Also known as:interstate sovereign immunities · Eleventh Amendment immunity
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional doctrine under which one state enjoys immunity from private damages actions brought against it in the courts of another state absent consent. The immunity arises from the constitutional structure preserving state sovereign dignity and equality among the states.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Tax Auditors Haled Into Nevada Court
SilverStack, a Nevada software startup, sued the Revenue Department of neighboring State X in Nevada state court. SilverStack alleged that State X's tax auditors wrongfully accessed its Nevada-based cloud servers and assessed crippling back taxes. State X specially appeared and moved to dismiss, arguing sovereign immunity from private damages suits in Nevada courts. The Nevada court granted the motion because a state is immune from private damages suits in another state's courts without consent.
Nevada Official Sued In California
A Nevada state official drove into California on official business and injured a California resident. The injured resident sued Nevada in California court seeking damages. Nevada defended on the grounds of sovereign immunity, which under Nevada law limited damages against the state. The California court dismissed the action because interstate sovereign immunity bars the suit absent consent.
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Cases
Study Supplements
A Nevada resident sued the Franchise Tax Board of California in Nevada state court for alleged improper tax assessments. California appeared specially and asserted sovereign immunity from suit in another state's courts. The Nevada court granted dismissal because a state cannot be sued for damages in another state's courts without consent.
Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt139 S. Ct. 1485 (2019)
Maine Employee Sued State In Maine Court
A Maine probation officer sued the State of Maine in Maine state court for overtime pay under a federal statute enacted pursuant to Article I. Maine moved to dismiss asserting sovereign immunity. The state court dismissed the action because state sovereign immunity bars private suits against nonconsenting states in their own courts on federal claims when Congress acts under Article I.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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Does interstate sovereign immunity protect a state from suit only in federal court or also in sister-state courts?+
Interstate sovereign immunity protects a state from private damages suits in the courts of sister states as well as in federal court. The constitutional structure preserves each state's sovereign dignity vis-à-vis other states, so one state's courts may not entertain a private damages action against another state without consent.
Can Congress abrogate interstate sovereign immunity using its Article I powers?+
Congress cannot abrogate state sovereign immunity using its Article I powers such as the commerce power. Valid abrogation of Eleventh Amendment immunity must rest on the Fourteenth Amendment's enforcement power, not on Article I.
Does naming a state commission instead of the state itself defeat interstate sovereign immunity?+
Naming a state commission or agency does not defeat interstate sovereign immunity when the entity functions as an arm of the state. A water resources commission exercising governmental authority over shared waterways shares the state's immunity from private suits in other states' courts.
Does purposeful conduct with effects in the forum state overcome interstate sovereign immunity?+
Purposeful conduct with effects in the forum state does not overcome interstate sovereign immunity. The immunity is a structural limitation that operates even when ordinary jurisdictional requirements are satisfied, so a state does not lose its immunity simply because its officers engaged in intentional conduct with effects in the forum state.
440 U.S. 410 (1979)Constitutional Law
…394 U. S., at 630. I have no difficulty in accepting the same argument for the existence of a constitutional doctrine of interstate sovereign immunity. The Court's acknowledgment, referred to above, that the Framers must have assumed that States were immune from suit in the courts of their sister States lends substantial support. The only…