The Shinnecock Indian Nation has filed a lawsuit against the Town of Southampton and several of its officials, alleging unlawful and unconstitutional actions that threaten the Nation’s sovereignty. The lawsuit names Scott M. Horowitz, Edward J. Warner, Richard T. Maran Jr., Joseph McLoughlin, Matthew Parsons, and Ryan Murphy as defendants.
The case centers on the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s claim that its Westwoods property is restricted fee land under federal law and protected by the Nonintercourse Act. This status was affirmed by the U.S. Department of the Interior in January 2025. The Nation argues that despite this federal protection, Southampton officials have attempted to regulate activities on the land, including issuing a cease-and-desist letter related to parking arrangements for a planned music festival.
The Nation asserts that these actions violate federal law and infringe upon its rights to self-governance over its ancestral lands. It emphasizes that federal law preempts state and local regulations concerning recognized tribes and their restricted fee lands within Indian country. “Defendants’ attempts to regulate said activity violate the Indian Commerce Clause,” the complaint states.
The plaintiff seeks declaratory judgments affirming that the land is beyond the town’s regulatory authority and injunctions to prevent further interference by Southampton officials. The Nation also seeks compensation for legal costs incurred in the case.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Shawn J. Wallach of the Law Office of Shawn J. Wallach; John F. Byrnes of Byrnes, O’Hern & Heugle LLC; and Judith A. Shapiro and Thomas J. Nitschke of Dragonfly Law Group P.C. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under case number 2:25-cv-03842 and is presided over by Judge Nina J. Choudhury.