Phiffer

MEMORANDUM **

The State appeals the district court’s denial of its motion for judgment on the pleadings based on Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity. The facts and prior proceedings are known to the parties, and are restated herein only as necessary.

The denial of a state’s motion for judgment on the pleadings on the grounds of Eleventh Amendment immunity is an interlocutory appeal and need not await final judgment. See Clark v. California, 123 F.3d 1267, 1269 (9th Cir.1997) (“This court has jurisdiction to hear an interlocutory appeal from an order denying a state’s motion to dismiss on the ground of immunity under the Eleventh Amendment.” (citing Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U.S. 139 , 113 S.Ct. 684 , 121 L.Ed.2d 605 (1993))). The Respondent contends, however, that we must look at each ease to determine whether the appeal involves a “serious and unsettled question of law.” We disagree. We have never required such a showing for an interlocutory appeal of Eleventh Amendment immunity, see, e.g., Thomas v. Nakatani 309 F.3d 1203, 1206-07 (9th Cir.2002), nor has the Supreme Court, see, e.g., Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy,…