Pechanga disputes false accusations about service of City’s lawsuit

Pechanga Indian Reservation, CA, Oct. 19, 2010 - The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians today announced arrangements were made last week for service of the City of Temecula's lawsuit against the Tribe.

Tribal officials also responded to false claims that the Tribe deliberately avoided being served in the city's legal action. The suit alleges that the Tribe breached its compact with the State by not making a June 30th payment to the city under the provisions of an agreement with the city that the city admits was expressly conditioned on the existence of a similar agreement with the County of Riverside. No agreement between the Tribe and the county has yet been reached.

City officials accused the Tribe last week of stymieing the city’s process server. The allegation underscored the city’s fundamental failure to realize and respect that it is dealing with a federally recognized Indian tribe and not a business or a developer operating within the city’s borders.

“Pechanga is a federally recognized Indian tribe with historic rights and responsibilities that should be respected,” said Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro. “Since the City borders tribal land, one would hope that city officials would realize that serving notice to a federally recognized Tribe is not the same as serving any other address in the city. Last week’s accusation was just the latest example of the city’s fundamental ignorance for Pechanga as a government.”

The Tribe first heard of the failed attempt when a reporter contacted it last Wednesday, after which time the Tribe’s legal counsel immediately called the City Attorney to arrange for service.

“The decision to not pick up the telephone and make appropriate arrangements, along with the appearance of a political ploy, strongly implies that the city council has chosen to abandon the government-to-government relationship that the Tribe and the City has worked for years to develop,” Macarro said. “They chose to disregard the proper process. We learned of this perceived difficulty from a reporter, which confirms the view that this baseless suit is a political stunt.”

“Much like the timing of the lawsuit, the timing of this accusation is very peculiar,” concluded Macarro.