Little Miller, Big Implications
6/20/18
By: Samantha Skolnick
In Georgia, when an individual performs work on a state construction project, they can file a lien for non-payment. The lien is against the project through Georgia’s Little Miller Act. The claim itself is not against the …
Eleventh Circuit Rejects Insured’s Claim for Coverage for $10.7 Million Loss Under Computer Fraud Policy
6/18/18
By: Bill Buechner
The Eleventh Circuit recently held that an insured could not recover $10.7 million in losses under a computer fraud policy covering losses “resulting directly from” the use of a computer to fraudulently cause a transfer of funds.…
Fourteen Seconds Plus Emergency Lights Equals Probable Cause To Arrest
6/11/18
By: Charles Reed
There is a saying that “nothing good ever happens after midnight.” Both City of Hollywood, Florida police officer Ronald Cannella and citizen Livingston Manners would become very familiar with this saying after the events of June 24, …
A House of Cards: Stacking Inferences to Prove Liability
5/10/18
By: Melissa Santalone
A Florida appellate court recently reaffirmed Florida’s state law prohibition against stacking inferences in personal injury cases with a reversal of a $1.5 million verdict in a slip-and-fall case against Publix. In Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. …
Circuits Now Split Three Ways Over False Claims Act Limitations Period
4/26/18
By: Robyn Flegal
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (governing Georgia, Alabama, and Florida), recently held that the three-year statute of limitations for the False Claims Act (FCA) begins when the government learns of alleged violations of the FCA, rather …
Antisocial Media: Court Critical of Cop Capturing Curious Citizen’s Cellphone
4/23/18
By: E. Charles Reed, Jr.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a police officer violates clearly established law by seizing a bystander’s cellphone at an accident scene in the absence of exigent circumstances.
With the rise of …
Leveling the Paying Field
4/5/18
By: Michael M. Hill
The Eleventh Circuit has held differences in work experience and salary history—factors many employers traditionally consider in setting pay rates—may not justify differences in pay between employees performing the same job.
Bowen v. Manheim Remarketing, Inc.…
Eleventh Circuit’s Notice Requirement Read into Telecommunications Act
4/5/18
By: Dana K. Maine
In an opinion issued Monday, Athens Cellular, Inc. v. Oconee County, Georgia, et al, a panel of the Eleventh Circuit determined that a decision under Telecommunications Act (“TCA”) was “final” when the local government adopted …
Congress Steps Into Tip-Pooling Fight
3/23/18
By: Timothy J. Holdsworth
We wrote previously about the background on the tip-pooling regulations and the DOL’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPR”) that would allow tip-pooling arrangements that include employees who do not regularly and customarily receive tips under the …
Second Circuit Joins Seventh Circuit In Holding That Title VII Prohibits Discrimination On Basis Of Sexual Orientation
3/1/18
By: Bill Buechner
The Second Circuit which covers New York, Connecticut and Vermont, has issued an en banc decision holding that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Zarda v. Altitude Express, 2018 U.S. U.S. App. …
Eleventh Circuit Rules Florida Strict Liability and Negligence Claims Not Preempted by the MDA
2/12/18
By: Robyn Flegal
A panel of the Eleventh Circuit determined in a February 8, 2018 published decision that a Florida district court erred when it ruled that a husband’s claims, brought against a medical device manufacturer after its Life Vest …
En Banc Eleventh Circuit Decision May Substantially Undermine Judicial Estoppel Defense
11/17/17
By: William H. Buechner, Jr.
A decision recently issued by the Eleventh Circuit sitting en banc may substantially undermine the judicial estoppel defense in employment cases.
A judicial estoppel defense may arise in many contexts, but the most common scenario …