OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Dallas appeals court has upheld a $9.3 million verdict against the Choctaw Nation after finding the southern Oklahoma tribe liable for a charter bus crash that killed two passengers in North Texas.
The Oklahoman reports that the Court of Appeals for Texas’ 5th District unanimously dismissed the tribe’s appeal of a 2016 Dallas County ruling saying it was liable for the deaths of Alice Stanley and Paula Hahn.
The bus had been traveling to the tribe’s Durant, Oklahoma, casino in April 2013 when it crashed in Irving, Texas. The tribe alleged in its appeal that it shouldn’t be liable for the negligence of bus operators. The appeals court rejected that argument Tuesday.
Choctaw Nation associate general counsel Brad Mallett says the tribe is considering its options after the appeals court ruling.