Docket Number: 98-531
Appealed From: U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Subjects: Immunity of states; Congressional power; Eleventh Amendment; patent infringement; section 2 of the Patent and Plant Variety Protection Remedy Clarification Act, Pub. L. No. 102-560, 106 Stat. 4230 (1992), 32 U.S.C. 271(h), 296(a)

At Issue: Whether the state can be sued under the Patent and Plant Variety Protection Remedy Clarification Act, which amended patent laws to nullify the sovereign immunity of states.

Decision: The court ruled that act's overriding of states' sovereign immunity is invalid; it conflicts with Fourteenth Amendment due process guarantees. Florida did not consent to the lawsuit or waive its immunity.

• The full text of the Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank decision is available at the FindLaw Internet Legal Resources Web site.

Sources: The Washington Post, Supreme Court, The United States Law Week (a Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. publication)