David W. Roger W. United States District Court, E. Fronda Woods , Olympia, WA, on behalf of defendants. Fronda Woods argued on behalf of defendants. Jack Fiander argued on behalf of Wheeler Logging plaintiffs as well as the intervenor plaintiff , Yakama Indian Nation. Tim Weaver argued on behalf of the Cree plaintiffs.
For the reasons discussed more fully below, the court is denying the defendants ' motion for summary judgment based on collateral estoppel and defendants ' motion for summary judgment regarding treaty claims. The court is granting defendants ' summary judgment motion to dismiss the claims of individual plaintiff , Douglas Beebe , and the court is also dismissing any of plaintiffs ' claims which are based on tribal sovereignty.
Finally, the court is granting plaintiff 's summary judgment motion for a declaration regarding the Treaty right to travel under Article III of the Treaty with the Yakamas. Although it repeats the efforts of its prior orders, the court once again reviews the facts of these consolidated cases for the record. The plaintiffs in Cree operate logging trucks that haul logs from tribal timber sales on reservation lands to off-reservation markets.
The other named plaintiffs are employed as drivers for Tiin-Ma. Aside from Douglas Beebe , all of the plaintiffs are enrolled Yakama Indians. Defendants are officers authorized to issue traffic citations for violations of truck licensing and permitting statutes. Plaintiffs claim that the Treaty with the Yakamas protects their right to haul tribal timber to market over state highways without having to pay the contested licensing and permit fees. They allege that the officers, acting under color of state law, 3 have deprived plaintiffs of their rights under federal law, the Constitution , and the Treaty with the Yakamas.
They also claim that their transportation of logs was subject to federal pre-emption pursuant to the Indian Commerce Clause. Plaintiffs seek damages and attorney's fees under 42 U. They further seek injunctive relief preventing defendants or other similarly situated officers from interfering with plaintiffs ' treaty secured rights to use the public highways of the State of Washington for their logging enterprise without complying with Washington State use and excise 4 tax laws and regulations.
