Nevada v. Hall
United States Supreme Court
440 U.S. 410 (1979)
California residents (plaintiffs, including Hall) were severely injured when their car collided with one driven by a Nevada university employee on official business, who died in the crash; they sued the State of Nevada (defendant) in California state court. Nevada argued its own statutory waiver of sovereign immunity capped damages at $25,000 and that California courts must honor that cap; California had no comparable cap, and the jury awarded $1,150,000. The California courts rejected Nevada's argument, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted review.
Whether the Full Faith and Credit Clause compels one state's courts to apply a damages cap contained in another state's own statutory waiver of sovereign immunity.