Company that wants to build a casino in New Bedford gets another shot at convincing court to block Indian casino

A federal appeals court yesterday reinstated a developer's lawsuit over a state law giving preference to Indian tribes for a casino in the southeastern part of the state.

Although the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit rejected KG Urban Enterprises' request for a preliminary injunction against the state gambling law, it said the company had raised valid questions about the constitutionality of a law giving preference to Indian tribes in the region, and sent the case back to a lower court, which had dismissed the suit.

At issue, under federal law, is whether the two tribes in question - the Mashpee and the Aquinnah - are even eligible for a casino, since neither currently has tribal land on which to place a casino. Current tribe efforts to buy land for tribal use could take years and might take an act of Congress to make them suitable for casino use, in part because neither tribe was "federally recognized" in 1934, when the current law relating to native Americans was passed. Also needing further judicial review: Whether the preferential treatment is racial discrimination against non-Indians or whether it's allowed under federal laws recognizing the unique status of native Americans and their tribes in the U.S.

• Complete ruling, KG Urban Enterprises, Inc. vs. Deval Patrick and Chairman and the Commissioners, Massachusetts Gaming Commission