Tribe mulling reaction to Skywalk ruling

Leaders of an Arizona Indian tribe say they are reviewing a judge's ruling favoring a developer who built the Skywalk tourist attraction over the Grand Canyon. U.S. District Judge David Campbell said the Hualapai tribe owes $28.6 million for breaching a contract with David Jin, The Arizona Republic in Phoenix reported Tuesday. Tribal Chairwoman Sherry Counts said in a letter to tribal members last week that the tribe was considering "an array of possibilities to bring this painful and unavoidable matter to a resolution." The tribe signed a contract with Jin in 2003 in which the developer agreed to build the project on Indian land for $30 million in return for half the revenue. Tribal leaders later charged that Jin had not completed the project and stopped making payments to Jin after the first year. Jin said the visitor center at the attraction was not completed because the tribe failed to bring in power, water and sewage treatment as required under the contract. While the dispute was in arbitration last year, the tribe seized Skywalk through eminent domain. In his ruling, Campbell called the tribe's legal arguments "nonsensical" and "wholly unconvincing." Tribal leaders have not said if they will appeal Campbell's decision.