Tribal judge dismisses Grand Canyon Skywalk lawsuit

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Las Vegas developer David Jin plans to return to federal court to try to resolve a dispute over the Grand Canyon Skywalk after a tribal court judge dismissed a lawsuit he filed seeking to force arbitration.

Hualapai Judge Ida Wilber said in an order released Tuesday that she does not have jurisdiction over the case because tribal officials named as defendants did not waive sovereign immunity.

"A sovereign nation has the right and power to state when it may be sued and must be free from interference and unconsented to litigation," Wilber said.

Wilber's decision allows Jin to return to federal court, where a judge ruled that he first must exhaust tribal court remedies.

While the tribe did not agree to be sued in tribal court, it "simply delays the inevitable" because its contract with Jin provides a limited waiver of sovereign immunity for mandatory arbitration in federal court, Wilber said.

Jin sued a business arm of the tribe earlier this year in an effort to recoup what he is owed for his $30 million investment in the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that juts 70 feet from the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai reservation. The Skywalk has lured visitors worldwide, who get a picturesque view of the canyon as they stand 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.

Tribal spokesman Dave Cieslak said Wednesday that the tribe is pleased with Wilber's legal analysis but disappointed by Jin's behavior. The tribe contends the dispute is not about money but Jin's failure to complete a visitor center that tourists must walk through before stepping onto the Skywalk.

"Now that his lawsuits have failed in both federal and tribal court, the next step is clear: Mr. Jin must stop his barrage of disparagement against the Hualapai people and start honoring his contract," Cieslak said.

But the concern that the tribe will sever Jin's contract through an eminent domain ordinance has only intensified now that no court is overseeing the dispute, Jin spokeswoman Aimee Romero said. She said Jin's attorneys plan to file a new action in federal court as early as today seeking arbitration.

The defendants "simply have not allowed any court to have the authority to order them to arbitrate," Romero said.

The Tribal Council unanimously approved the ordinance in April, but its members dispute that it was aimed at Jin. Cieslak said the tribe is reviewing all available remedies in the dispute. Tribal officials have said they would pay Jin fair market value for his investment should they enforce the ordinance.