Federal claims against state agencies are barred by sovereign immunity
In Royster v. New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently addressed the issue of“ sovereign immunity” in lawsuits against the state of New Jersey or state entities such as the New Jersey State Police. Sovereign immunity is a doctrine which provides that a state cannot be sued for federal claims unless it specifically“ waives” its immunity and agrees it may be sued. New Jersey has rarely waived its protection against federal claims. For example, the Court has previously held that claims against the state or state agencies under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. However, there is no sovereign immunity for federal claims against counties or municipalities.
In Royster, the scope of the state’ s protections against federal claims under the sovereign immunity doctrine were particularly startling. Royster was a State Police sergeant who had brought claims under the Federal Americans with Disability Act( ADA), as well as state law. Neither the state of New Jersey nor the State Police ever claimed that sovereign immunity barred the federal part of his lawsuit. The case went to trial and a jury awarded a substantial amount to Royster under the ADA.
The state appealed. It was not until that appeal – years after the case started – that the state claimed it had sovereign immunity from the federal statute, and that the case should never have proceeded. Despite the passage of several years, the failure of the State Police to raise the issue, and the fact that a jury had decided the case in favor of Sergeant Royster, the Court concluded that sovereign immunity is an absolute defense for the state and state agencies unless it specifically and unequiv-
12 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ FEBRUARY 2017