Contractor on State Highway Project Not Entitled to Acquired Immunity from Suit

Abstract

Sovereign immunity shields public entities from lawsuits, except in those cases in which the public entity has waived its sovereign immunity, usually through statutory or constitutional provisions or where courts have held that sovereign immunity does not apply to a particular public entity because of its status or actions. This doctrine of sovereign immunity stems from the common-law notion that “the king can do no wrong” and operates to protect the public purse. Under certain circumstances, a contractor to a public entity may also share in the benefits of sovereign immunity through acquired immunity. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lopez v. Mendez recently addressed this issue of acquired immunity in the context of an accident occurring on a highway project.