The Supreme Court yesterday granted certiorari to review the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Code Revision Commission v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., 906 F.3d 1229 (11th Cir. 2018), cert. granted, 2019 WL 1047486 (U.S. June 24, 2019). The question presented for review in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. is whether the principle that “government edicts,” such as statutes and…
Tag: Judge Stanley Marcus
Cash from Corn: Plaintiff Injured at Corn Harvesting Facility Advances to Trial
The Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the employer of a forklift driver who injured a truck driver picking up a shipment of corn in Newcomb v. Spring Creek Cooler Inc., 2019 WL 2364498 (11th Cir. June 5, 2019). Because the plaintiff picking up a load of corn at the…
Municipal Fair Housing Act Suit vs. Banks Is Again Green-Lighted
Capping off a busy week, the Eleventh Circuit took a second crack at whether a municipality can bring an action under the Fair Housing Act against banks to recover damages allegedly attributable to racially discriminatory lending practices. In the prior round, the court held that the City of Miami had alleged standing and causation sufficiently…
Laws for the People, By the People, Are Not Copyrightable
A March 23, 2017 order from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia immediately prompted headlines such as “If you publish Georgia’s state laws, you’ll get sued for copyright and lose.” The case, Code Revision Commission v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., 244 F. Supp. 3d 1350 (N.D. Ga. 2017), examined whether the Official…
Availability of Class Arbitration Is a “Question of Arbitrability” to Be Decided by a Court Absent a “Clear and Unmistakable Intent” to Delegate Arbitrability Questions to an Arbitrator
For the second time in as many months, the Eleventh Circuit addressed the question of who—a court or an arbitrator—decides whether an arbitration agreement allows for class arbitration. The court faced this question just last month in Spirit Airlines, Inc. v. Maizes, 899 F.3d 1230 (11th Cir. 2018), but its more recent decision in JPay, Inc….
Keep the Change: Eleventh Circuit Rejects Cab Companies’ Constitutional Challenge to Rideshare Ordinance
The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of taxi companies’ claims that a Miami-Dade County ordinance permitting rideshare services to participate in the for-hire transportation market constituted a taking of the cab companies’ property and/or a denial to them of equal protection. Checker Cab Operators, Inc. v. Miami-Dade County, 2018 WL 3721227 (11th Cir. Aug….
London or New York? Beware Inconsistent Dispute Resolution Provisions
Internaves de Mexico s.a. de C.V. v. Andromeda Steamship Corp., 2018 WL 3636427 (11th Cir. Aug. 1, 2018), demonstrates the perils (and costs) of inconsistency in an agreement’s dispute resolution provisions. Internaves and Andromeda were parties to a “charter party” agreement for the transportation of an electric transformer from Brazil to Mexico. The agreement, completed…
Formality Needed to Secure Post-Dismissal Amendment Right
Last week, in Cita Trust Co. AG v. Fifth Third Bank, 2018 WL 416253 (11th Cir. Jan 16, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a $400-million contract dispute over an unauthorized bond transfer, demonstrating that the court will strictly enforce both procedural rules and contracts negotiated by sophisticated entities. This dispute concerned a…
“Gateway” Issue Delegation to an Arbitrator is Enforceable, Without Qualifications; Circuit Split Noted
The Eleventh Circuit enforced an employment-related arbitration agreement’s provision delegating to the arbitrator “gateway” questions of arbitrability in Jones v. Waffle House, Inc., 866 F3d 1257 (11th Cir. Aug. 7, 2017). The opinion, written by Judge Marcus and joined by Judge Hull and Judge Clevenger visiting from the Federal Circuit, also rejects the notion, adopted by the…
Dual Citizenship Does Not Create CAFA Jurisdiction
Two insurance class actions will remain in state court after the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Life of the South Insurance Co. v. Carzell, 2017 WL 1174083 (11th Cir. Mar. 29, 2017) (Marcus, J.). The court held that federal diversity jurisdiction does not exist under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) if all defendants and plaintiff…