261 results for 'court:"11th Circuit"'.
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly denied the insurer's motion for a new trial alleging that a jury's $9.2 million damages award in favor of the insured in a breach of contract action against the insurer was excessive. The action arose out of the insurer's decision to deny the insured's claim for hurricane damages. The jury's verdict was within the range of damages that a jury reasonably could have awarded based on the evidence. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: 20-13954, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Contract
J. Covington finds that the district court improperly dismissed the former employee's negligence claim in a putative class action against the employer arising after a ransomware attack on the employer's administrative system allowed cybercriminals to obtain current and former employees' Social Security numbers. In light of the employer's size and sophistication, it could have foreseen that its unsecured database could be the target of a cyberattack. The district court requested an unfair amount of specificity from the employee with regard to foreseeability. However, the district court correctly dismissed the claim for breach of implied contract. Reversed in part.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Covington, Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: 22-12853, Categories: Negligence, Class Action
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly denied defendant's petition for habeas relief from his death sentence for murder, armed robbery, burglary and other offenses. Defendant failed to show that the circumstances surrounding his challenges to allegedly racially-motivated jury strikes were not properly considered or adjudicated by the Georgia Supreme Court. Although inappropriate, the prosecutor's rants are not decisive evidence that he would discriminate against Black jurors if the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Batson v. Kentucky did not stop him. Correct standards were applied in finding that defendant's counsel adequately presented evidence at trial and sentencing of defendant's intellectual disability, mental illness and mitigating circumstances. The district court correctly found that defendant forfeited any direct challenge to his conviction based on his intellectual disability. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 20-12804, Categories: Death Penalty, Habeas, Murder
J. Tjoflat finds that the district court properly convicted defendant of Hobbs Act robbery and firearm offenses for nine robberies of spas, massage parlors and other Atlanta-area businesses. The district court did not commit any error by failing to hold a formal hearing before admitting testimony from the government's fingerprint expert based on defendant's suggestion that fingerprint comparison is unreliable science. The jury was made aware of the potential limitations of fingerprint evidence. The district court also did not abuse its discretion in allowing two FBI agents to testify about defendant's identity because they had first-hand knowledge of his appearance outside the courtroom. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Tjoflat, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 21-10539, Categories: Firearms, Robbery
J. Branch finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the former employer in a race discrimination action brought by the former state trooper, a Black man, after he was put on administrative leave and not promoted while he was investigated for allegedly coming to work intoxicated and posting a video of himself on Facebook marketing an at-home breathalyzer device. The former trooper failed to show that he was discriminated against on the basis of his race. He was not qualified for the corporal position since he did not complete a written exam required for promotion. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 21-13561, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination
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[Consolidated.] J. Lagoa finds that the 11th Circuit lacks jurisdiction to consider the insurer's appeal of the district court's order compelling appraisal and staying a breach of contract action brought by the insured. The action arose out of the insurer's denial of coverage for claims filed by the insured for property damages caused by Hurricane Irma. The order compelling appraisal is not a final appealable order or an appealable interlocutory order, therefore the appeal is dismissed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Lagoa, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 22-11059, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Branch finds that the district court properly dismissed the nonprofit's action against the county alleging that it failed to follow a consent decree and violated the Clean Water Act by repeatedly spilling wastewater, including untreated sewage, into surface waters. The district court correctly found that the action was impermissible under the diligent prosecution bar. The EPA and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have been diligent in continuing to monitor the county's progress and in penalizing it for noncompliance with the consent decree. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 20-13651, Categories: Environment
J. Rosenbaum finds that the district court properly convicted defendant of healthcare fraud offenses for billing insurance companies for physical therapy which was unnecessary and not actually received by patients. There was sufficient evidence to show that defendant aided and abetted the scheme by recommending unnecessary physical therapy for patients after performing cursory examinations and by giving insurers fake reports showing that he reevaluated the patients and they needed more physical therapy. The district court correctly sentenced defendant to 48 months in prison and ordered him to pay $1.1 million in restitution. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Rosenbaum, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 21-10461, Categories: Fraud, Sentencing
J. Pryor grants the company's petition for review and vacates the citation given by the labor secretary after two of the company's warehouse workers had forklift accidents known as "under-rides" within a six-month period. One of the incidents was fatal. The company complied with the safety standard that addresses under-rides. The commission therefore improperly upheld the citation.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: 22-11626, Categories: Labor
J. Brasher upholds the tax court's ruling in favor of the commissioner in an action brought by the couple challenging $267,000 in tax deficiencies in a dispute over a yacht and denies the couple's petition for review of the decision. The tax court correctly calculated the couple's tax liability. Provisions of the internal revenue code show that hobby losses under a section of the code are below-the-line miscellaneous itemized deductions. The section of the code did not allow the couple to deduct their expenses from operating the yacht because they could not meet the 2% threshold for miscellaneous itemized deductions.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Brasher, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: 22-10707, Categories: Tax
Per curiam, a panel of the 11th Circuit finds that the district court applied an incorrect legal standard in ruling that the mother failed to show a "grave risk" of harm to the child in Brazil and ordering that the child be returned to Brazil. The decision arose after the father filed a petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act seeking the child's return. The district court expressly found that the father's testimony about the alleged abuse was not credible and could have considered the testimony as corroborating evidence that the mother's allegations are true and that returning to Brazil represents a grave risk to the child. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 23-10918, Categories: Family Law, International Law
J. Newsom finds that the district court improperly found in favor of the insurer in an action brought by the hospitals seeking damages for out-of-network emergency treatment they provided to the insurer's customers. The hospitals allege that the insurer reimbursed them for only 15% of what they had charged. A genuine issue of fact exists as to what the typical provider charges for services in the community where the hospitals' services were rendered to the insureds. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Newsom, Filed On: May 25, 2023, Case #: 22-10514, Categories: Health Care, Insurance
J. Carnes finds that the district court improperly found in favor of the employer in an action brought by the deaf employee alleging that the employer violated the ADA by failing to provide him with a sign language interpreter on several occasions and by failing to give him text message summaries of nightly pre-shift safety meetings. A factfinder could reasonably find that the employee's inability to understand or participate in the meetings adversely affected the terms of his employment. There is also evidence that the employee's ability to participate in disciplinary proceedings involving attendance issues was also an essential part of the job which affected his pay raise. Reversed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Carnes, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: 21-13083, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination
Per curiam, a panel of the 11th Circuit finds that the district court improperly found in favor of the stepfather in an action brought by the individual alleging that the stepfather breached his fiduciary duty by failing to disclose the existence of wrongful death settlement funds. The 11th Circuit previously ruled that the district court correctly granted summary judgment to the stepfather as to the claim that he breached his fiduciary duty to the individual by misusing the settlement funds. A reasonable jury could find that the parties were in a fiduciary relationship and that the individual would have taken control of the funds when he turned 18 if the stepfather had disclosed their existence. The same breach of a duty to disclose that would toll the statute of limitations can also support a tort claim for breach of fiduciary duty. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 23, 2023, Case #: 20-14565, Categories: Fiduciary Duty
J. Branch finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of Walmart in a negligence action brought by the customer arising from injuries she suffered after slipping on liquid. The district court correctly analyzed the customer's claim under the framework of premises liability rather than under an active negligence theory. There is no evidence that the employee was aware that bags of trash were leaking or that he intentionally took action to place liquid on the floor. The district court also correctly denied the customer's claim for spoliation of evidence and the related sanctions request because the destruction of video footage from one camera arose out of mere negligence and the customer was not prejudiced by the loss. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 22-13637, Categories: Sanctions, Negligence, Premises Liability
J. Newsom finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the prison officials in a civil rights action brought by the decedent's sister alleging that he had two seizures while incarcerated and suffered permanent brain damage because he did not receive his seizure medication. The officials were not deliberately indifferent to the brother's medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The lieutenant did not know that missing medication for a few days could produce a serious health risk and the sergeant was not grossly negligent for failing to tell a nurse directly about the medication administration problems. Although there is evidence that two of the nurses disregarded the risk of a serious health concern to the brother, their conduct was not more than grossly negligent. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Newsom, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 21-14275, Categories: Civil Rights, Negligence
Per curiam, a panel of the 11th Circuit finds that the district court properly vacated defendant's death sentence for murder after ruling that he is intellectually disabled and that his sentence therefore violated the Eighth Amendment. The district court did not commit any error by considering evidence of defendant's adaptive functioning after finding that his IQ score could be as low as 69. There was evidence showing that defendant struggles to communicate effectively and suffers deficits in the conceptual and social domains of adaptive functioning. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: 21-14519, Categories: Death Penalty, Sentencing
J. Rosenbaum finds that the district court improperly granted the employer's motion for judgment on the pleadings in an action brought by the employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employee claimed that the employer reduced his regular hourly rate to an artificially low rate to avoid paying him overtime compensation. The employee plausibly alleged that the employer cut his non-overtime rate to avoid paying him an overtime rate which would have been equal to one-and-a-half times his established hourly rate. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Rosenbaum, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: 21-10954, Categories: Labor
J. Newsom partially grants the immigrant's petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision denying her request for cancellation of removal. The board applied an incorrect standard in finding that the immigrant is ineligible for relief under a battered spouse provision of a statute whose language was originally adopted as part of the Violence Against Women Act. The board interpreted the phrase "extreme cruelty" in the provision to require proof of physical abuse, but the phrase is instead best understood to include mental and emotional abuse. Therefore, proof of mental or emotional abuse is sufficient to satisfy the provision.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Newsom, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: 22-10445, Categories: Immigration
J. Jordan finds that the district court properly dismissed breach of contract claims brought by a company against a data center operator arising after 1,380 memory cards belonging to the company were stolen from the data center. The company failed to plausibly allege facts to support claims for breach of contract implied in law and breach of contract implied in fact. However, the district court improperly dismissed the implied bailment claim because the company plausibly alleged that the operator possessed the memory cards at the time of the theft. Affirmed in part.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Jordan, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: 21-13719, Categories: Contract
J. Rosenbaum finds that the district court improperly dismissed the former inmate's claims against two correctional officers alleging that his First and Eighth Amendment rights were violated when they sprayed him with a chemical agent while he was in his prison cell. The inmate also alleged that a supervising officer instructed prison staff not to feed him for two days in retaliation for filing grievances. The district court incorrectly found that the inmate's excessive force claim was barred under U.S. Supreme Court precedence in Heck v. Humphrey. Even though the inmate was convicted of tampering with a sprinkler, his action against the officers could succeed if they used more force than was permissible in stopping him. The district court incorrectly dismissed the inmate's claims for compensatory and punitive damages but properly found in favor of the supervising officer. The inmate is entitled to leave to amend the complaint. Affirmed in part.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Rosenbaum, Filed On: May 17, 2023, Case #: 20-14247, Categories: Civil Rights, First Amendment