1. The vast majority of cases under the Bankruptcy Code are commenced voluntarily by the debtor. However, Section 303 of the Bankruptcy Code alternatively allows one or more non-debtor parties to commence an involuntary case against a putative debtor. Sections 303(b) and 303(h) of the Code set forth certain threshold requirements that must be met for a non-debtor party to successfully initiate an involuntary bankruptcy case. If these requirements are not met, then no bankruptcy case is initiated and the involuntary petition is dismissed.

Section 303(i) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that if an involuntary petition is dismissed non-consensually, and if the debtor does not waive the right to a judgment under this section, then the court may grant judgment "(1) against the petitioners and in favor of the debtor for— (A) costs; or (B) a reasonable attorney's fee; or (2) against any petitioner that filed the petition in bad faith, for— (A) any damages proximately caused by such filing; or (B) punitive damages."

Section 106(a) of the Code abrogates the sovereign immunity of States and other governmental units with respect to a specific list of Bankruptcy Code sections, including Section 303. This Court also has long recognized the "litigation waiver" doctrine as a standalone exception to sovereign immunity. See Clark v. Barnard, 108 U.S. 436, 447-48 (1883).

Whether a state waives sovereign immunity by filing an involuntary bankruptcy petition, thereby subjecting itself to potential damages under Section 303(i) of the Bankruptcy Code