Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp. · ¶43

In contrast to formal legal liability, an entity's practical financial relationship with the State, such as its expectation that the State would cover its judgments if needed, has less relevance. Just as a State cannot lose its sovereign immunity by “requir[ing] a third party to reimburse it” (such as by buying insurance), Regents, 519 U. S., at 431, a State cannot imbue an entity with its immunity simply by agreeing to “pick up the tab” (such as by choosing to indemnify the entity), Lewis, 581 U. S., at 165. Similarly, a State's history of subsidizing an entity carries little weight. State governments routinely fund nonprofts, private corporations, and municipalities, but the receipt of those state funds does not mean that those entities become part of the State itself, even when the funding is a “significant amount,” Mt. Healthy, 429 U. S., at 280.

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