In Board of Regents of the University of Texas System v. Boston Scientific Corporation, No. 2018-1700 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 5, 2019), the Federal Circuit found it had jurisdiction to resolve University of Texas's (UT) appeal from a district court's venue transfer order, and held that state sovereignty did not grant UT the right to sue in an improper venue. After the district court granted the defendant's venue transfer motion, UT, acting as an arm of the State of Texas, appealed from the transfer order based on state sovereignty. The Federal Circuit concluded it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal under the collateral order doctrine. On the merits, the Court held state sovereignty applies only to suits "against" a state, and that it could not apply to UT here because UT was the plaintiff who subjected itself to federal rules by suing in a federal court. Further discussion of the decision can be found on Finnegan's Federal Circuit IP Blog.
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