In Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, 2017 WL 943925 (Mar. 10, 2017), the Eleventh Circuit considered an issue that has been the subject of much judicial and academic debate in recent years: How does Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination “because of . . . sex” apply to claims of LGBT discrimination? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the court was…
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…
Securities Private Offering Exemption Applies in SEC Enforcement Action
The Eleventh Circuit rejected the SEC’s narrow construction of registration exemptions in SEC v. Levin, 2017 WL 711018 (Feb. 23, 2017), reversing a grant of summary judgment to the defendant but still affirming a jury verdict for securities fraud on multiple counts. The defendant, George Levin, invested his personal funds in a Ponzi scheme that…
Security Is Secure, Even When It’s in Receivership
In 2009, the SEC filed an action against Arthur Nadel and others following the collapse of a Ponzi scheme. The district court appointed a receiver to administer the defendants’ property and business affairs “and take whatever actions are necessary for the protection of the investors.” The district court also established a bar date for creditors’…
Court SLAPPS Down Defamation Suit
The Eleventh Circuit upheld a district court’s rejection of a doctor’s libel and false advertising action challenging two articles highly critical of his novel medical treatments. In Edward Lewis Tobinick, MD v. Novella, 2017 WL 603832 (11th Cir. Feb. 15, 2017), the court upheld the district court’s orders striking state-law claims pursuant to California’s anti-SLAPP statute,…
Securities Law Judgment Excepted from Discharge
On the same day the court decided Appling (below), the Eleventh Circuit issued a second bankruptcy-discharge opinion, this time addressing one of the more obscure exceptions from discharge, § 523(a)(19)(A)’s exception for judgments for securities law violations. Lunsford v. Process Technologies Services, LLC (In re Lunsford), 2017 WL 603845 (11th Cir. Feb. 15, 2017). Judge…
Court Broadly Construes Bankruptcy Discharge Exception for Fraud
One of the most litigated issues in bankruptcy court is whether a discharge of a particular claim should be granted to a debtor who has committed fraud relating to the claim, a statutory discharge exception found in section 523(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Bankruptcy Code. The statute establishes a dichotomy between fraudulent statements regarding the…
Insurer Liable for Intoxicated Employee’s Accident Under General Permissive Use Clause
An employee may be covered by an employer’s auto insurance policy as a permissive user even though the employee violates a company policy prohibiting driving while intoxicated. The Eleventh Circuit, in Great American Alliance Insurance Co. v. Anderson, 2017 WL 521560 (11th Cir. Feb. 8, 2017), assessed conflicting cases under Georgia law, but determined that a general permissive…
Federal Common Law Applies State Preclusion Rules to Judgments in Diversity Cases
The Eleventh Circuit cleaned up some conflicting precedent this week and confirmed that state-law rules determine the preclusive effect of judgments rendered by federal courts in diversity cases. In deciding that question in CSX Transportation, Inc. v. General Mills, Inc., 2017 WL 393704 (11th Cir. Jan. 30, 2017), the court reversed the district court’s judgment…