Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc.

Congress must make its intent to abrogate sovereign immunity unmistakably clear in the language of the statute. Kimel v. Florida Bd. of Regents, 528 U. S. 62, 73.

Respondents, CPI, requested that Petitioners, the Board, release documents relating to its work on Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis. When the Board did not respond, CPI sued, claiming that they have a right to access public records under the Puerto Rican Constitution. The Board moved to dismiss on the grounds that it had sovereign immunity but the District Court denied its motion, finding that Congress abrogated the Board’s sovereign immunity under §2126 of PROMESA. The Court of Appeals affirmed and the Board appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The Court held that no provisions under PROMESA makes “unmistakably clear” that Congress’s intent is to abrogate sovereign immunity. The Court reasoned that the clear statement standard of abrogating sovereign immunity occurs in two types of situations, either when a statute states it is stripping sovereign immunity or where a statute creates a cause of action to do so. The Court further reasoned that since PROMESA does not provide for either of these situations, the Board’s sovereign immunity is not abrogated. Reversed and Remanded.