In the first published appellate court decision to decide the issue, the Eleventh Circuit has held that companies that retain promoters to publish promotional materials to “recommend” or “tout” their stock (and raise the stock price) are not required by federal securities laws to disclose the business arrangement between the issuing company and promoter. In…
Year: 2016
Common-Law Agency Principles, Not DOL Regulations, Dictate Whether Company Is a Joint “Employer”
The Eleventh Circuit considered the meaning of “employer” in the context of the H-2A visa program and declined to apply Chevron deference to a then-prevailing Department of Labor interpretation. The court instead applied common-law agency principles. Garcia-Celestino v. Consolidated Citrus Limited Partnership, 2016 WL 7240150 (Dec. 15, 2016), involved claims brought by a group of…
District Court Improperly Excluded Co-Worker’s Affidavit in Granting Summary Judgment to Employer on Sex Discrimination Claim
In a published opinion in Furcron v. Mail Centers Plus, LLC, 2016 WL 7321211 (Dec. 16, 2016), the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendant on the plaintiff’s sex discrimination claim and affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendant on the plaintiff’s retaliation claim. On…
Revised Opinion Issued After EEOC Seeks En Banc Review of “Dreadlocks” Decision
As we reported here, the Eleventh Circuit rejected a claim for intentional racial discrimination against an employer that had banned “dreadlocks” from the workplace in EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions, 837 F.3d 1156 (11th Cir. Sept. 15, 2016). Apparently dissatisfied with that result, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a petition for rehearing en banc…
Forum Selection Clause in Resort’s Registration Form Is Enforceable
The Eleventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a personal injury complaint, finding a forum selection clause naming the Bahamas as the forum for any litigation between plaintiffs and defendants was valid and enforceable. In Feggestad v. Kerzner International Bahamas Ltd., No. 15-11773, 2016 WL 7210067 (11th Cir. Dec. 13, 2016), plaintiffs brought suit after a…
Americans with Disabilities Act Held to Allow “Competitive” Reassignment
The Eleventh Circuit handed the EEOC another recent defeat in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. St. Joseph’s Hospital, Inc., No. 15-14551, 2016 WL 7131479 (11th Cir. Dec. 7, 2016). The case involved cross-appeals after a jury found that the defendant hospital had acted in good faith despite its failure to accommodate a disabled nurse…
New Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Take Effect
Practitioners take note: Significant amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure took effect on December 1, 2016. The Eleventh Circuit’s website has a helpful summary of the major changes here, and a complete set of the amended rules, along with the latest Eleventh Circuit Rules and Internal Operating Procedures, is available here. The biggest…
Insurer Not Bound by Settlement That Insured Negotiated in Bad Faith
Under Florida law, a settlement may not be enforced against an insurer where its insured did not negotiate in good faith, thus failing to adequately represent the interests of the party that would ultimately have to pay the settlement. The Eleventh Circuit, in an opinion published November 17, 2016, Sidman v. Travelers Casualty & Surety, 2016…
Secondhand Knowledge Held Insufficient to Qualify False Claims Act Relator as “Original Source”
In United States ex rel. Saldivar v. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc., 2016 WL 6595937 (11th Cir. Nov. 8, 2016), the Eleventh Circuit joined the Third, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits holding that “secondhand” knowledge is insufficient to make someone an “original source” under the False Claims Act (FCA). The plaintiff alleged in a qui…
Trademark Plaintiff Waited Too Long to Douse the Fire
When an opinion opens with “the plaintiff pursued its preliminary-injunction motion with the urgency of someone out on a meandering evening stroll rather than someone in a race against time,” there isn’t much suspense about who’s going to win and why, and the court did indeed affirm the denial of preliminary injunctive relief in Wreal,…