College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid

College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Post-secondary Education Expense Board (1999) is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with the ability of Congress to exact waivers of sovereign immunity. The Eleventh Amendment confirms that the states retain sovereign immunity from being sued by citizens. However, this immunity is not absolute. For instance, Congress, in exercising its powers to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment, may abrogate the states' immunity. In College Savings, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether public institutions could be liable for claims arising under the Trademark Act of 1946 (the Lanham Act) alleging false and misleading advertising. The Supreme Court overruled a prior landmark case in unequivocally clarifying that there are no constructive waivers of sovereign immunity. Put another way, ...