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New Jersey Transit Corporation, et al. v. Jeffrey Colt, et al.
Paid petition · Court of Appeals of New York, No. 72 · judgment November 25, 2024
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
States are entitled to sovereign immunity from private suits in other States' courts, including state-created entities that function as "arms of the State." Petitioner New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit), a state-created entity, was named as a defendant in a private suit in New York. The New York Court of Appeals relied primarily on the financial impact of a judgment against NJ Transit to hold that NJ Transit was not an arm of New Jersey-even as previous and subsequent state and federal courts held exactly the opposite. The questions presented are: (1) Whether a State's formal financial liability for a judgment against a state-created entity carries more weight in assessing whether that entity is an arm of the State than other factors, including the State's own characterization of that entity. (2) Whether NJ Transit is an arm of the State of New Jersey for interstate sovereign immunity purposes. THE PETITIONS FOR WRITS OF CERTIORARI ARE GRANTED, LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: WHETHER THE NEW JERSEY TRANSIT CORPORATION IS AN ARM OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY FOR INTERSTATE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY PURPOSES. CONSOLIDATED FOR ONE HOUR ORAL ARGUMENT WITH 24-1021. ORDER OF SEPTEMBER 19,2025: THE TRIAL SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 15, 2025, IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK COUNTY, IS THEREFORE STAYED PENDING THE ISSUANCE OF THE MANDATE OF THIS COURT IN NJ TRANSIT CORP., ET AL. V. COLT, JEFFREY, ET AL., CASE NO. 24- 1113, AND GALETTE, CEDRIC V. NJ TRANSIT CORP., CASE NO. 24-1021.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Jeremy Michael Feigenbaum
Office of the Attorney General of New Jersey
For respondent
Brian J. Shoot
Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas Cannavo PC
Argument & decision
Argued January 14, 2026 — Michael Zuckerman · Michael B. Kimberly. Audio and transcript
Decided March 4, 2026. Opinion by Sotomayor.
Proceedings
- Apr 06 2026Judgment and Mandate Issued.
- Mar 04 2026Judgment AFFIRMED and case REMANDED. Judgment in No. 24-1021 REVERSED and case REMANDED. Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. VIDED.
- Jan 14 2026Argued. Argued. For New Jersey Transit Corporation, et al.: Michael Zuckerman, Deputy Solicitor General, Trenton, N. J. For Galette and Colt, et al.: Michael B. Kimberly, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
- Dec 02 2025Record received electronically from the Court of Appeals of New York and available with the Clerk.
- Dec 01 2025CIRCULATED
- Nov 17 2025Record requested from the Court of Appeals of New York.
- Nov 12 2025SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. VIDED.
- Sep 19 2025Application (25A287) referred to the Court.
- Sep 19 2025Application (25A287) for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is granted. The Court has already granted certiorari on the sovereign immunity issue decided below, and the pending damages trial before the Supreme Court of the State of New York would be barred if New Jersey Transit Corporation were entitled to sovereign immunity from suit. Respondents, on the other hand, identify no tangible irreparable harm they would face if the trial were delated until after this Court decides the pending case. The trial scheduled for September 15, 2025, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, is therefore stayed pending the issuance of the mandate of this Court in NJ Transit Corp., et al. v. Colt, Jeffrey, et al., case No. 24-1113, and Galette, Cedric v. NJ Transit Corp., case No. 24-1021.
- Sep 12 2025Order entered by Justice Sotomayor: Upon consideration of the application of counsel for the applicants, it is ordered that the trial in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, Index No. 158309/2017, is hereby stayed pending further order of Justice Sotomayor or of the Court.
- Sep 12 2025Response to application from respondent Jeffrey Colt and Betsy Tsai filed.
- Sep 12 2025Reply of applicant New Jersey Transit Corporation, NJ Transit Bus Operations, Inc., and Ana Hernandez filed.
- Sep 11 2025Application (25A287) for a stay, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.
- Jul 03 2025Petition GRANTED and consolidated with No. 24-1021, limited to the following question: Whether the New Jersey Transit Corporation is an arm of the State of New Jersey for interstate sovereign immunity purposes. A total of one hour is allotted for oral argument.
- Jul 03 2025Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 24-1021. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 24-1021. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
- Jun 10 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/26/2025.
- Jun 10 2025Reply of petitioners New Jersey Transit Corporation, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- May 27 2025Brief of respondents Jeffrey Colt, et al. in opposition filed.
- Apr 24 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 28, 2025)
- Mar 21 2025Application (24A797) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until April 24, 2025.
- Mar 12 2025Application (24A797) to extend further the time from March 25, 2025 to April 24, 2025, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.
- Feb 21 2025Application (24A797) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until March 25, 2025.
- Feb 14 2025Application (24A797) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from February 23, 2025 to March 25, 2025, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.