Quinaults seek dismissal in lake lawsuit

The Quinault Indian Nation and the state Department of Natural Resources have filed motions to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them in December that challenges the Indian nation’s jurisdiction over Lake Quinault.

The suit was filed Dec. 31 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma by North Quinault Properties LLC and Thomas and Beatrice Landreth. It asks the federal court to determine the public’s right to access the lake, its shore and bed as well as what rights property owners who live there have.

The Quinault Indian Nation regulates recreational use of the lake for nontribal members and has implemented fishing and boating bans on the lake in the past, although most of those restrictions are now lifted.

The initial complaint states jurisdiction of the lake revolves around the Public Trust doctrine, saying navigable waters are preserved for public use and when Washington state joined the union in 1889 it was given “equal footing,” which included use of public waters.

The Quinault Indian Nation states in its motion to dismiss that the suit is not valid given the tribe’s immunity to lawsuits without its consent as a federally recognized, sovereign nation. The motion also argues that since the land is held in trust for the nation by the United States, with the tribe having beneficial use rights, the U.S. has to be involved in the case in order for it to move forward.

“Because the U.S. has a legal interest in the property, it has to be involved in the case,” said Rob Roy Smith, an attorney representing the Quinault Indian Nation.

A response filed by the plaintiffs says dismissal should be denied because the suit is not filed against the nation or tribal members, but rather tries to determine the lake’s jurisdiction, making irrelevant the Quinaults’ claim of immunity from suit as a sovereign entity.