In Cochran v. Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., 35 F.4th 1310 (11th Cir. May 31, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty as barred by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA). After Jeffrey Cochran’s 401(k) retirement plan was terminated by his employer, he transferred…
Tag: Judge Ed Carnes
Settlement Release Negotiations and Actions of Third-Party Claimants Are Both Relevant in Bad Faith Actions
In Pelaez v. Government Employees Insurance Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 28312 (11th Cir. Sept. 20, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit upheld summary judgment for GEICO in a Florida bad faith case. Merely offering an overbroad release to a third-party claimant was insufficient to establish bad faith in the totality of the circumstances, which included GEICO’s…
Email Service of Motion to Vacate Arbitration Award Not Sufficient Without Prior Express Consent, and Agreement to Arbitrate Under AAA Rules Does Not Provide Such Consent
The Eleventh Circuit rejected an argument from a party seeking to vacate an arbitration award that an email courtesy copy of a “notice of motion” was effective service under the Federal Arbitration Act. In O’Neal Constructors, LLC v. DRT America, LLC, 2021 WL 1220710 (11th Cir. Apr. 1, 2021), the appellant, DRT, sought to vacate…
Judge William Pryor Becomes Chief Judge of Eleventh Circuit
The Eleventh Circuit welcomed a new chief judge this week, as the Hon. William H. Pryor Jr. replaced the Hon. Ed Carnes in that role on the latter’s seventieth birthday, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 45. Judge Carnes had previously given notice of his intention to take senior status, and District Judge Andrew Brasher…