Does Sovereign Immunity Apply to Breach of Contract Claims?
In old English times, under English laws, where our legal system derived from, you simply could not sue the king, or the sovereign, for anything. But in our system of democracy that changed, and we realized that our citizens should, in some situations, be able to sue the government for wrongdoing.
Sovereign Immunity
That’s called sovereign immunity. And while the word immunity might lead you to believe that you can never sue the government, you certainly can, in limited circumstances.
Sovereign immunity often comes into play in injury cases, where injured victims who feel they were injured because of the government’s negligence, have to show that they have the right to sue. But sovereign immunity also comes into play in breach of contract claims against the government, and the government does still maintain some immunity from lawsuits, in breach of contract actions.
Express Agreements Only
Sovereign immunity has been waived, meaning that a lawsuit is possible against the government, where the government breaches express contracts. By express, the law means written agreements.
That might lead you to ask, which kinds of contracts is the government immune from being sued.
You cannot sue the government for contracts that are implied or suggested, or which might be inferred by actions or promises or for causes of action outside a contract–all things you could otherwise sue for, if the other side were a private party and not the government.
Other things that you cannot sue the government for, but which you otherwise could if the other side were a private party include:
- Tortious interference with contract
- Enforcing oral promises
- Tortious interference with business relationships
- Fraud in the inducement
- Unjust Enrichment claims
However, so long as the government enters into an express written contract that it is legally authorized to enter into, and the contract has been approved by the correct governmental channels, the government will be treated as a private party, and thus can be sued for breach of contract.
Express or Implied?
Disputes can arise as to whether promises made in a contract are explicitly there, or whether they are just suggested, and thus, barred by sovereign immunity.
As an example, in a recent case, University of Florida was sued by a student for tuition reimbursements that it refused to provide after the COVID shutdowns. While state law said that universities had to use student fees in a certain way, there was no express contract saying that between the state university and the student. Thus the University argued, it was protected by sovereign immunity.
But the Florida Supreme Court said that the University could, in fact, be sued, because by state law, the legislature made it clear that it intended to be bound to its students contractually. The implication, though not specifically stated in the documents signed between the student and the school, was that the University had to apply student tuition in the legally mandated way, and thus, this was express enough to overcome sovereign immunity, allowing the student to sue.
Breach of contract claim against a government entity? Let us help. Call our West Palm Beach commercial litigation attorneys at Pike & Lustig for help.
Sources:
caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/117483529.html
flsenate.gov/UserContent/Committees/Publications/InterimWorkProgram/2003/pdf/2003-131go.pdf
