Judge rules against Grand Canyon Skywalk developer

A Las Vegas developer must keep fighting in tribal court as he tries to retain his contractual rights to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a federal judge ruled Monday. David Jin invested $30 million to build the glass bridge on the Hualapai reservation in northwestern Arizona and signed a revenue-sharing and management contract with the tribe in 2003. But the two sides have been locked in a dispute for the past year that led the tribe to cut Jin out of the contract and Jin to pursue legal remedies to what he claims are violations of his constitutional rights. Attorneys for Jin recently argued that the tribe acted in bad faith in asserting tribal court jurisdiction, but U.S. District Judge David Campbell disagreed Monday. He said Jin must first exhaust remedies in tribal court in Peach Springs and issued a stay in the federal case. Jin's attorneys said they will challenge the ruling but have not yet decided on a venue. "This is unprecedented in that we're aware of no case where a tribe has taken the contractual rights of a non-(American) Indian in this kind of fashion," said attorney Mark Tratos.

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