A divided panel of the Eleventh Circuit has joined the Third Circuit in holding that not only the government, but also a private insurer acting as a Medicare Advantage Organization (“MAO”), has a right of action for double damages when a primary payer fails to reimburse the MAO for payments the MAO has made. The…
Statutory Non-Waiver Provision Does Not Prevent Severance of Unlawful Terms and Arbitration Enforcement
Where an arbitration provision includes substantive limitations on the relief otherwise available to a party under a federal statute, there are three possible judicial responses: sever the offending provisions and enforce the agreement; enforce the agreement and leave any invalidity questions to the arbitrator, as in PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. v. Book, 538 U.S. 401…
Eleventh Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment Following Answer from Florida Supreme Court
In August 2016, the Eleventh Circuit asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on whether a Florida alternative construction dispute resolution statute requiring notice of any construction dispute implicates an insurer’s duty to defend its insured against “suits.” The Florida legislature enacted Chapter 558 of the Florida Statutes in 2003 “establishing a notice and…
Court Applies Final Judgment Review Standard to Grant of Summary Judgment
When no jury is demanded, does a district court have more leeway in granting summary judgment? The Eleventh Circuit explained the question in its July 26 opinion in Florida International University Board of Trustees v. Florida National University, Inc., 2016 WL 4010164 (11th Cir. July 26, 2016), affirming the district court’s judgment in favor of the…
Former Law Clerk Seeks New Opportunity
The Eleventh Circuit has an indirect connection with the current presidential race: Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine served as a law clerk to Senior Judge Lanier Anderson in 1983-84 in Macon. Tags: Judge R. Lanier Anderson III
The Turtles and Sirius XM Radio: Not So “Happy Together” as Eleventh Circuit Certifies Questions of Common Law Copyright to Supreme Court of Florida
In a June 29, 2016 opinion, the Eleventh Circuit examined the question of whether common law copyright under Florida law protects sound recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972. The opinion in Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., 2016 WL 3546433 (11th Cir. June 29, 2016), written by Judge R. Lanier Anderson…
When a Settlement Contingent on Vacatur is Grounds for Rule 60(b) Relief from Judgment
On July 12, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of a Rule 60(b) motion in Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Co., 2016 WL 3741972 (11th Cir. July 12, 2016), and vacated the underlying summary judgment orders that the parties had jointly sought relief from in the motion. …
A Furnisher of Credit Data Must Make a Reasonable Investigation in Response to an Indirect Dispute, and Review of “Account-Level Documentation” May Be Required
In Hinkle v. Midland Credit Management, Inc., 2016 WL 3672112 (11th Cir. July 11, 2016), the Eleventh Circuit, addressing an issue of first impression, reversed summary judgment in favor of a credit data furnisher—a “down-the-line” buyer of charged-off debt—which had not requested or reviewed underlying account information after receiving a dispute from a consumer reporting…
Failure of Proof of Online Consumer Arbitration Agreement
Does an arbitration agreement included in a credit cardholder agreement cover claims made under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act arising from collection of resulting credit card debt? In the Eleventh Circuit’s July 5, 2016 decision in Bazemore v. Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, 2016 WL 3608961, the district court had held that the collection claim,…
Supreme Court Scorecard
The Eleventh Circuit posted a 0‑3 record in the Supreme Court during the recently concluded 2015 Term, according to the Circuit Scorecard in SCOTUSblog.com’s “Stat Pack.” Achieving a winning record in the Court is no mean feat; 67% of all cases were reversed during the 2015 Term, which falls within the usual reversal-rate range. Only…