A so-called “toxic” lender was a “dealer” required to register under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and disgorgement was an appropriate remedy for his violations, but a divided panel held that a lifetime ban from engaging in penny-stock transactions was an abuse of the district court’s discretion. S.E.C. v. Almagarby, 2024 WL 618517 (11th…
Tag: Judge William (Bill) Pryor
Blue Cross/Shield $2.67B Class Action Settlement Approval Affirmed
The court affirmed a district court’s approval of a $2.67 billion class action settlement of an antitrust multi-district litigation brought against Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its local member plans alleging Sherman Act violations in restrictions on the member plans’ ability to compete. In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litig. MDL 2406, 2023…
No Special Tolling for Plaintiff Who Brings an Untimely FLSA Action After Previous Timely Action Is Dismissed
The Fair Labor Standards Act’s statute of limitations is not tolled when a plaintiff files an FLSA action that is later dismissed and then files a new, untimely, action. This was the court’s holding in Wright v. Waste Pro USA, Inc., 696 F.4th 1332 (June 13, 2023), which also rejected the plaintiff’s request for equitable…
Rule 41(a) May Only Dismiss an Entire Action, Not a Single Count
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a) outlines the procedure for voluntary dismissals of “an action” at the parties’ request. The Eleventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Britt Grant, has again emphasized that “[a]ny attempt to use this rule to dismiss a single claim, or anything less than the entire action will be invalid.”…
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…
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….
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…
Sharing Information with Trusted Vendors Does Not Confer Article III Standing for FDCPA Claim
The en banc Eleventh Circuit has issued its third and presumably final opinion in the tortured history of Hunstein v. Preferred Collection & Management Services, Inc., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25233 (11th Cir. Sept. 8, 2022). The court held that the plaintiff failed to allege facts sufficient to establish Article III standing to assert a…
Eleventh Circuit Will Not Rehear City’s Fair Housing Act Claim
The Eleventh Circuit has denied a petition to rehear en banc City of Miami Gardens v. Wells Fargo & Co., 931 F.3d 1274 (11th Cir. 2019), which dismissed for lack of standing Fair Housing Act claims brought against Wells Fargo by the City of Miami Gardens. City of Miami Gardens v. Wells Fargo & Co.,…