The court held this week that the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, which creates an administrative procedure to address videos lacking closed captions before the FCC, does not create an administrative exhaustion requirement for bringing similar issues under the ADA. Sierra v. City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, (No. 18-10740 11th Cir….
Court Revives two Employment Discrimination Suits
The court this week published two employment discrimination opinions. In one, the court affirmed summary judgment for the Korean-owned defendant on the plaintiff’s claims that she had been discriminated against because she was a woman and an American, but revived her claim that she had been fired in retaliation for complaining. Gogel v. Kia Motors…
Supreme Court to hear Eleventh Circuit Tennessee Valley Authority Case
The Supreme Court granted certiorari over the Eleventh Circuit’s holding that the Tennessee Valley Authority enjoyed governmental immunity in a personal injury suit. Thacker v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 2018 WL 1091117 (U.S. Sept. 27, 2018). The Eleventh Circuit held that the TVA was immune from suit because it was engaged in a discretionary government function…
Availability of Class Arbitration Is a “Question of Arbitrability” to Be Decided by a Court Absent a “Clear and Unmistakable Intent” to Delegate Arbitrability Questions to an Arbitrator
For the second time in as many months, the Eleventh Circuit addressed the question of who—a court or an arbitrator—decides whether an arbitration agreement allows for class arbitration. The court faced this question just last month in Spirit Airlines, Inc. v. Maizes, 899 F.3d 1230 (11th Cir. 2018), but its more recent decision in JPay, Inc….
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari on Copyright Issue
The Supreme Court this morning granted certiorari on a circuit split involving the Eleventh Circuit. The Eleventh Circuit (along with the Eighth) has previously held that the fee provisions of the Copyright Act, which allow recovery of the “full costs” of attendance, do not displace general statutes that limit awards to taxable costs. Artisan Contractors Ass’n…
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Giving Preclusive Effect to Engle Jury Findings on Intentional Torts
Recently, in Searcy v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 2018 WL 4214594 (11th Cir. Sept. 5, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit held that giving preclusive effect to a Florida jury’s findings that tobacco companies had concealed the health impacts of smoking did not violate the Due Process Clause when the defendants had notice and an opportunity to…
Federal Law Does Not Prevent Foreclosure Against Surviving Spouse of “Reverse-Mortgage” Borrower If Contractually-Authorized
The federal statute that prevents HUD from insuring a reverse mortgage that permits foreclosure while the borrower’s surviving spouse lives in the mortgaged property does not similarly prohibit the lender from foreclosing after the borrower’s death, as long as the foreclosure is otherwise permitted by the loan documents. Estate of Jones v. Live Well Fin.,…
Divided Court Holds Settlement Agreement Between Cable Provider and Installation Contractor Not the Result of Duress
A party negotiating an agreement may employ leverage or “arm-twisting” to consummate a transaction. At some point, however, tough business tactics may result in a claim of duress, jeopardizing the validity of the agreement. In Cableview Communications of Jacksonville, Inc. v. Time Warner Cable Southeast, LLC, the Eleventh Circuit considered such a claim, ultimately finding…
Court Declares Ratepayers’ Challenge to Jefferson County Bankruptcy Plan Equitably Moot
In Bennett v. Jefferson County, Alabama, 2018 WL 3892979 (11th Cir. Aug. 16, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit held that the doctrine of equitable mootness barred a challenge by ratepayers to Jefferson County’s bankruptcy plan, representing the first time the court has applied the doctrine to a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy. Jefferson County declared bankruptcy in…
Spirited Court Widens Circuit Split Over Who Decides Class Arbitrability
In Spirit Airlines, Inc. v. Maizes, 2018 WL 3866335 (11th Cir. Aug. 15, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit concluded that an arbitration agreement providing that the rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) will cover all disputes constitutes clear and unmistakable evidence that the parties intended for an arbitrator to decide whether class arbitration is available….