Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia

Paul Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia
Paul Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia
	Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 25, 2002; Decided May 13, 2002
Full case name	Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia
Docket no.	01-298
Citations	535 U.S. 613 (more) 122 S. Ct. 1640; 152 L. Ed. 2d 806
Case history
Prior	251 F.3d 1372 (11th Cir. 2001); cert. granted, 534 U.S. 991 (2001).
Holding
	A State waives its Eleventh Amendment immunity when it removes a case from state court to federal court. The university officials' voluntary removal of the action expressly invoked the jurisdiction of the federal courts and thus constituted a waiver of sovereign immunity with regard to state law claims for which immunity was waived in state court. It is an established general principle that a State's voluntary appearance in federal court amounts to a waiver of its Eleventh Amendment immunity. Although Georgia was brought involuntarily into the case as a defendant in state court, it then voluntarily removed the case to federal court, thus voluntarily invoking that court's jurisdiction. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.
Court membership
	Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor; Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy; David Souter · Clarence Thomas; Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinion
Majority	Breyer, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
	U.S. Const. amend. XI

Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia, 535 U.S. 613 (2002), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled that a state voluntarily waives at least part of its Eleventh Amendment immunity when it invokes a federal court's removal jurisdiction. There has subsequently been a "circuit split" in federal courts regarding whether a state waives immunity from liability or only a federal forum.^[1]

Background

A professor filed suit in state court claiming that adding when they placed sexual harassment allegations in his personnel files violated state tort laws. The university system voluntarily moved the case to federal court and sought dismissal there.

Opinion of the court

Justice Stephen Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

References

^ Stroud v. McIntosh, No. 12-10436 (11th Cir. 2013)

External links

Text of Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia, 535 U.S. 613 (2002) is available from: Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)

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[1] Stroud v. McIntosh, No. 12-10436 (11th Cir. 2013)

[1]

v t e University System of Georgia
Research universities	Augusta University Georgia State University Georgia Tech University of Georgia
Comprehensive universities	Georgia Southern University Kennesaw State University University of West Georgia Valdosta State University
State universities	Albany State University Clayton State University Columbus State University Fort Valley State University Georgia College & State University Georgia Southwestern State University Middle Georgia State University University of North Georgia Savannah State University
State colleges	Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Atlanta Metropolitan State College College of Coastal Georgia Dalton State College East Georgia State College Georgia Gwinnett College Georgia Highlands College Gordon State College South Georgia State College
Research	GSU CHARA array Hard Labor Creek Observatory Georgia Tech ATDC IRIM GTRC GTRI Nanotechnology Building Nuclear Research Center University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography Small Satellite Research Laboratory Library Learning Online Public Library Service
Related	Board of Regents Georgia Academy Lapides case Nexus degree Student Advisory Council

Background

Opinion of the court

See also

References

External links