holding that "sue and be sued” provisions of agencies should be liberally construed and that " 'authorization of suits against federal entities engaged in commercial activities may waive sovereign immunity from awards of interest as an incident of suit’ ”
How later courts described this case
- holding that "sue and be sued” provisions of agencies should be liberally construed and that " 'authorization of suits against federal entities engaged in commercial activities may waive sovereign immunity from awards of interest as an incident of suit’ ”
- stating that the general impetus behind the Postal Reorganization Act was Congress’ desire that the “Postal Service ‘be run more like a business than had its predecessor, the Post Office Department’ ” (citation omitted)
- explaining that when Congress creates an agency as a “sue and be sued” entity, Congress thereby waives sovereign immunity from the normal incidents of suit, such as interest on a damages award
- recognizing that the United States is immune from suit, and that the courts lack jurisdiction to entertain any action against it unless it expressly waives its sovereign immunity
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
*566 Justice White,
with whom The Chief Justice and Justice O’Connor join, dissenting.
Essentially for the reasons stated by the en banc Court of Appeals below, I believe that prejudgment interest is not available in Title VII suits against the Postal Service. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.