Attorneys for the Wampanoag tribe have asked U.S. Court of Appeals to re-hear their appeal in the legal dispute with the town of Aquinnah over whether building permits are needed for the tribe’s planned bingo hall.

Late last month a two-judge panel of the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that requires the tribe to obtain building permits before construction can begin on the planned bingo hall off State and Black Brook roads.

The ruling was made largely on technical grounds, because attorneys did not specifically raise the building permit issue in their original appeal of the case from the U.S. District Court. It was a second appeal by the tribe in a case that has seen numerous legal twists and turns over the past three years.

On Thursday this week, attorneys for the tribe filed a petition with the appeals court that seeks a new hearing “en banc,” a legal process where all the justices in the circuit can reconsider a case that has been previously ruled on by a smaller panel.

“The tribe is disappointed in the panel decision and disagrees with much of the analysis,” attorneys wrote in part in the 15-page petition.

An en banc (French for “on the bench”) hearing is ordinarily only used when a case is considered of “exceptional importance,” according to court rules.

Under the rules, the town cannot file a response to the petition unless ordered to do so by the court.

If the petition is unsuccessful, the tribe could petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

In the interim, all construction remains halted on the previously cleared bingo hall site. After the appeals court ruling two weeks ago, the Aquinnah selectmen voted to send a letter to the tribe asking for a meeting between the town and tribal leaders.

In their petition attorneys for the tribe said if the appeals court ruling is allowed to stand, it will give the town “a clear road map to impede, render financially unattainable or even fully collapse the tribe’s efforts to exercise its right by imposing restrictions or conditions that render any gaming project unviable.”

There is no set timetable for the court to decide on the petition.