Lapides v. Board of Regents of University of Georgia, 535 U.S. 613; 122 S. Ct. 1640; 152 L. Ed. 2d 806 (2002)

Facts—Lapides, a professor in the Georgia State University system, brought suit in a Georgia state court against actions by university officials in placing allegations of sexual harassment in his personnel file. Both parties agreed to remove the case to a U.S. District Court, but, once there, Georgia argued that sovereign immunity granted by the Eleventh Amendment prohibited further proceedings. Although agreeing that the federal claims Lapides had filed against the individuals he was suing were barred by their qualified immunity, the U.S. District Court ruled that Georgia had waived its Eleventh Amendment claims when the state attorney general agreed to remove the case to a federal court. The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the District Court.

Question—Does a state’s removal of a lawsuit from a state to a federal court waive its Eleventh Amendment immunity?

Decision—Yes.

Reasons—J. Breyer (9–0). It would be anomalous, inconsistent, and unfair to allow a state both voluntarily “to invoke federal jurisdiction” and “to claim Eleventh Amendment immunity.” The state attorney general’s decision to seek remedy in a federal court thus constituted a voluntary waiver of its immunity. This still left the federal court free to remand the case back to state courts if it found that the present case raised issues only of state law.