First Earthquake Litigation In A Tribal Court

The Pawnee Nation has sued several oil companies for damages caused by an earthquake last September. This is said to be the first such case nationally to be brought in a tribal court, although there have been a number of earthquake-related class actions filed in Oklahoma. Most people are surprised to find that tribal court systems typically have their own appellate process, culminating in a hearing before the tribal Supreme Court, and that there is no further appeal available from that court, according to one law professor quoted in the article. The Pawnee Nation’s executive director tells the New York Times that the quake extensively damaged numerous buildings, including some on the historic register. Cracks are said to run through the entire width of walls, structure are sagging or bowing, and mortar has “popped.”  Since the fracking boom has taken hold in Oklahoma, there has been more than a thousand-fold increase in the number of 2.7 magnitude quakes registered annually.