Internaves de Mexico s.a. de C.V. v. Andromeda Steamship Corp., 2018 WL 3636427 (11th Cir. Aug. 1, 2018), demonstrates the perils (and costs) of inconsistency in an agreement’s dispute resolution provisions. Internaves and Andromeda were parties to a “charter party” agreement for the transportation of an electric transformer from Brazil to Mexico. The agreement, completed…
Survey of 2017 Eleventh Circuit Decisions Published
The Mercer Law Review recently published its annual survey of noteworthy Eleventh Circuit decisions. The Class Actions article, authored by our own Tom Byrne and Stacey Mohr, analyzes the court’s 2017 decisions on CAFA jurisdiction, the impact of arbitration agreements on class actions, the preclusive effect of prior actions, class action settlements, and class certification disputes….
Britt Grant Confirmed as Eleventh Circuit Judge
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Britt Grant was confirmed by the U.S. Senate yesterday afternoon to fill the Eleventh Circuit judgeship created when Judge Julie Carnes elected to take senior status. The vote was 52-46. Justice Grant, 40, is not the youngest person to be confirmed for an Eleventh Circuit seat since the court was constituted…
Procedural Lapses Short-Circuit Attack on Statute Aimed at Incentivizing Nuclear Plant Construction
The abandonment of the V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina and the questionable status of Plant Vogtle in Georgia have garnered headlines in recent months and raised questions about the validity of state statutes authorizing utility companies to preemptively charge customers for the design and construction of new nuclear facilities using rate hikes. In…
Plaintiff Judicially Estopped from Pursuing Claims Not Disclosed in Bankruptcy
In Weakley v. Eagle Logistics, 2018 WL 3188663 (11th Cir. June 29, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit considered what “facts and circumstances” surrounding a plaintiff’s failure to disclose a pending lawsuit in bankruptcy proceedings will allow the lawsuit to be dismissed on judicial-estoppel grounds. The plaintiff, Timothy Weakley, had filed two separate lawsuits against a number of defendants,…
Bank Accurately Reported Mortgage as “Past Due” and “Delinquent” Despite Borrower’s Compliance with Forbearance Program
When a mortgage lender offers a borrower a forbearance plan—agreeing to accept lowered monthly payments in exchange for refraining from foreclosure—is it accurate for the lender to report that the borrower’s account is “past due” and “delinquent” even when the borrower complies with the plan? “Yes” was the Eleventh Circuit’s answer in Felts v. Wells…
Eleventh Circuit Invalidates Liquidated Damages Provision As Impermissible Penalty
In Autauga Quality Cotton Association v. Crosby, 2018 WL 3097948 (June 25, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit invalidated a liquidated damages provision, holding it to be an impermissible penalty under Alabama law. Appellant Autauga Quality Cotton Association is a not-for-profit cotton-marketing association based in Central Alabama whose mission is to provide price stability to both farmers and…
Eleventh Circuit Invalidates FTC Cease and Desist Order
In LabMD, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, 2018 WL 3056794 (11th Cir. June 6, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit vacated an FTC cease and desist order, finding that the order was unenforceable because it lacked the required specificity that would enable the order to be enforced by a court. LabMD is a now-defunct medical laboratory. Given the…
Remediation Plans Don’t Necessarily Moot Independent Claims for Similar Injunctive Relief Under the ADA
Can a remediation plan designed to settle one lawsuit moot claims for similar injunctive relief in another case? Maybe in some contexts, but the Eleventh Circuit rejected that argument on the facts presented in Haynes v. Hooters of America, LLC, 2018 WL 3030840 (11th Cir. June 19, 2018), an ADA dispute over website accessibility for…
Court Revives Suit Against Employer that Allegedly Denied Woman Promotion for Not Being Korean
The Eleventh Circuit recently gave new life to a plaintiff’s claims of employment discrimination in Jefferson v. Sewon America, Inc., 2018 WL 2449228 (11th Cir. June 1, 2018). Jerberee Jefferson, an African-American woman, filed suit against her former employer, Sewon America, Inc., for racial discrimination and retaliatory termination. Although Jefferson began her career at Sewon…