Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority v. Jeffrey Good, et al.

Under Missouri law, the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA) is a “public instrumentality of the State” serving the “essential public function” of expanding access to higher education for Missouri residents. MOHELA does so by financing, purchasing, and servicing student loans and using its revenues to fund scholarships, grants, and capital projects at Missouri colleges and universities. MOHELA is governed by a board comprising state officials and individuals appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Missouri Senate, all of whom the Governor may remove for cause; must comply with state laws “respecting the conduct of public business by a public agency”; and must submit financial reports to the State’s higher education agency. The decision below nevertheless held that MOHELA is not an arm of Missouri immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment because the State is not liable for MOHELA’s judgments and has given MOHELA “a fair degree of operational autonomy” through attributes incident to MOHELA’s status as a public corporation. The questions presented are:

1. Whether a state treasury’s liability for an entity’s judgments is the most important factor in determining whether that entity is an arm of the state.

2. Whether incidents of corporate status, such as the capacity to sue and be sued, own property, and contract, are relevant to determining whether a public corporation established by a State for a state-wide public purpose and governed by a Board comprising state officials and individuals appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature is an arm of the state. (i)