The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation cleared a preliminary legal hurdle in its $610 million lawsuit against Connecticut after a judge ruled an ongoing leadership dispute isn't grounds to dismiss the case.

In his ruling Tuesday, Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher cited the 1986 case Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities v. Worrell, which found an organization or association has standing on behalf of members if it meets three tests.

Moukawsher found the nation met all three elements: The nation's members would otherwise have standing to sue on their own, the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purpose, and neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires participation of individual members.