Antonio Passaro, Jr. v. Virginia, et al.

In Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia, this Court held that “removal is a form of voluntary invocation of a federal court’s jurisdiction sufficient to waive the State’s otherwise valid objection to litigation of a matter ([t]here of state law) in a federal forum.” 535 U.S. 613, 624 (2002). But the Court reserved deciding “the scope of waiver by removal in a situation where the State’s underlying sovereign immunity from suit has not been waived or abrogated in state court.” Id. at 617-618. In the 17 years since Lapides, the courts of appeals have divided over that recurring issue—presented squarely in this case. The question presented is: Whether, in the context of a federal claim brought in state court where the state would enjoy sovereign immunity, a state’s voluntary removal to federal court waives sovereign immunity. (i)