U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether NJ Transit can be sued in other states

By Colleen Murphy | nj.com (TNS)

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases that could change how much legal protection state-run agencies, like New Jersey Transit, have when they operate outside their home states.

The cases involve personal injury lawsuits filed against New Jersey Transit Corporation for accidents that happened outside New Jersey.

The key question is whether New Jersey Transit Corporation, a public transportation agency created by the state, can use sovereign immunity to avoid being sued in other states’ courts.

Sovereign immunity is a legal rule that protects governments, and sometimes their agencies, from being sued without their consent.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order Thursday granting review in both cases, which will be combined into a single hearing on the reach of state sovereign immunity.

In Colt v. New Jersey Transit Corporation, New York’s highest court ruled that New Jersey Transit Corporation is not part of the state government in a way that gives it immunity, so it can be sued in New York.

New Jersey Transit Corporation asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that decision.

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In Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation, Pennsylvania’s highest court came to the opposite conclusion, ruling that New Jersey Transit Corporation is part of the state and therefore cannot be sued in Pennsylvania.

Cedric Galette, the person who brought the case, then asked the Supreme Court to review and reverse that ruling.

Colt and Galette were each involved in separate accidents with buses operated by New Jersey Transit Corporation.

In 2017, Colt was hit while crossing 40th Street in Manhattan and later sued the agency and the driver for negligence.

In 2018, Galette was a passenger in a car stopped on Market Street in Philadelphia when it was struck by a New Jersey Transit bus. He also filed suit, claiming both the agency and the car’s driver were responsible for his injuries.

The argument challenging New Jersey Transit Corporation’s immunity claims that the agency runs independently, controls its own money, and doesn’t rely on the state to pay its legal bills.

Based on these factors, they argue it shouldn’t be protected from lawsuits in other states.

“NJ Transit appreciates the United States Supreme Court granting certiorari, and agreeing to consider this important issue to NJ Transit and the State of New Jersey,” said Jim Smith, an agency spokesperson.

But the Pennsylvania court focused on the agency’s public role, its ties to the state government, and how it was set up by law—saying those factors show it should be treated as part of the state.

The Supreme Court’s decision could have a big impact on how state agencies are treated when they operate across state lines.

The case is likely to come before the court in the fall 2025 term.

“As a matter of founding era history and simple common sense, the New Jersey Transit Corporation is not an arm of the state of New Jersey,” Galette’s attorney, Michael Kimberly of Winston & Strawn said in a statement to NJ.com. “It’s a massive, multibillion-dollar corporation that operates thousands of buses and trains, competing in a private market with private companies for paying riders.”

“The founders never could have imagined that a company like this would be entitled to sovereign immunity simply because it is established by state law, and longstanding precedents make plain that it is not,” Kimberly said. “We’re confident the Supreme Court will agree.”

Colleen Murphy may be reached at [email protected].

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