A Connecticut Supreme Court decision could enable the town of Ledyard to recover the millions of dollars in attorney’s fees it incurred while waging a years-long legal battle to collect personal property taxes on slot machines the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe leased for Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Officially released Wednesday, the unanimous decision reverses a state Appellate Court decision that had reversed an earlier Superior Court decision. Filed in 2008, the case stemmed from Ledyard’s claim that WMS Gaming Inc., a Chicago-based company, owed $18,251 in unpaid taxes on slot machines the company owned.
In 2006, the Mashantucket Pequots, who claimed the town had no authority to tax slot machines the tribe leased from another company and operated on sovereign land, filed a federal suit against the town. The tribe filed a second federal suit after the town sued WMS Gaming in state court.