Justia U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Plaintiff joined a suit alleging violations of state and federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1961-68, laws against defendants. EMI Resorts and DMK appealed the district court's entry of an agreed order appointing a receiver-like "monitor" to oversee defendants' financial and business assets. The court held that because defendants failed to demonstrate facts sufficient to nullify their consent to the district court's appointment of the "monitor" and to its waiver of jurisdictional objections, the court declined to vacate the district court's order.

The United States appealed an award of attorney's fees and costs under the Hyde Amendment, Pub. L. No. 105-119, section 617, 111 Stat. 2440, 2519, and two attorneys, Sean Cronin and Andrea Hoffman, appeal public reprimands entered against them based on their work as Assistant United States Attorneys in an underlying criminal action marked by hard adversarial tactics. The court held that the district court abused its discretion when it imposed sanctions against the United States for a prosecution that was objectively reasonable, and the district court violated the constitutional right to due process of the two lead prosecutors, when it denied them notice of any charges of misconduct and an opportunity to be heard. Therefore, the court vacated the award of attorney's fees and costs against the United States and the public reprimand of Cronin and Hoffman, but the court denied the request of Cronin and Hoffman that the court reassign the case to a different district judge at this stage.

The estate sued the church for wrongful death, alleging that its members deprived decedent of his psychiatric medication, and that while in a mentally deteriorated state caused by the abrupt denial of his prescription, he shot and killed himself. A state court judge ordered the estate's attorney to withdraw, based on settlement of prior state litigation against the church that allegedly prohibited the attorney from participating in any adversarial proceeding against the church. After a state appeals court affirmed, the attorney moved to void the settlement. The motion was denied. Faced with contempt in state court, the attorney filed an involuntary motion to withdraw. A petition to the state supreme court remains pending. The federal district court denied the motion and ultimately enjoined the trial court from imposing sanctions, pursuant to the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. 1651(a). The Eleventh Circuit vacated, holding that, although the court was understandably concerned about the estate's ability to retain counsel, the injunction was not "necessary in aid of its jurisdiction," 28 U.S.C. 2283, and was issued in violation of the Anti-Injunction Act.