## Facts

- Suzlon Energy Ltd., an Indian company, pursued a civil fraud action against Rajagopalan Sridhar, an Indian citizen, in an Australian court.
- Sridhar maintained a Hotmail account under a service agreement with Microsoft.
- The emails sought were stored on Microsoft servers located in the United States.
- Suzlon applied in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington for discovery assistance under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, seeking an order compelling Microsoft to produce the contents of Sridhar’s emails for use in the Australian litigation.
- Microsoft and Sridhar objected that the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, including the Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2712), prohibited Microsoft from disclosing the contents of stored communications without statutory authorization or the user’s lawful consent.
- Suzlon argued that (1) the ECPA/SCA did not protect foreign citizens and (2) Sridhar had impliedly consented to disclosure through his conduct in the Australian proceeding.

## Issues

1. Whether the Stored Communications Act protects the contents of electronic communications stored in the United States when the account holder is a non-U.S. citizen.
2. Whether Sridhar’s conduct amounted to “lawful consent” permitting Microsoft to disclose the contents of his emails.
3. Whether § 1782 permits a federal court to compel discovery from a service provider when disclosure would violate the Stored Communications Act.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit affirmed the order quashing the § 1782 subpoena and denying Suzlon’s application.
- The court held that the ECPA/SCA protects the stored communications of “any person,” including non-U.S. citizens, when the relevant storage and compelled disclosure are domestic.
- The court held that Suzlon failed to establish Sridhar’s lawful consent—express or implied—to disclosure of the email contents.
- Because the SCA barred disclosure absent an applicable exception, § 1782 could not be used to compel Microsoft to produce the emails.

## Legal Principles

- The Stored Communications Act’s protections apply to “any person” and are not limited by citizenship or immigration status when the statute is applied to domestic storage and disclosure conduct.
- A provider may disclose the contents of stored communications only if a statutory exception applies, including disclosure with the “lawful consent” of the originator or an addressee/intended recipient (or an authorized representative).
- Implied consent under the SCA is construed narrowly and is not inferred from generalized participation in litigation without clear evidence of authorization to disclose account contents.
- Section 1782 discovery authority does not override federal privacy statutes; a court may not order discovery that would require a provider to violate the SCA.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit held that the Stored Communications Act bars compelled disclosure of a user’s stored email contents in response to a § 1782 request absent lawful consent or another statutory exception, and that these protections extend to noncitizens whose communications are stored on servers in the United States.


Suzlon Energy Ltd. v. Microsoft Corp., 671 F.3d 726 (9th Cir. 2011)