Google Required To Produce Emails In Response To Former Employer’s Subpoena

In Negro v. Superior Court of Santa Clara Cnty., H040146 (Cal. Ct. App. Oct 21, 2014), Navalimpianti USA, Inc. subpoenaed Google, Inc. to produce copies of email messages it had relating to one of Navalimpianti’s former employees, Matteo Negro. Prior to initiating this action against Google in state court in California, Navalimpianti sued Negro and other former employees in state court in Florida for various breaches of duty pursuant to a conspiracy that culminated in their entry into competition with Navalimpianti.

After the Florida court issued an order directing Negro to send an email to Google consenting to disclosure of his emails, the California Court of Appeal in this opinion determined that the consent Negro expressly gave pursuant to the Florida court’s order constituted “lawful consent” under the Stored Communications Act, rejecting Negro’s assertion of “judicial coercion.”