Between a Dock and a Hard Place: The D.C. Circuit Declares the Puerto Rico Ports Authority an Arm of the State Entitled to Sovereign Immunity in Puerto Rico Ports Authority v. Federal Maritime Commission.

The article discusses a court case wherein the plaintiff, a state agency, claims to be an arm of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for the purpose of invoking sovereign immunity. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia examines the rules concerning the evaluation whether a state agency is an arm of the state for the purpose of qualifying for sovereign immunity using the three-factor test. The court asserts that the agency is an arm of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.