676
Thomas, J., dissenting
tion to entertain the suit.' " Ibid. (quoting Sherwood, 312 U. S., at 586). Though the Rules Enabling Act provides that all previously enacted laws that are "in conflict with" the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure "shall be of no further force or effect," 28 U. S. C. § 2072(b), it also expressly provides that the Federal Rules "shall not abridge, enlarge or modify any substantive right," ibid. Allowing SAA claims in which process is not served forthwith to proceed against the United States infringes upon the Government's immunity and thereby alters a substantive right in direct contravention of the Rules Enabling Act. Moreover, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 82 makes clear that the Rules of Procedure "shall not be construed to extend or limit the jurisdiction of the United States district courts." Given the jurisdictional nature of a waiver of sovereign immunity, allowing this suit to proceed also violates Rule 82.
I do not mean to imply that ordinary procedural rules automatically become jurisdictional prerequisites in civil cases simply because the United States is a defendant; they do not. But Congress certainly has the power to impose a procedural requirement as a condition on a waiver of sovereign immunity and to require strict compliance with that condition as a prerequisite to invoking or maintaining the court's jurisdiction. The text and structure of the SAA demonstrate that Congress exercised this power when it enacted the SAA, and "nothing in the . . . rules of civil practice so far as they may be applicable in suits brought in district courts [against the Government] authorizes the maintenance of any suit against the United States to which it has not otherwise consented." Sherwood, supra, at 589.1
1 For instance, in United States v. Sherwood, 312 U. S. 584 (1941), we held that the possibility of joinder under the liberal joinder provisions of the Federal Rules does not authorize a district court to hear a claim brought against the Government for breach of contract by a party not specifically authorized to bring suit against the United States under the Tucker Act. Notwithstanding the possibility of joinder in a similar case
Page: Index Previous 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007