34
Opinion of the Court
commence court proceedings within the 1-year limit prescribed by New York and New Jersey. Third Circuit precedent concerning the Port Authority supported PATH's plea. In Port Authority Police Benevolent Assn., Inc. v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 819 F. 2d 413 (Port Authority PBA), cert. denied, 484 U. S. 953 (1987), the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the Port Authority is "an agency of the state and is thus entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity." 819 F. 2d, at 418. In reaching this decision, the Court of Appeals acknowledged that "[g]iven the solvency and size of the [Port Authority's] General Reserve Fund, it is unlikely that the Authority would have to go to the state to get payment for any liabilities issued against it." Id., at 416.3 But the Third Circuit considered "crystal clear" the intentions of New York and New Jersey: "[I]f the Authority is ever in need of financial support, the states will be there to provide it." Ibid.
In line with Port Authority PBA, the District Court held in the Hess and Walsh actions that PATH enjoys Eleventh Amendment immunity, and could be sued in federal court only within the 1-year time frame New York and New Jersey allowed. See Walsh, 813 F. Supp. 1095, 1096-1097 (NJ 1993); Hess, 809 F. Supp. 1172, 1178-1182 (NJ 1992). Accordingly, both actions were dismissed.
The District Court in Hess noted an anomaly: Had Hess sued in a New Jersey or New York state court the FELA's 3-year limitation period, not the States' 1-year prescription, would have applied. See id., at 1183-1185, and n. 16. This followed from our reaffirmation in Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Comm'n, 502 U. S. 197 (1991), that the entire federal scheme of railroad regulation—including all FELA terms—applies to all railroads, even those wholly
3 The court referred to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 42-44 (1985), which shows that the Authority's General Reserve Fund had a balance of over $271 million at the end of 1985.
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