Google Prevails in South Carolina Subpoena Fight Amid State-Led Antitrust Lawsuit

"When South Carolina, through its attorney general, joined the action against Google, it voluntarily invoked federal jurisdiction," Judge G. Steven Agee wrote for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. "That invocation, Supreme Court precedent plainly instructs, resulted in a complete and irrevocable waiver of the State's Eleventh Amendment immunity as to all matters arising in that lawsuit, including the State-endorsed Rule 45 subpoena issued to SCPRT."

June 10, 2024 at 05:18 PM

3 minute read

Antitrust

By Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman

The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal

What You Need to Know

The Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of Google in a subpoena fight related to state-led antitrust allegations.
The South Carolina tourism department refused to comply with a Google subpoena on 11th Amendment immunity grounds.
The appeals court decision requires the state agency to produce the documents Google subpoenaed.

Documents that Google subpoenaed to help defend itself against South Carolina's federal antitrust suit are not subject to 11th Amendment immunity, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled in a decision compelling the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT) to produce the information.

NOT FOR REPRINT