19 results for 'judge:"Branch"'.
J. Branch finds that the district court properly upheld the administrative law judge's denial of the individual's second claim for Social Security disability benefits. The second denial found that the individual could perform a modified form of "light work" after an earlier denial determined he could only perform "sedentary work." Any error the judge committed in finding that the individual was limited to light work was harmless. The individual failed to show that he would have a right to disability benefits even if the judge had again found that he was limited to sedentary work. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 22-10568, Categories: Administrative Law, Social Security
J. Branch finds that the district court properly convicted defendant of producing child pornography. The district court did not commit any error in accepting defendant's guilty plea on a count of production of child pornography involving a victim who was not related to him without first finding that the victim volitionally participated in the sexual act. The statute did not require that the minor victim actively participate in the sexually explicit conduct. The sleeping victim was used as the object of defendant's sexual desire as he engaged in the sexually explicit conduct. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 22-12338, Categories: Plea, Child Pornography
J. Branch finds that the district court properly denied the individual's motion to set aside the default judgment entered against him in the couple's action arising from alleged misconduct in real estate investment transactions. The district court correctly found that the individual's default was willful and that he repeatedly ignored documents mail to him, including the complaint, written discovery requests and a subpoena for document production. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 22-13303, Categories: Civil Procedure
J. Branch finds that the 11th Circuit lacks jurisdiction over an appeal of the district court's entry of final judgment in favor of the insurer in a declaratory judgment action against the subcontractor's insurer arising from a coverage dispute. The final judgment did not dispose of all claims against all parties.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 22-14136, Categories: Insurance
J. Branch finds that the district court improperly approved a class action settlement resolving three actions by consumers against the sunglasses manufacturer for allegedly deceptive warranty and repair policies. The settlement was valued at approximately $32 million. The named plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue injunctive relief because they did not allege any threat of future injury from the manufacturer's repair cost misrepresentations. The district court therefore incorrectly considered the injunctive relief's value in its determination that the settlement was fair and reasonable. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-10663, Categories: Settlements, Class Action
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J. Branch denies the individuals' petition for review of the decision by the Federal Aviation Administration greenlighting projects to expand Lakeland Linder International Airport to accommodate a deal leasing an air cargo area to Amazon. The individuals alleged that the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act during the approval process by improperly segmenting the projects and conducting inadequate cumulative impacts analyses. The FAA satisfied the Act's requirements and its analysis was rigorous. The individuals failed to show that the FAA broke the projects up to avoid a more difficult environmental review.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 21-14476, Categories: Environment, Aviation
J. Branch denies the employer's petition for review of the National Labor Relations Board's finding that the employer unlawfully suspended and fired an employee for activity protected under the National Labor Relations Act. The employer, which provides security for NASA, failed to show that the employee's activities in relaying employee concerns about shift changes or in calling human resources about payment issues were for the purposes of collective bargaining or undermined the union's position as the bargainer. The board's application for enforcement of its order requiring the employer to offer to reinstate the employee and stop engaging in its unfair labor practices is granted.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 22-11339, Categories: Labor / Unions
J. Branch finds that the district court properly granted the college's motion to dismiss a race discrimination and retaliation action brought by the former fishing coach and compelled the case to arbitration. The district court correctly found that the arbitration agreement is not substantively or procedurally unconscionable. The coach failed to show that he is likely to incur any costs due to the cost-shifting provision in the agreement. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 22-11556, Categories: Arbitration
J. Branch finds that the district court improperly ruled in favor of the competitor in an unfair competition and trademark infringement action brought by the company. The district court incorrectly found that the company could not sue because it was a nonexclusive licensee that lacked sufficient ownership rights to a nonparty manufacturer's marks. The licensing agreement between the company and the manufacturer did not bar the company from bringing a claim under the Lanham Act. The settlement agreement between the competitor and the manufacturer is not binding on licensees and therefore also does not prevent the company from suing. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 22-10985, Categories: Trademark, Unfair Competition
J. Branch finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the government in a negligence action brought by estate representatives alleging that the actions of air traffic controllers caused the deaths of student pilots and passengers on two airplanes which collided mid-air. The district court correctly found that the air traffic controllers did not owe or breach any duty of care to the pilots because the planes were outside the air traffic control tower's airspace. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-12316, Categories: Negligence, Aviation
J. Branch finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of Royal Caribbean in a maritime negligence action brought by a passenger arising from injuries she suffered during a muster drill on a cruise ship. The passenger claimed a cruise line employee rushed her down stairs and caused her to fall. The district court correctly found that the passenger failed to provide sufficient evidence to create a dispute of fact as to medical causation. The passenger's testimony related to her neck injury is not medical expert testimony and her doctor's letter was not specific enough to link the passenger's disc disease to her fall. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 22-11569, Categories: Maritime, Negligence
J. Branch finds the lower court properly denied defendant’s motion to vacate his sentence. The “predicate offenses in this case were so inextricably intertwined that there is no doubt that the jury convicted” defendant based upon both of the valid drug trafficking predicate offenses. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 20-13260, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Branch finds that the lower court properly ruled that an exclusion in a contract meant the insurers had no duty to defend insureds sued by Concordia Pharmaceuticals, and also did not have any right to reimbursement of defense costs after agreeing to defend the insureds in the case. “While insurers can certainly contract for a right to reimbursement, they cannot do so in a subsequent reservation of rights after a reimbursement-less bargain has been struck.” Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 21-11758, Categories: Insurance
J. Branch finds that the district court properly denied defendant's motion to vacate his 360-month sentence for bank fraud, device fraud and aggravated identity theft convictions. The district court correctly found that defendant was competent at the time of his sentencing. There was evidence of phone calls between defendant and his mother showing that defendant's behavior during the trial and sentencing was contrived to make him seem mentally ill and to disrupt the proceedings. The district court also did not commit any error in refusing to credit the psychologist's opinion in light of conflicts between her testimony and that of other experts, as well as the years-long gap between her evaluation of defendant and the actual proceedings. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his counsel's allegedly deficient performance. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 20-14781, Categories: Fraud, Ineffective Assistance, Sentencing
J. Branch finds that the district court properly imposed sanctions on the bureau for discovery misconduct in an underlying action against 18 individuals and companies who allegedly participated in or assisted a fraudulent debt collection scheme. The bureau avoided answering deposition questions by having a witness read from memory aids and by asserting privilege objections to questions that the district court had already ordered to be answered. The district court therefore correctly dismissed the bureau's claims against five of the parties. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 21-14468, Categories: Sanctions
J. Branch finds that the district court properly granted Amazon's motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by the Amazon Prime subscribers alleging claims for breach of contract and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act after the company stopped providing rapid delivery for several months at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic but allegedly failed to notify subscribers. Amazon had the right to limit rapid delivery under the contract. The subscribers failed to show that the contract was procedurally or substantively unconscionable. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 21-14317, Categories: Consumer Law, Class Action, Contract
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
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. 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