Arguing that tribal leaders have the power to seek bankruptcy protection for their businesses on reservation land, attorneys for the Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino defended the company's request for chapter 11 against creditors who want the case thrown out, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Leaders of the San Diego-area casino, which is owned and run by the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, said that they agreed to put the casino in bankruptcy on July 2 as they strained to pay back more than $40 million owed to lenders and others who lent money for the gambling operation's construction in 2007. Casino attorney Ron Bender said in court papers that the casino deserves bankruptcy protection even though the pages of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code do not directly mention Indian tribes.
