How to Overcome Google’s Failure to Respond to Foreign Subpoenas
Despite having an active litigation matter where discovery of Google Drive (formally Google Docs) or Gmail is needed to complete discovery, you may have recently received a notice from Google that says they will not respond to your subpoena unless it is served upon them in their local jurisdiction. This might have you and your client questioning if it is worth it to file a new lawsuit in Santa Clara County California so that you can duly serve Google with a subpoena for documents relevant to your case. You may be scared about spending another five to ten thousand dollars just relating to compelling Google’s cooperation.
Fear not! The California legislature passed CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 2029.100 also known as the Interstate and International Depositions and Discovery Act in 2010. This relatively new law passed in 2010 allows you to domesticate your foreign subpoena and overcome the initial objections of Google demanding you file a lawsuit in their local place of business in order for their compliance to be garnered.
There are other options beyond domesticating the subpoena, including serving a subpoena on one of Google’s regional offices. If you have a case in one of the U.S. Federal District Courts pending, there is a decent chance that Google has a regional office contained within the boundaries of the U.S. District Court where your litigation is pending.
Google regional offices located in the U.S.
- Chicago, Illinois
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Birmingham, Michigan
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Cambridge, Massachussets
- Reston, Virginia
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Austin, Texas
- Boulder, Colorado
- Seatle, Washington
- Kirkland, Washington
- Washington, District of Columbia
- San Francisco, California
- Mountain View, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Irving, California
Full list of Google Locations.