In Pine Mountain Preserve LLLP v. Commissioner, 2020 WL 6193897 (11th Cir. Oct. 22, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit was asked whether a grantor’s reservation of limited development rights prevents a conservation easement from satisfying the requirements to claim a charitable deduction under the qualified conservation contribution rules of section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code….
A Sticky Situation: Epoxy Company Is Stuck With Evidence of Intent to Copy, and Evidence of Actual Confusion
The interplay between circumstantial evidence under the Lanham Act’s substantive law of trade dress infringement and the rules for summary judgment was at issue in J-B Weld Co. v. Gorilla Glue Co., 2020 WL 6144561 (11th Cir. Oct. 20, 2020). In J-B Weld,all three judges agreed that the district court erred in entering summary judgment…
Employee Arbitration Award Stands Despite Arbitrators’ Alleged Misinterpretation of the Contract
The Eleventh Circuit refused to vacate an employee’s arbitration award for nearly $4 million for wrongful termination based on the employer’s claim that the arbitration panel misinterpreted the parties’ employment and arbitration agreements in Gherardi v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., 2020 WL 5553255 (11th Cir. Sept. 17, 2020). The employee brought several claims in arbitration,…
Eleventh Circuit Sets the Bar for Bar Orders
In SEC v. Quiros, 966 F.3d 1195 (July 20, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit held that the district court abused its discretion when it entered a bar order extinguishing non-parties’ claims, because entry of the order was not necessary to resolve the parties’ dispute. In 2016, the SEC filed a civil enforcement action against Ariel Quiros,…
Herbalife Top Distributors Lose Arbitration Bid
Top distributors of the sometimes controversial nutrition products marketer Herbalife lost their bid to compel arbitration of RICO and related claims made by lower-level distributors in Lavigne v. Herbalife, Ltd., 2020 WL 4342671 (11th Cir. July 29, 2020), which affirmed the order of a Florida district court. The top distributors, alleged to be part of…
En Banc Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Sharply Divided Decision
In Gogel v. Kia Motors Manufacturing of Georgia, Inc., 2020 WL 4342677 (11th Cir. July 29, 2020), a divided en banc court affirmed the grant of summary judgment to an employer on retaliation claims under Title VII and § 1981, reversing the original panel opinion and producing some testy exchanges among members of the court. …
Eleventh Circuit Decision Highlights Difficulty of Invoking Federal-Question Jurisdiction Over Claim for Declaratory Relief
The United States Constitution created federal courts of limited subject-matter jurisdiction. Thus, a party filing suit in federal court must assert a claim arising under federal law or demonstrate that the litigants are citizens of different states. Generally, a claim brought pursuant to the federal Declaratory Judgment Act is alone insufficient to invoke federal-question jurisdiction….
Too Late At The District Court Is Still Too Late At The Appellate Court
The Eleventh Circuit’s opinion in Corley v. Long-Lewis, Inc., 2020 WL 4006602 (11th Cir. July 16, 2020), delivered by Judge William Pryor, primarily concerned questions of appellate jurisdiction, all of which were resolved in favor of hearing the appeal. The multi-faceted procedural history set the stage for the issues of appellate jurisdiction: A case that…
Third-Party Counterclaim Defendants’ Removal Bid Foiled
“Perhaps some might think removal is not the most riveting topic,” begins Judge Robin Rosenbaum’s opinion for the court in Bowling v. U.S. Bank National Association, 2020 WL 3424928 (11th Cir. June 23, 2020). (Not so with our readers, most of whom relish a good removal.) The removal issue in Bowling stemmed from the Supreme…
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Forum-Selection Clause
In DeRoy v. Carnival Corp., 2020 WL 3525536 (11th Cir. June 30, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit upheld a forum-selection clause requiring litigation of claims in federal court. Plaintiff-Appellee Carmela DeRoy sued Defendant-Appellant Carnival Corporation after she injured her foot on a rug while onboard the Carnival Valor. The contract DeRoy entered into when she booked…