Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. (Sovereign Immunity)

"The question presented is whether the statute categorically abrogates (legalspeak for eliminates) any sovereign immunity the board enjoys from legal claims. We hold it does not. Under long-settled law, Congress must use unmistakable language to abrogate sovereign immunity. Nothing in the statute creating the board meets that high bar." (First paragraph of Justice Kagan's majority opinion). 

The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) was enacted in 2016 to address Puerto Rico's financial crisis, established the Board as an entity within the territorial government of Puerto Rico. The Court held that nothing in PROMESA explicitly abrogates the Board's immunity, and Congress must clearly state if its intent to do so. 

The Court emphasized that PROMESA does not provide for suits against the Board or Puerto Rico, nor does it create a cause of action. Although certain provisions in PROMESA reference judicial review and declaratory relief, they do not indicate a general abrogation of the Board's immunity. The Court concluded that the statutory language and the Board's protections are consistent with the retention of sovereign immunity. 

Read by Jake A. Leahy. Feel free to shoot the podcast an email at scotusdecisions@gmail.com.

Support the show