Drake v. Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (2019)
- Sam Shepherd
- Oct 6
- 2 min read
By Leilani Acosta
Overview
This case appeared in Arizona’s district court after Nadia Drake argued that Salt River Pima-Maricopa community violated Title III of ADA because they did not allow her service dog. This court addresses the question of how ADA is implemented within Indigenous nations and the role of Sovereign immunity.
Summary
Nadia Drake uses a service dog to help with PTSD and anxiety attacks. While at the Talking Stick Casino and resort, she alleges that employees told her the service dog was not allowed inside and that she attempted to show credentials [1]. She sues, arguing that they violated Title III of ADA, and claimed that they intentionally caused emotional distress [1]. After the nation failed to respond to the case, she sought a default judgment that would make her the automatic winner in the case. The court ruled that to push the default judgement aside because there was no intentional intent in avoiding the demand and found that they were not properly served [1]. The court also introduces sovereign immunity and how governments cannot be sued without their consent. The court creates a two part test that the plaintiff must follow to prove immunity is inapplicable: the nation has explicitly removed its immunity or that congress has previously abrogated their immunity. In this case, neither was proven by Drake and the case was dismissed because the nation has sovereign immunity.
Impact
The court never addresses if there was an ADA violation. Instead, it brings the question of how sovereign immunity plays a role in implementation of laws like ADA. Sovereign immunity gives opportunities for nations to decide their ways of governance, including implementing laws like ADA. This court case opens up an understanding of how ADA can look like in Indigenous nations and how sovereign immunity can play a role in future cases.
Court Documents
Drake v. Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community No. CV-19-02957-PHX-MTL (2019)
Citations
“Nadia Drake v. Salt River Pima‑Maricopa Indian Community.” Indian Law Bulletins, National Indian Law Library, 31 Oct. 2019, www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/documents/drake_v_saltriver.html.
