113.6 Indian Tribes and related business entities

Tribal immunity was not conferred on an existing for-profit corporation when all of the shares of the corporation were purchased by an Indian tribe. An Indian tribe's purchase of a corporation's stock does not normally confer tribal immunity on the corporation. The Court of Appeals listed and analyzed nine relevant factors to determine whether sovereign immunity extended to the corporation that had been purchased by the Indian tribe. The Court of Appeals specifically emphasized that this is a narrow holding and is limited to the specific facts of the case. McNally CPA's & Consulting, S.C. v. DJ Hosts, Inc., 2004 WI App 221, 277 Wis. 2d 801, 692 N.W.2d 247.

A multiple factor balancing test is the correct way to determine whether tribal immunity has been relinquished for an entity which is established under Wisconsin law and which is owned and controlled by an Indian tribe or a group of tribes. The commission applied the factors set forth in McNally CPA's and Consulting, S.C. v. DJ Hosts, Inc., 2004 WI App 221, 277 Wis. 2d 801, 692 N.W.2d 247 and determined that, under principles of tribal immunity, LIRC lacked jurisdiction to determine a case involving WFEA claims against the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council. Danforth v. Great Lakes Tribes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc. (LIRC, 06/22/20), aff’d sub nom Danforth v. LIRC, (Brown Cty. Cir. Ct. 01/13/21).