In Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority, the Supreme Court held that sovereign immunity does not necessarily shield TVA’s “discretionary functions” from liability. Justice Kagan’s unanimous opinion reversed the Eleventh Circuit, which had sided with longstanding Sixth Circuit precedent treating many TVA functions as immune from suit. Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority, a government-owned corporation, … Continue Reading
This week brought two decisions from the Supreme Court on cases from the Sixth Circuit. In Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, the Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit’s decision that Michigan could not bring a lawsuit against an Indian-owned casino based on tribal sovereign immunity even though the casino was not located on the … Continue Reading
In a case arising against the backdrop of the emergence of the Chavez regime in Venezuela, the Sixth Circuit panel reviewing an appeal by the Republic of Venezuela split 2 to 1 in favor of finding that Venezuela was not immune from the district court’s jurisdiction to consider a lawsuit by a private U.S. party … Continue Reading
