Commonwealth v. Mattocks

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia held that sovereign immunity barred Department of Corrections employees’ overtime action because the suit was filed after the General Assembly repealed the statutory waiver of sovereign immunity. The court explained that sovereign immunity is a component of subject matter jurisdiction determined when litigation is filed, distinct from ordinary retroactivity analysis. It reversed the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond and entered final judgment for the Commonwealth.

Holdings

1. Because the statutory waiver of sovereign immunity had been repealed before the employees filed suit, sovereign immunity barred the action against the Commonwealth and the Department of Corrections.
2. The case presented a subject-matter-jurisdiction question rather than a retroactivity question; the court therefore looked to the law in effect when the suit was filed, not the law in effect when the alleged overtime work occurred.
3. Sovereign immunity is a distinct but conceptually related facet of subject matter jurisdiction and may be characterized as an affirmative defense; when it applies, the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.

Questions Presented

1. Whether sovereign immunity barred the employees' overtime action when the suit was filed after the statutory waiver of sovereign immunity had been repealed.
2. Whether the sovereign-immunity issue should be resolved under retroactivity principles based on when the alleged overtime work occurred or under the law governing subject matter jurisdiction at the time the action was filed.
3. Whether sovereign immunity is an aspect of subject matter jurisdiction despite also functioning as an affirmative defense.

Disposition

reversed