Red Hawk Casino receives reprieve from court ruling

By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee

The Indian tribe that owns Red Hawk Casino said it won a key court ruling Friday that staves off a looming financial disaster, at least for the time being.

A judge said the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians doesn’t have to post a multimillion-dollar bond while it pursues an appeal of a $30 million jury verdict against the tribe.

The tribe had argued that it didn’t have enough cash or other liquid assets to post the bond. If not for the judge’s ruling, the tribe said it couldn’t have appealed the $30 million verdict – and the casino was in danger of closing.

“Any efforts to presently execute on the judgment would likely have catastrophic consequences for the tribe and all who depend on the casino for their livelihood,” a tribal attorney wrote in a filing recently in El Dorado County Superior Court. The three-year-old casino off Highway 50 in Shingle Springs employs 1,350 workers.

The tribe said it was pleased with the ruling.

“We have moved forward with our appeal,” tribal chairman Nicholas Fonseca said in a prepared statement.