State's Waiver of Immunity - Act Section 27

Court of Claims Act 8 expressly conditions the State's waiver of immunity upon a claimant's compliance with "the limitations of this article," namely, article II of the Act pertaining to jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Court of Claims Act provides in pertinent part that counsel or attorneys' fees may not be allowed to any party. However, section 27 is part of the practice provisions found in article III of the Act and falls outside the article II limitations referenced in section 8 as conditioning the State's waiver of immunity. As such, the proscription against the award of attorneys' fees contained in section 27 does not represent a reservation of immunity and the State, having waived its immunity with regard to the Fair Labor Standards Act actions except as otherwise conditioned in article II, is subject to the provisions of the Federal Act authorizing the recovery of counsel fees.