Also known as: 11th Amendment sovereign immunity · Eleventh Amendment immunity · 11th Amendment immunity · state sovereign immunity · 11th Amendment
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional principle that protects nonconsenting states from private suits seeking retrospective monetary relief in federal court. The principle extends to suits by a state's own citizens and to federal claims enacted under Article I powers. Valid abrogation requires congressional action under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Edith Eberhardt, a state employee, sues State A in its own courts for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The state has not consented to the action. The court dismisses the damages claim because sovereign immunity prevents Congress from subjecting nonconsenting states to private federal claims in state court.
Edgar Evers, a citizen of State B, files suit in federal district court against State B for breach of a software contract and seeks compensatory damages. The state has not consented. The court dismisses the action because the Eleventh Amendment bars damages suits by a state's own citizens in federal court.
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Enigma Technologies, operating under a federal Indian gaming statute, sues State C in federal court for unpaid compact revenues. The statute rests on the Indian Commerce Clause and purports to authorize the suit. The court dismisses the claim because Article I powers cannot abrogate state sovereign immunity.
Yes. The jurisdictional bar extends to damages actions brought by a state's own citizens against the state or its agencies in federal court absent consent or valid abrogation.
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No. Article I powers such as the commerce power or Indian commerce power do not authorize Congress to override Eleventh Amendment immunity. Abrogation is valid only when Congress acts under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Yes. When Congress acts under Article I, it cannot subject nonconsenting states to private damages actions in their own courts.
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