FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

§ 15.500 TITLE

This Ordinance is adopted to govern tribal eviction actions within the territory of the Mendocino California Tribal Nations. This Ordinance shall be known as the “Mendocino Eviction and Removal of Persons or Property Ordinance.”

§ 15.501 AUTHORITY

Pursuant to the inherent sovereign authority of the Mendocino California Tribal Nations, as recognized in Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 (1832), and as codified in the Mendocino California Tribal Nations Constitution (adopted May 2020, fully revised March 26, 2026), specifically Article 1 (Territory and Jurisdiction), Article 3 (Tribal Justice Principles), Article 6 (Structure of Government), and Article 9 (The Judicial Branch), the Tribal Council hereby enacts and adopts the following Ordinance for the establishment of a process and procedures to govern eviction and removal of persons and entities, business or otherwise, from lands within the boundaries of the Mendocino Indian Reservation.

§ 15.502 PURPOSE AND INTENT

The purpose and intent of this Ordinance is:

(a) To protect the order on the Mendocino Indian Reservation and safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare of all Tribal citizens and their families, as mandated by the Preamble of the Constitution.

(b) To establish uniform rules for the eviction and removal of persons and/or property located within the boundaries of the Mendocino Indian Reservation, consistent with the Tribal Justice Principles outlined in Article 3 of the Constitution.

§ 15.503 DEFINITIONS

(a) “Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, entity, or organization on the Mendocino Indian Reservation, including both Tribal citizens and non-citizens.

(b) “Possession” shall mean ownership, occupation, use, lease, rental, or control of lands within the boundaries of the Reservation.

(c) “Reservation” shall mean all lands within the exterior boundaries of the Mendocino Indian Reservation, including unassigned tribal land, assignments, allotments, fee lands, and any other lands held in trust, acquired, or claimed by the Mendocino California Tribal Nations pursuant to Article 1, § 1-1 and Article 14 of the Constitution.

(d) “Tribal Court” shall mean the Tribal Court system established under Article 9 of the Mendocino California Tribal Nations Constitution, including the Trial Courts of general jurisdiction.

(e) “Tribe” shall mean the Mendocino California Tribal Nations, a sovereign political entity exercising inherent sovereignty predating the United States, as defined in Article 1, § 1-3 of the Constitution.

(f) “Head Chief” shall mean the hereditary Sovereign, Head of State, and Head of Government of the Mendocino California Tribal Nations, as defined in Article 8, § 8-1 of the Constitution.

(g) “Tribal Council” shall mean the Legislative Assembly established by the Constitution, as defined in Article 23, § 23-1(b), which exercises the legislative power of the Tribe.

§ 15.504 GROUNDS FOR EVICTION AND SANCTIONS UNDER THIS ORDINANCE

Eviction and/or sanctions may be imposed on persons in possession of lands within the Reservation for one or more of the following causes:

(1) Violating tribal laws, ordinances, or constitutional provisions;

(2) Establishing or maintaining an unauthorized housing unit or units, inclusive of mobile homes, trailers, wood frame, any move-on residential structure, or substandard rental structure as defined by tribal codes, applicable federal housing standards, or the public health and safety provisions of Article 5 of the Constitution;

(3) Creating conditions which pose a threat to the public health, safety, and welfare, or which violate the environmental protections established under Article 14, § 14-5 of the Constitution;

(4) Being convicted of one or more felonies in federal, state, or tribal court; and/or

(5) Being formally excluded from the Mendocino Indian Reservation by the Head Chief or Tribal Council pursuant to the Tribe’s inherent sovereign authority.

§ 15.505 SANCTIONS

Any person found to have violated the provisions of Section 15.504 may be evicted and/or assessed a civil penalty of up to $5,000.00. In addition, that person may be assessed damages for trespass and may be required to pay the Tribe’s attorneys’ fees and costs, in addition to any other remedies the Tribe may have under the Constitution or tribal law.

§ 15.506 NOTICE OF EVICTION

(a) The Tribe, through its authorized representative (which may include the Executive Department for Public Safety or the Office of the Prosecutor General established under Article 11 of the Constitution), shall provide written Notice of Eviction to the person, entity, or business being evicted from lands within the Reservation. The Notice given shall be entitled “NOTICE OF EVICTION” and contain:

(1) Grounds for the eviction;

(2) A description of the property including the address if known;

(3) The person is to vacate and remove all personal property from the property within thirty (30) calendar days after the date the Notice is served; provided, however, that in cases of immediate danger to persons or property, the notice period may be shortened to three (3) days;

(4) A statement that should the person fail to vacate the property in the proscribed time period, a Complaint for Eviction shall be filed with the Tribal Court;

(5) A statement that any personal property remaining on the property after the date specified in the Eviction Notice shall, at the owner’s and/or landlord’s expense, be removed, stored, and if not claimed within thirty (30) days, will be forfeited pursuant to § 15.509.

§ 15.507 COMPLAINT FOR EVICTION

(a) Complaint for Eviction. If, after the date set forth in the Notice to vacate has expired and the person named in the Notice is still in possession of the property, the Tribe may file an original and two (2) copies of a Complaint for Eviction and one Summons with the Tribal Court. The Complaint for Eviction shall state:

(1) The names of the person(s) being evicted including all occupants whose names may be unknown to the Tribe;

(2) The address or reasonable description of the property;

(3) The grounds for eviction;

(4) A statement that the Notice of Eviction was properly served and that the Proof of Service is attached; and

(5) A request for an Order of Eviction, sanctions, fees, costs, or other special relief.

After filing the Summons and Complaint for Eviction with the Tribal Court, the Court Clerk shall stamp date the original and all copies, sign the Summons, and return the Summons and the stamp-dated copies of the Complaint for Eviction to the Tribe.

(b) Service of Summons and Complaint. The Summons and the Complaint for Eviction shall be served on the person being evicted (herein “Defendant”) no more than fifteen (15) days from the filing of the Complaint. Service shall be made in the manner provided for in Section 15.506. After the Complaint and Summons have been served on the Defendant, the Tribe shall file a Proof of Service with the Tribal Court.

§ 15.508 HEARING PROCEDURES

(a) Failure to Answer. The Defendant has five (5) days to file an Answer with the Court. If the Defendant fails to file a timely Answer, the Tribe shall file a request with the Court for an Order to Vacate and other relief as prayed for in the Complaint for Eviction. The Court shall review the Tribe’s pleadings and supporting documents and make its finding in writing no less than five (5) days from the filing of the request for an Order to Vacate. If the Order to Vacate is issued, it shall inform the Defendant that he or she and all other occupants must vacate the property within 24 hours from being served the Order to Vacate and that if the Defendant remains on the property after the 24 hours, he or she and all other occupants will be physically removed from the property by the appropriate law enforcement department (such as the Tribal Defense Force or Tribal Police, consistent with Article 17 of the Constitution). The Tribe shall serve the Order on the Defendant as provided under Section 15.506.

(b) Hearing Procedure. Should the Defendant file a timely Answer with the Court, the matter will be set for hearing no less than twenty (20) days from the filing date of the Answer. The Court shall issue a Notice of Hearing setting forth the time, date, and location of the hearing. All parties may be represented at the hearing by legal counsel at their own expense. The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to the Mendocino Tribal Court Rules of Procedure, consistent with the Tribal Justice Principles established in Article 3 of the Constitution.

At the conclusion of the evidence and testimony, each party will be permitted to make a closing statement. The Court shall render its decision at the close of the hearing or take the matter under submission for no more than three (3) days. All decisions of the Court will be in writing and served on the parties. Should the Court find in favor of the Tribe, the Court shall issue with its written decision all necessary orders to effectuate the Court’s decision (Order to Vacate, or other necessary Orders).

§ 15.509 FORFEITURE

If personal property is obtained by the Tribe through the eviction process, the Tribe shall have the right to store, at the owner’s and/or landlord’s expense, said property, on or off the Reservation. If the stored property is unclaimed at the end of thirty (30) days from the date of storage, it shall be deemed abandoned and the Tribe may retain it for its own use, may sell it, or dispose of it. Any stored property costs shall be at the property owner’s and/or landlord’s expense. Non-movable property may be dismantled and destroyed at the owner’s and/or landlord’s expense.

§ 15.510 SEVERABILITY

If any provisions of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by the Constitutional Court (as established under Article 10 of the Constitution) or any other court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of the Ordinance.

§ 15.511 EFFECTIVE DATE

This Ordinance shall take effect when adopted by a majority vote of the Tribal Council and ratified by the Head Chief, and shall rescind, supersede, and replace in its entirety any previously adopted tribal ordinance governing this subject matter.

§ 15.512 WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY

Nothing in this Ordinance is intended to, nor should it be construed as, a waiver of the protections of tribal sovereign immunity, as preserved under Article 18 of the Mendocino California Tribal Nations Constitution, in all suits in any court. The Tribe’s sovereign immunity may only be waived by express, explicit action of the Tribal Council as required by Article 18, § 18-2 of the Constitution.