Lane v. Peña
E494925
Lane v. Peña is a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision that clarified the strict standards for waiving federal sovereign immunity, holding that monetary damages against the United States must be expressly authorized by Congress.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Lane v. Peña canonical | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
legal case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
United States federal courts
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
administrative law ⓘ disability discrimination law ⓘ |
| citation |
116 S. Ct. 2092
ⓘ
135 L. Ed. 2d 486 ⓘ 518 U.S. 187 ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1996-06-20 ⓘ |
| dissentingJustices |
David H. Souter
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
John Paul Stevens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| docketNumber | 95-365 ⓘ |
| effect |
Limited the availability of monetary damages against the United States under the Rehabilitation Act.
ⓘ
Reaffirmed the requirement of an unequivocal textual waiver for federal sovereign immunity. ⓘ |
| holding |
Section 504(a) of the Rehabilitation Act does not contain an unequivocal waiver of the Federal Government’s immunity from monetary damages.
ⓘ
The limited waiver of sovereign immunity in Section 505(a)(2) of the Rehabilitation Act applies only to federal funding recipients, not to the Federal Government as a funding provider. ⓘ Waivers of the Federal Government’s sovereign immunity to monetary damages must be unequivocally expressed by Congress. ⓘ |
| issue | Whether the Rehabilitation Act authorizes monetary damages against the Federal Government for violations of Section 504. ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal question jurisdiction ⓘ |
| languageOfDecision | English ⓘ |
| legalSubject |
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
federal government liability ⓘ sovereign immunity ⓘ statutory interpretation ⓘ |
| locationOfCourt | Washington, D.C. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorityJustices |
Anthony M. Kennedy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Antonin Scalia NERFINISHED ⓘ Clarence Thomas NERFINISHED ⓘ Ruth Bader Ginsburg NERFINISHED ⓘ Sandra Day O’Connor NERFINISHED ⓘ Stephen G. Breyer NERFINISHED ⓘ William H. Rehnquist NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Justice Sandra Day O’Connor NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| petitioner | Lane NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedentStatus | binding on all lower federal courts in the United States ⓘ |
| principle |
Any ambiguity in the scope of a waiver of sovereign immunity must be construed in favor of the sovereign.
ⓘ
Congress must speak with a clear voice when it intends to subject the United States to monetary liability. ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
sovereign immunity of the United States
ⓘ
waiver of sovereign immunity ⓘ |
| respondent |
Federico F. Peña, Secretary of Transportation
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Peña NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| statuteInterpreted |
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 §504
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 §505(a)(2) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| term | October Term 1995 ⓘ |
| vote | 7-2 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.