I can't be 100% sure but googling showed nothing. My site was up for almost 6 weeks with no issues. I used the domain for Apple's review process too. No issues at all.

I feel like google should be sophisticated enough to tell when a domain has expired and gone up for auction/resale?

I am 100 percent certain that one of my domains i registered before and now I am still looking for lawyer to help me sue my government for blocking my domain for something I never commit and refusing to remove the block - just be cause they can. short .com domain! I even paid it for 2 years because I was willing to commit.