In Boisclair v. Superior Court (1990) 51 Cal.3d 1140, the Supreme Court emphasized that sovereign immunity only applies to tribal officials when they act in their official capacity and within the scope of their official authority. (Boisclair, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 1157.) There, the plaintiff sued tribal officials for blocking the only road providing access to a granite mine the plaintiff operated on property adjacent to the tribe's reservation. The trial court denied the tribal officials' motion to dismiss the action based on sovereign immunity. (Id. at pp. 1145-1146.) The Boisclair court denied the officials' petition for writ of mandate because the record lacked evidence showing whether the officials' alleged actions in blocking the road fell within the scope of their authority. The Supreme Court explained any tribal official action to block the plaintiff's access that occurred where the road crossed tribal property would come within the scope of the officials' authority because the tribal officials had the power to control the boundaries to tribal property and to exclude those seeking access. But any tribal official action to block the plaintiff's access to the road outside of tribal property would exceed the officials' authority and therefore sovereign immunity would not protect the tribal officials because they lacked the authority to deny access to nontribal property. (Id. at pp. 1157-1158.) The Boisclair court remanded the matter for the trial court to determine the precise nature of the officials' actions. (Id. at pp. 1158-1159.)