Doug Burchfield, a General Mills employee, was severely injured after a loaded railcar unexpectedly rolled down a railway sidetrack leading from a CSX line to a General Mills plant. Burchfield sued CSX and the company that owned the railcar, alleging that CSX negligently delivered the car to General Mills with a faulty handbrake, which caused…
Tag: Judge Jill Pryor
Divided Panel Holds that Insurer’s Total-Loss Settlement Complied with Florida Law
After Gina Signor’s Lexus was damaged in an accident Safeco declared the vehicle a total loss under her automobile insurance policy. Under the policy, Signor was due the “actual cash value,” or “ACV,” of the vehicle. To determine the ACV, Safeco used the Certified Collateral Corporation ONE Market Valuation System, also known as the “CCC…
Equitable Tolling May Apply to Deadline for Motion to Vacate Arbitration Award
NuVasive, a manufacturer of medical products, had an exclusive distribution agreement, including noncompetition provisions, with Absolute Medical, LLC. After Absolute Medical disclaimed that agreement and started using the same salespeople to work for NuVasive’s competitor, NuVasive sued. The district court ordered arbitration of one of NuVasive’s claims—for breach-of-contract damages—and stayed most of the other claims….
Motorized Scooter Was an “Uninsured Motor Vehicle” Sufficient to Trigger UM Coverage
A Razor Pocket Mod scooter that struck a vehicle insured under a State Farm automobile insurance policy was an “uninsured motor vehicle” sufficient to trigger the policy’s Uninsured Motor Vehicle (“UM”) coverage. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Spangler, 64 F.4th 1173 (11th Cir. April 3, 2023). After Anna Spangler suffered injuries as a…
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…
En Banc Court Stands by Ban on Class-Action Incentive Payments for Plaintiffs
Nearly two years after a divided three-three judge panel held that federal law prohibits “incentive payments” to named class representatives (see our previous blog post here), the Eleventh Circuit denied a petition to rehear that case en banc. Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 21455 (11th Cir. Aug. 3, 2022). The denial…
Interlocutory Appeal Properly Taken from Declaratory Judgment on Insurer’s Duty to Defend; Ambiguous Exclusion Construed in Favor of Coverage
When a liability insurer seeks a declaratory judgment on whether it has a duty to defend and indemnify an insured, and the district court enters an order finding a duty to defend but putting off a decision on the duty to indemnify, is that nonfinal order subject to interlocutory appeal? In James River Insurance Co….
Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Employer’s Favor on ERISA Claims Arising from Discontinuation of Life Insurance
In Klaas v. Allstate Insurance Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 38473 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in the employer’s favor on ERISA claims stemming from the employer’s discontinuation of retirees’ life insurance benefits. Until 2013, Allstate provided eligible Allstate employees with life insurance that continued after the employee’s retirement….
Court Rejects Creditors’ Due Process Challenge to Release of Bankrupt Debtor’s Affiliates
In Jackson v. Le Centre on Fourth, LLC (In re Le Centre on Fourth, LLC), 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 33845 (11th Cir. Nov. 15, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit rejected creditors’ due process challenge to the release afforded to the debtor’s affiliates in a confirmed Chapter 11 plan. The creditors were plaintiffs in a tort suit…
Federal Presumption of Arbitrability Limited to Disputes That Are Immediate, Foreseeable Results of Contractual Performance
After concluding that the most natural reading of an arbitration agreement did not cover the dispute in Calderon v. Sixt Rent a Car, LLC, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 20854 (11th Cir. July 14, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit held more broadly that the Federal Arbitration Act’s strong presumption of arbitrability applies only if “the dispute in…