When is a litigant entitled to jurisdictional discovery? The Eleventh Circuit addressed this issue in an opinion published June 20, 2017, ACLU of Florida, Inc. v. City of Sarasota, 2017 WL 2636542, holding that, when the jurisdictional facts are genuinely in dispute and a party does not unduly delay in seeking discovery, the court abuses its…
Category: Civil Procedure
Improper Claim-Splitting Warrants Dismissal
In a case of first impression, the Eleventh Circuit has held that a plaintiff’s second case against a defendant, arising out of the same nucleus of operative facts, was properly dismissed as the product of improper claim-splitting. Vanover v. NCO Fin. Servs., Inc., 2017 WL 2129557 (11th Cir. May 17, 2017). In 2014, Karen Vanover…
Deference on All Fronts to Government Settling Qui Tam Action
Deference runs throughout a decision published last week, United States v. Everglades College, Inc., 2017 WL 1658478 (11th Cir. May 3, 2017), where the court issued four holdings in connection with the government’s settlement of a False Claims Act qui tam action relating to federal financial aid funds under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965….
To Bar, or Not to Bar: That Is the Certified Question
How long after winning a judgment in the federal court can a Florida plaintiff conduct post-judgment collection efforts? That is the question at the heart of Salinas v. Ramsey, 2017 WL 1593469 (11th Cir. May 2, 2017). The issue has been decided differently in cases before the Florida District Courts of Appeal, and so Tuesday, the Eleventh Circuit…
Asset Buyer Not Bound by Lanham Act Injunction Without Proof of Actual Notice
The buyer of most of the operating assets of a company subject to a Lanham Act injunction was held by the Eleventh Circuit not to be subject to the injunction, even though the seller’s CEO and owner became president and part-owner of the buyer as part of the sale. ADT LLC v. NorthStar Alarm Services,…
Dual Citizenship Does Not Create CAFA Jurisdiction
Two insurance class actions will remain in state court after the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Life of the South Insurance Co. v. Carzell, 2017 WL 1174083 (11th Cir. Mar. 29, 2017) (Marcus, J.). The court held that federal diversity jurisdiction does not exist under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) if all defendants and plaintiff…
When Confirming Diversity of Citizenship, Trust—but Verify
In Purchasing Power, LLC v. Bluestem Brands, Inc., 2017 WL 1046103 (11th Cir. Mar. 20, 2017), the Eleventh Circuit reminded litigants and their counsel that it is critical to confirm the citizenship of all relevant corporate entities in determining the existence of diversity jurisdiction, but reversed the district judge’s order imposing “inherent power” sanctions on…
The Second Time’s a Charm: Jury Deliberations Resume After Partial Delivery of Inconsistent Verdict
Wright Medical Technology, Inc., appealed from a $2,100,000 judgment entered against it following a jury trial, arguing that the jury had been improperly instructed as a matter of Utah law and also that the district judge should not have ordered the jury to continue deliberations after the deputy clerk began to read what turned out…
Unlawful and Non-Competitive Parallel Conduct is Still Insufficient to State a RICO Claim
The Eleventh Circuit relied on Twombly’s heightened pleading standard in affirming a dismissal for failure to state a RICO claim in Almanza v. United Airlines, 2017 WL 957191 (11th Cir. Mar. 13, 2017). The plaintiff Mexican nationals, representing a putative class, were charged a tourism tax by the defendant airlines as part of their airfare,…
CAFA’s Local-Controversy Provision Can’t Trump Federal-Question Jurisdiction
The Eleventh Circuit reinstated a federal RICO case but approved the denial of a motion to remand it to state court under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) in Blevins v. Aksut, No. 16-11585, 2017 WL 782288 (11th Cir. Mar. 1, 2017). The court’s opinion confirms that CAFA’s local-controversy provision, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4), does not strip…