Company Response
12/9/2021
This responds to the above-referenced complaint. This inquiry related to a loan from Opichi, LLC dba Evergreen Services ("the "Company"), which is owned by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians ("Tribe"). The company takes these types of inquiries very seriously and would like to provide you with the below information. Nothing in this communication should be construed as a waiver of the Tribe's or the Company's sovereign immunity, all of which are expressly preserved.
The Company is a wholly-owned and operated subsidiary of LDF Holdings, LLC ("LDF Holdings"). LDF Holdings is wholly-owned and operated subsidiary of the L.D.F. Business Development Corporation, which is a wholly-owned and operated economic arm and instrumentality of the Tribe. The Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe, organized under a Constitution pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U.S.C 476, et seq., as amended, and is identified on the United States Department of Interior's list of federally acknowledged Indian Tribes. 83 FR 34863-01 (July 23, 2018). The Company is an arm of the Tribe. As an arm of the Tribe, the Company possesses all of the privileges and immunities of the Tribe. The Tribe and the Company are entitled to tribal sovereign immunity and they are not subject to state law. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Lake of the Torches Econ. Dev. Corp., 677 F. Supp. 2d 1056, 1061 (W.D. Wis. 2010) (holding that entities acting as arms of a tribe are entitled to tribal sovereign immunity).
The Company issues loans in accordance with the Tribe's Tribal Consumer Financial Services Regulatory Code and it is licensed under Tribal law. The customer's loan agreement provided that it would be governed by the laws of the Tribe, without regard to the laws of any state. The interest and fees applicable to the loan are permitted by Tribal law. They were accurately and clearly reflected in the loan agreement that the customer signed before receiving the loan. The customer also received a TILA disclosure that outlined the amount and date of each payment required under the loan agreement. Due to its immunity, the loan is not subject to state law and the Company is not required to be licensed with any state. The customer's loan is legal.
As a courtesy to Ms. Kuzma, the Company has settled with the customer for a total of $400.00 and dispersed it into 6 payments, which the customer agreed to.
The customer can call the Company at 1-866-328-2556 if there are further questions or concerns.
If you would like to discuss these issues further on a government-to-government basis, please direct any communications through the Company's legal counsel: Shilee Mullin at Spencer Fane LLP, 13520 California Street, Suite 290, Omaha, NE 68154, 402-965-8600, smullin@spencerfane.com. But, again, please be advised that nothing in the communication should be construed as a waiver of the Tribe's or the Company's sovereign immunity, all of which are expressly preserved.
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