This past Friday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Kokesh v. SEC, No. 16-529 (cert. granted Jan. 13, 2017), to review a circuit split on whether the SEC’s claims for disgorgement are limited to a five-year statute of limitations. 28 U.S.C. § 2462 places a five-year statute of limitations on any “action, suit or proceeding for…
Author: Wendy Spiro
Defending Insurance Company Not Liable for Legal Expenses Its Insured Incurred Before Notifying Insurer
An insurer is not required to pay the legal fees its insured had incurred before notifying the insurer of the litigation, according to the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in EmbroidMe.com, Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America, 2017 WL 74694 (Jan. 9, 2017). Applying Florida law, the court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary…
Direct Appeal from Bankruptcy Proceeding Transferred for Lack of Jurisdiction
Federal courts have struggled with the implications of Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462 (2011), and Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, 135 S. Ct. 1932 (2015)—in which the Supreme Court held that the Constitution requires the parties’ consent before bankruptcy courts can finally adjudicate claims that neither “stem[] from the bankruptcy itself [n]or would necessarily…
Post-Acquisition Conduct Fails Concerted Action Requirement Under Sherman Act
The Eleventh Circuit found two grounds independently sufficient to affirm summary judgment in an antitrust case, Procaps S.A. v. Patheon, Inc., 2016 WL 7487726 (11th Cir. Dec. 30, 2016). The court ruled that summary judgment was proper both because the plaintiff could not establish the concerted action requirement based on post-acquisition conduct by one party to a…
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…
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,…