Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation
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| Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation | |
| Term: 2025 | |
| Important Dates | |
| Argued: January 14, 2026 Decided: March 4, 2026 | |
| Outcome | |
| reversed and remanded | |
| Vote | |
| 9-0 | |
| Majority | |
| Chief Justice John Roberts • Clarence Thomas • Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor • Elena Kagan • Neil Gorsuch • Brett Kavanaugh • Amy Coney Barrett • Ketanji Brown Jackson | |
Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation is a case that was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on March 4, 2026, during the court's October 2025-2026 term. It was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on January 14, 2026. The case was consolidated with New Jersey Transit Corporation v. Colt for oral argument.
In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the decision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Court held that because the New Jersey Transit Corporation is not an arm of the New Jersey state government, it is not entitled to share in the state’s interstate sovereign immunity.[1]
The case came on a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. To review the lower court's opinion, click here.
Why it matters: This case addresses whether a state-created entity qualifies as an arm of the state for purposes of sovereign immunity when sued in another state’s courts. The Court’s decision will clarify how interstate sovereign immunity applies to public authorities and instrumentalities, shaping when states and state-affiliated entities may be subject to litigation outside their own courts.[3]
Background
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| •Key terms • Court cases •Major arguments • State responses to federal mandates •State oversight of federal grants • Federalism by the numbers • Index |
Case summary
The following are the parties to this case:[4]
- Petitioner: Cedric Galette
- Legal counsel: Michael B. Kimberly (Winston & Strawn LLP)
- Respondent: New Jersey Transit Corporation
- Legal counsel: Jeremy Michael Feigenbaum (Office of the New Jersey Attorney General), Brian J. Shoot (Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas Cannavo PC), Easha Anand (Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic), Jeffrey L. Fisher (Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation), Michael Louis Zuckerman (Office of the New Jersey Attorney General)
The following summary of the case was published by Oyez, a free law project from Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, Justia, and the Chicago-Kent College of Law:[5]
| “ | In August 2018, Cedric Galette was a passenger in a vehicle stopped on Market Street in Philadelphia when it was struck by a vehicle operated by the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit). Galette suffered physical injuries as a result of the collision and brought a negligence lawsuit in Pennsylvania state court against both the vehicle’s driver, Julie McCrey, and NJ Transit. NJ Transit responded by asserting that it was an arm of the State of New Jersey, and therefore immune from private suit in Pennsylvania under the doctrine of interstate sovereign immunity. The trial court denied NJ Transit’s motion to dismiss, and the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed, holding that NJ Transit is not an arm of New Jersey. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversed, holding that NJ Transit qualifies as an arm of the state and is therefore immune under the doctrine of interstate sovereign immunity.[6] |
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To learn more about this case, see the following:
Timeline
The following timeline details key events in this case:
- March 4, 2026: In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the decision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.[1]
- January 14, 2026: The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument.
- July 3, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
- March 19, 2025: Cedric Galette appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- March 12, 2025: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversed the judgment of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, dismissing Cedric Galette’s suit against New Jersey Transit.
Questions presented
The petitioner presented the following questions to the court:[2]
Questions presented:
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Oral argument
Audio
Audio of oral argument:[7]
Transcript
Transcript of oral argument:[8]
Outcome
In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the decision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Court held that because the New Jersey Transit Corporation is not an arm of the New Jersey state government, it is not entitled to share in the state’s interstate sovereign immunity.[1] Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the court.
Opinion
In the court's majority opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote:[1]
| “ |
States are generally entitled to immunity from being sued in another State’s courts without their consent. That sovereign immunity is personal to the State and thus extends only to arms of the State itself, not to legally independent entities that the State creates. This pair of cases arises out of two accidents, one in New York City and one in Philadelphia, in which New Jersey Transit buses struck and injured people. Both victims sued New Jersey Transit, a corporation created by the New Jersey Legislature, in their respective home courts in New York and Pennsylvania. The highest courts in those States diverged as to whether New Jersey Transit is an arm of New Jersey. The Court granted certiorari to resolve whether New Jersey Transit is an arm of New Jersey and thus entitled to the State’s sovereign immunity. It is not. Accordingly, the judgment of the New York Court of Appeals is affirmed and the judgment of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is reversed. [6] |
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| —Justice Sonia Sotomayor | ||
Text of the opinion
Read the full opinion here.
October term 2025-2026
The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 6, 2025. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions by mid-June.[9]
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- U.S. Supreme Court docket file - Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation (petitions, motions, briefs, opinions, and attorneys)
- SCOTUSblog case file for Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Supreme Court of the United States, "Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation," March 4, 2026
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "24-1021 GALETTE V. NEW JERSEY TRANSIT CORPORATION QP", July 3, 2025
- ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation"
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "No. 24-1021 Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation" accessed January 21, 2026
- ↑ Oyez, "Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation", accessed January 21, 2026
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Audio," argued January 14, 2026
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Transcript," argued January 14, 2026
- ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed January 24, 2022
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