In an October 3, 2017, opinion, a panel of the Eleventh Circuit reversed the Northern District of Georgia’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant in a trademark-infringement suit brought by Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). In Savannah College of Art and Design, Inc. v. Sportswear, Inc., 2017 WL 4369451, the court held…
Author: Sue Mcqueen
Stock Issuer Not Required to Disclose Hiring of Outside Promoters
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…
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…