JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – Internet search giant Google Inc. earned a victory, albeit an early one, in its case against Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood earlier this month.
In a March 2 order, Judge Henry T. Wingate for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granted Google’s motion for a temporary restraining order and motion for preliminary injunction against Hood.
Hood
The judge’s order prevents the attorney general from enforcing subpoenas or bringing a civil or criminal charge against Google under state law, as threatened.
Last fall, Hood sent a 79-page subpoena to Google. The attorney general suspects the company is helping criminals through its search engine and autocomplete function. Hood also takes issue with the company’s sharing of YouTube ad revenue.
But Google argues it can’t be held responsible for third-party content.
Wingate initially refused to grant Google’s request for a temporary restraining order in December.
At the time, Hood said his office would give the company an extra 60 days to comply with its subpoena for documents. The parties agreed to maintain the status quo pending a hearing held last month.
“This time out will allow the State to file the necessary briefs to respond to Google’s lawsuit that was thrust upon us by a company worth $382 billion — more than the annual state revenue of California, Texas and New York combined — and give the parties additional time to attempt to reach an amicable resolution,” the attorney general said in a Dec. 22 statement.
Google filed its lawsuit against Hood in the federal court Dec. 20.
Wingate noted in his four-page order that while he was persuaded that Google satisfied its burden, his decision does not forecast “any ultimate ruling on the merits.”
The judge said in a status conference that Hood had 14 days from the March 2 order to file his answer to Google’s complaint.
Following the filing of the attorney general’s answer, both parties will be given 90 days for discovery. Within 30 days after the close of discovery, Hood and Google must file dispositive motions.
Once the motions have been fully briefed and submitted, Wingate said oral arguments will be scheduled.
The judge wrote in his order that he expected the matter to “be adjudicated quickly.”
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at [email protected].
