Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia

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.

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.