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

In the early 1900s, New York City used a Brooklyn powerhouse to provide electricity for its trolley system. In 1940, the City took ownership of the power plant and removed a smokestack, placed it in the building's basement, on top of a mechanical system that was insulated with friable asbestos-containing material, and buried it under a concrete slab. Enterprises acquired the property in 1986. An asbestos inspection by the city revealed that the property was contaminated with PCBs. The property was placed on New York’s Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites, rendering it effectively worthless. The state began remediation in 2015. The discovery of the buried smokestack and friable asbestos-containing material postponed the project indefinitely. New York City continued to tax the property according to its “best intended use” as a warehouse. Rather than paying the taxes or properly challenging their validity, Enterprises ignored them. The taxes became liens.In 2018, Enterprises filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and initiated an adversary proceeding against the city, alleging “continuous trespass,” and seeking a declaratory judgment that the city is responsible for the hazardous waste and resulting damage and improperly taxed the property. The bankruptcy court dismissed the adversary proceeding. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed. Even assuming the latest possible date of discovery, Enterprises’ trespass claim is time-barred. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, 11 U.S.C. 505(a)(2)(C), prohibited the court from redetermining the tax assessments. View "5200 Enterprises Ltd. v. City of New York" on Justia Law

Georgia law places restrictions on which prospective candidates for elective office can appear on the general election ballot. The Libertarian Party of Georgia, prospective Libertarian candidates, and affiliated voters ask the court to hold that Georgia's ballot-access laws unconstitutionally burden their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and deny them equal protection.The Eleventh Circuit concluded that the district court incorrectly held that the laws violate their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The court explained that, under the Anderson framework, the laws need only be justified by the State's important regulatory interests. In this case, the interests the Secretary asserts—in requiring some preliminary showing of a significant modicum of support before printing the name of a political organization's candidate on the ballot, in maintaining the orderly administration of elections, and in avoiding confusion, deception, and even frustration of the democratic process at the general election—are compelling. The court agreed with the district court's conclusion that Georgia's laws do not cause an equal protection violation. The court concluded that the Secretary's stated interest sufficiently justifies the distinction between candidates. Accordingly, the court reversed in part, affirmed in part, vacated the district court's injunction, and remanded. View "Cowen v. Secretary of State of the State of Georgia" on Justia Law

Booker is on Florida’s death row for first-degree murder. In 2012, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of federal habeas relief. In 2020, the Capital Habeas Unit of the Office of the Federal Public Defender (CHU) sought permission to represent Booker in state court to exhaust a “Brady” claim so that Booker could pursue the claim in a successive federal habeas petition. The Brady claim focused on the prosecution’s failure to disclose notes that allegedly could have been used to impeach an FBI hair expert. Booker said that he had learned through a FOIA request and a review by a qualified microscopist that there were inconsistencies between the expert’s trial testimony and his notes. The state objected to the appointment of CHU, noting that Booker had a state-law right to counsel through Florida’s Capital Collateral Regional Counsel North (CCRC-N); CCRC-N counsel was appointed to represent Booker in state court. Nonetheless, the district court appointed CHU under 18 U.S.C. 3599 to represent Booker in state courtThe Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal. Florida cannot establish standing based on a hypothetical conflict of interest that is not actual or imminent. State courts are empowered to reject appearances by CHU counsel, so the appointment cannot have inflicted an injury on Florida’s sovereignty. View "Booker v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections" on Justia Law

Because the Eleventh Circuit previously determined that the Government does not have to formally intervene before filing a motion to settle a qui tam action, and because the reasoning is the same for dismissals, the court held that the Government does not have to formally intervene before moving to dismiss a qui tam case even though it had earlier declined to intervene. The court also concluded that decisions to dismiss are within the province of the Executive Branch subject only to limits imposed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a statute, or the Constitution.The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the case. Here, when relators filed their initial complaint, the United States declined to intervene. Relators then filed an amended complaint adding additional defendants, some of which were Government employees in their individual and official capacities. The United States subsequently filed a motion to dismiss without first filing a motion to intervene in the case. View "United States v. McAvoy" on Justia Law

The Eleventh Circuit reversed the tax court's order disallowing taxpayers' carryover deduction for the donation of a conservation easement. The court concluded that the Commissioner's interpretation of I.R.C. 1.170A14(g)(6)(ii) is arbitrary and capricious and violates the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA) procedural requirements. The court explained that Treasury, in promulgating the extinguishment proceeds regulation, failed to respond to NYLC's significant comment concerning the post-donation improvements issue as to proceeds. Because the court found the Commissioner's interpretation of section 1.170A-14(g)(6)(ii) invalid under the APA, it concluded that the easement deed's subtraction of the value of post-donation improvements from the extinguishment proceeds allocated to the donee does not violate section 170(h)(5)'s protected-in-perpetuity requirement. The court remanded for further proceedings. View "Hewitt v. Commissioner" on Justia Law

In this qui tam action, after the jury found that Pinellas violated the False Claims Act and that the United States sustained damages, the district court trebled the damages and imposed statutory minimum penalties of $1,177,000 ($5,500 for each of the 214 violations).The Eleventh Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part. The court upheld the district court's admission of Exhibit 24 where Pinellas failed to argue that the admission of the evidence constituted plain error. The court concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to have found that, had Medicare known of Pinellas's misrepresentations, it would not have paid the refiled reimbursement claims. Furthermore, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence on scienter is not overwhelmingly in favor of Pinellas. Therefore, the jury's decision stands. The court also upheld the jury's findings on damages where the court concluded that the proper measure of damages in this case is the difference between what the United States paid and what it would have paid had Pinellas' claims been truthful. The court rejected the remaining challenges to the jury's verdict. The court further concluded that the monetary award imposed does not violate the Excessive Fines Clause. Finally, the court dismissed Pinellas' appeal as to the allocation of the monetary award between Ms. Yates and the United States. View "Yates v. Pinellas Hematology & Oncology, P.A." on Justia Law

After Allstate decided to stop paying premiums on retired employees' life insurance policies, two putative classes filed suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The Turner retirees are made up of retired former Allstate employees to whom Allstate no longer provides life insurance. The Klaas retirees consist of individuals who took part in a special retirement opportunity with Allstate.The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment in favor of Allstate, concluding that Allstate had the authority under the summary plan descriptions to terminate the retiree life insurance benefits for both putative classes and did not violate Section 502(a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The court also concluded that any claims for breach of fiduciary duty brought under section 502(a)(3) were time barred. View "Klaas v. Allstate Insurance Co." on Justia Law

The Eleventh Circuit vacated defendant's 110-month sentence for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The court held that the government did not waive its argument that defendant's conviction qualified as a predicate crime of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), where, as here, the argument was foreclosed by binding precedent at the time of sentencing and the change in law occurred within the time to file a notice of appeal. Therefore, the court need not determine whether a conviction for robbery under Georgia law is an ACCA predicate offense. Accordingly, the court remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Sharp" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, four sex trafficking victims, filed suit against numerous defendants within the hotel industry for violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), specifically 18 U.S.C. 1595(a), and Georgia state law. The district court held that plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege claims against three hotel franchisors: Choice Hotels, Wyndham Hotels, and Microtel Inn & Suites.The Eleventh Circuit affirmed and held that Section 1595(a) should be applied according to its plain meaning: that is, to state a claim for beneficiary liability under the TVPRA, a plaintiff must plausibly allege that the defendant (1) knowingly benefited (2) from taking part in a common undertaking or enterprise involving risk and potential profit, (3) that the undertaking or enterprise violated the TVPRA as to the plaintiff, and (4) that the defendant had constructive or actual knowledge that the undertaking or enterprise violated the TVPRA as to the plaintiff. The court concluded that plaintiffs have failed to meet that burden as to the three franchisors at issue on appeal. The court likewise concluded that, as to these three defendants, plaintiffs did not state a plausible claim under Georgia state law. View "Doe v. Choice Hotels International, Inc." on Justia Law

Fintech, a seller of software that processes alcohol-sales invoices within 24 hours, filed suit against its competitor, iControl, alleging misappropriation of trade secrets. After the jury found in favor of Fintech, iControl sought a new trial on liability and judgment as a matter of law on damages. Fintech then sought a permanent injunction broadly prohibiting iControl from using either company's software. The district court denied all motions and both parties appealed.The Eleventh Circuit concluded that the district court correctly denied iControl's new trial motion on liability where there is no "absolute absence of evidence" to set aside the jury's findings; erred in denying iControl's judgment as a matter of law motion on damages because Fintech did not deduct marginal costs in calculating lost profits; and correctly refused Fintech's requested injunction, which sweeps too broadly. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings. The court noted that, on remand, the district court should require an accounting of marginal costs to enable a proper lost-profits calculation. View "Financial Information Technologies, LLC v. iControl Systems, USA, LLC" on Justia Law