative added that the tribes “had a legal challenge all teed up.”

Those suits remain pending.

The judge wrapped up his opinion by ruling that the Interior Department would get summary judgment on the APA claims, while Scotts Valley would win on its due process claim. This means the Interior can continue its reconsideration process, but it has to give the tribe proper procedural protections before it can undo the tribe’s gaming eligibility.

Scotts Valley has said the Vallejo casino project is vital for rebuilding the tribe’s government and economy, pointing to a business plan that projected annual revenues of $243.5 million. Because Interior’s rules require tribes to seek restored lands determinations within 25 years of federal recognition, the court noted that “this is the Band’s last chance.”

ReadWrite has reached out to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation for comment.

Featured image: Canva

The post Judge says Interior can review Scotts Valley tribe’s rights but Vallejo casino plans can proceed appeared first on ReadWrite.

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