Hwal'bay Ba J Enterprises Inc v. Hon. jantzen/fox

Summary

The Arizona Supreme Court held that a tribal corporation must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it is a subordinate economic organization, or arm of the tribe, entitled to share the tribe's sovereign immunity. The court adopted six non-exclusive factors addressing the entity's creation and form, purpose, relationship with the tribe, intent to share immunity, financial relationship, and federal immunity policies. Because the corporation's evidence was incomplete and did not establish its functional relationship with the tribe, the court affirmed denial of its motion to dismiss.