In Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC v. 18.27 Acres of Land, 59 F.4th 1158 (11th Cir. 2023), the court applied its prior-precedent rule and held that state rather than federal law provides the measure of compensation to be paid to a landowner upon a private party’s exercise of federal eminent-domain power under the federal Natural Gas…
FTC Has Power Under § 19 of the FTC Act to Freeze Assets and Impose Receivership for Violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule
Even after the Supreme Court limited the power of the Federal Trade Commission to receive monetary relief under § 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the FTC still has authority under § 19(b) of the FTC Act to freeze assets and impose a receivership, the Eleventh Circuit ruled in FTC v. Simple Health Plans…
Modified Chapter 11 Plan Required Re-Solicitation and Re-Voting
A modification of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan on the eve of the hearing on confirmation of that plan requires re-solicitation of votes and re-voting if the modification materially and adversely affects a class of claims or interests, i.e., equity holders, according to the Eleventh Circuit’s opinion in In re America-CV Station Group, Inc., 56…
What Is an Illegal Human Life Wagering Contract?
According to the Eleventh Circuit, that life insurance policy you took out on your own life with the intent to sell it to a stranger may not in fact be void as an illegal wagering contract. In Jackson National Life Insurance Co. v. Crum, 54 F.4th 1312 (11th Cir. 2022), the Eleventh Circuit adopted the…
Late-Stage Remand of State-Law Claims After Dismissal of Federal Claims Affirmed
Marida Silas brought state and federal claims, on behalf of her late husband, against the Sheriff of Broward County. The defendant removed the case to federal court, which dismissed the federal claims and set the remaining state-law claims for trial. Days before trial, the defendant moved to dismiss the remaining claims on the ground that…
Florida Prohibition on Proof of COVID Vaccination Upheld by Divided Court
A Florida statute which prohibits all businesses operating in the state from requiring customers to provide documentary proof that they are vaccinated against COVID-19 does not violate the Free Speech and Commerce Clauses of the Constitution, a sharply divided Eleventh Circuit panel held in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. v. State Surgeon General, 2022 U.S….
Full Court Will Consider Grounds for Vacatur of International Arbitration Awards
The court will rehear en banc Corporacion AIC, SA v. Hidroelectrica Santa Rita S.A., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 27855 (11th Cir. Oct. 5, 2022), concerning the grounds for vacatur of an arbitration award falling under the New York Convention. As we reported here, a panel of the court affirmed a denial of a motion for…
Antitrust Claim Rejected: Parent Company Cannot “Conspire” with Majority-Owned and Controlled Subsidiary
A private-equity firm and its majority-owned subsidiary preserved a defense summary judgment on antitrust conspiracy and monopolization claims in OJ Commerce, LLC v. KidKraft, Inc., 34 F.4th 1232 (11th Cir. May 24, 2022). Building on the Supreme Court’s holding that a parent company cannot engage in unlawful “concerted activity” with a wholly owned subsidiary, Copperweld…
Foreign Parent Company Not Subject to Personal Jurisdiction Based Solely on Actions of Subsidiary, and Expert Testimony Properly Excluded as Unreliable in Products-Liability Case
In the absence of facts supporting piercing the corporate veil or rendering affiliated companies alter egos, the actions of a subsidiary alone cannot subject a foreign parent company to personal jurisdiction in Florida, the Eleventh Circuit recently confirmed. The court’s decision in Knepfle v. J-Tech Corp., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25781 (11th Cir. Sept. 14,…
No Safe Harbor in Florida If Financing Statement Misnames the Debtor
As we reported here, the Eleventh Circuit recently certified to the Florida Supreme Court a series of questions about the consequences under Florida law of a misnamed debtor in a UCC-1 financing statement. Florida law provides that a financing statement is “seriously misleading” if it does not include the debtor’s correct name, but provides a…