The Georgia Supreme Court has hit the brakes on sovereign immunity waivers, saying the claims are defective in cases with multiple defendants in a recent ruling in a case over a prosecutors’ threat against makers of cannabinoids.

In an opinion by Justice Charlie Bethel released on Wednesday, the court came to a unanimous consensus that sovereign immunity waivers only apply to lawsuits brought exclusively against a single state entity. Because the underlying lawsuit in the case named a defendant for whom a sovereign immunity waiver wasn’t provided, the Constitution requires the suit to be dismissed. 

Justice Charles Bethel, Supreme Court of Georgia. John Disney/ALM. Justice Charles Bethel, Supreme Court of Georgia. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

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