In an important development in the ongoing litigation over taxation of conservation easements, Hewitt v. Commissioner, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 38555 (11th Cir. Dec. 29, 2021), invalidated a U.S. Treasury Department regulation issued in 1986 for failure to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act. The panel reversed a United States Tax Court’s decision, and remanded…
Denial of Motion in Limine Without Prejudice Requires Renewal of Objection at Trial
Yates v. Pinellas Hematology & Oncology, P.A., 2021 US. App. LEXIS 38556 (11th Cir. Dec. 29, 2021), involved claims that the defendant medical provider violated the False Claims Act by materially altering some of its submissions to Medicare. After a jury found the defendant liable and awarded damages and penalties in excess of $1.1 million,…
Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Employer’s Favor on ERISA Claims Arising from Discontinuation of Life Insurance
In Klaas v. Allstate Insurance Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 38473 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in the employer’s favor on ERISA claims stemming from the employer’s discontinuation of retirees’ life insurance benefits. Until 2013, Allstate provided eligible Allstate employees with life insurance that continued after the employee’s retirement….
Nancy Gbana Abudu Nominated to Fill Georgia Seat on Court
On December 23, 2021, President Biden nominated Nancy Gbana Abudu to replace Judge Beverly Martin on the Eleventh Circuit. The nominee is currently Deputy Legal Director and Director for Strategic Litigation at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Previously, she served as Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Senior Staff Counsel…
Court Rejects Creditors’ Due Process Challenge to Release of Bankrupt Debtor’s Affiliates
In Jackson v. Le Centre on Fourth, LLC (In re Le Centre on Fourth, LLC), 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 33845 (11th Cir. Nov. 15, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit rejected creditors’ due process challenge to the release afforded to the debtor’s affiliates in a confirmed Chapter 11 plan. The creditors were plaintiffs in a tort suit…
Dismissal of Complaint Against Universal Life Insurer Affirmed Under Georgia Law
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s order in the defendant insurer’s favor, dismissing the complaint and rejecting a claim that the plaintiff’s universal life policy was ambiguous and thus had to be construed against the insurer, in Anderson v. Wilco Life Insurance Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 33846 (11th Cir. Nov. 15, 2021). Vanessa…
Strike While the Arbitration Award Is Hot: Three-Month Window to File Motion to Vacate Does Not Prevent Earlier Confirmation
The Federal Arbitration Act provides for motions to confirm (9 U.S.C. § 9) or to vacate or modify (9 U.S.C. §§ 10, 11) an arbitration award, but the motions are not all subject to the same deadline. A motion to confirm may be filed within a year after the award is made, whereas the window…
A Debtor by Any Other Name? Court Certifies Question to Florida Supreme Court
Florida law provides that a UCC-1 financing statement is “seriously misleading” if it does not include the debtor’s correct name, unless “a search of the records of the filing office under the debtor’s correct name, using the filing office’s standard search logic, if any, would disclose” the financing statement notwithstanding the misnomer. But how much…
Court Affirms Order Unsealing “Unguarded Emails”
The Eleventh Circuit reiterated the importance of access to judicial proceedings—including, in the case at hand, “unguarded emails expressing personal opinions,” in Callahan v. United Network for Organ Sharing, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 34201 (11th Cir. Nov. 17, 2021). The underlying dispute arose from a revised organ donation policy approved by the defendant United Network…
Dual Jobs and Dueling Opinions: Divided Panel Reverses Summary Judgment in Employer’s Favor in FLSA Case
A divided panel of the Eleventh Circuit reversed summary judgment for the employer on an employee’s Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims in Rafferty v. Denny’s, Inc., 13 F.4th 1166 (11th Cir. 2021). Lindsay Rafferty, who had been a Denny’s server, claimed that the restaurant violated the FLSA in paying her sub-minimum wage for time…