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

Three members of the Gangster Disciples, Vertuies Wall, Lawrence Grice, and Lewis Mobley, were indicted on charges including conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and drug trafficking. The indictment included notice of enhanced sentencing under 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a). Mobley was found competent to stand trial despite a defense expert's testimony about his mental illness. The trial lasted five weeks, with over sixty witnesses testifying about the gang's criminal activities, including murder and drug trafficking. The jury found all three defendants guilty of RICO conspiracy, with Grice also convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy.In the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the jury found Mobley and Wall guilty of RICO conspiracy involving murder, which subjected them to enhanced sentencing. Mobley was also convicted of attempted murder and related firearms offenses. Grice was convicted of RICO conspiracy and drug trafficking conspiracy. The district court sentenced Mobley to 480 months and Wall to 360 months, both under the enhanced sentencing provision. Grice received a sentence based on his convictions.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the district court's findings, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions and the enhanced sentences. The court found no error in the jury instructions or the special verdict form regarding the enhanced sentencing provision. The court also held that any potential error in the jury instructions was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally, the court rejected challenges to the admission of testimony about non-testifying coconspirators' convictions and found no cumulative error affecting the defendants' substantial rights. The court affirmed the defendants' convictions and sentences. View "United States v. Wall" on Justia Law

In August of 2020, Matthew Ostrander, a homeless fugitive, was arrested in Gainesville, Florida, for failing to register as a sex offender following a 2007 child pornography conviction. At the time of his arrest, Ostrander possessed four electronic devices, three of which contained 480 computer-generated images (CGI) of children involved in sexual activity. These images did not depict real children. Ostrander was charged with knowing possession of an obscene visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1466A(b)(1), (d)(4).The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied Ostrander's motion to dismiss the possession charge, ruling it was untimely and without merit. After a two-day trial, a jury found Ostrander guilty. Ostrander appealed, challenging the constitutionality of the statute and the sufficiency of the evidence and alleging prosecutorial misconduct.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that the statute was not facially unconstitutional, as it was neither overbroad nor vague. The court found that the statute's legitimate sweep outweighed any potential unconstitutional applications. The court also determined that the evidence was sufficient to sustain Ostrander's conviction, as a reasonable jury could find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt based on the evidence presented. Finally, the court found no prosecutorial misconduct that would have affected the jury's verdict. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Ostrander's conviction. View "U.S. v. Ostrander" on Justia Law

Adam and Miranda Steines, along with Andrew Ormesher, filed a class action lawsuit against Westgate, a resort company, alleging violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA). The Steines, who purchased a timeshare in Orlando and financed it through a loan from Westgate, claimed that Westgate's loan documents did not comply with the MLA's requirements, including the prohibition of mandatory arbitration clauses. The Steines sought rescission of their timeshare, injunctive relief, damages, and restitution.The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held an evidentiary hearing and denied Westgate's motions to compel arbitration and dismiss the complaint. The court found that the MLA applied to the timeshare loan and that the MLA's prohibition on mandatory arbitration clauses overrode the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Westgate appealed the decision, arguing that the district court should not have addressed the arbitrability issue and that the MLA did not override the FAA.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's decision. The court held that the question of whether the MLA overrides the FAA is a matter for the court to decide, not the arbitrator. The court found that the MLA explicitly prohibits mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer credit contracts involving servicemembers, thereby overriding the FAA. Additionally, the court agreed with the district court's finding that the timeshare loan did not qualify as a "residential mortgage" under the MLA, as the timeshare units were more akin to hotel rooms than residential dwellings.As a result, the Eleventh Circuit dismissed the interlocutory appeal for lack of jurisdiction, affirming that the MLA's provisions rendered the FAA inapplicable in this case. View "Steines v. Westgate Palace, L.L.C." on Justia Law

Candace Hensley sustained injuries from a trip and fall accident at a Westin Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 2, 2017. She and her husband, Timothy Hensley, filed a lawsuit in the State Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia, against Westin Hotel and Westin Hotel Management, L.P. (WHM), alleging negligence and loss of consortium. Merritt Hospitality, LLC (Merritt) and WHM responded, asserting that Merritt was incorrectly named and that Westin Hotel was not a legal entity. The Hensleys amended their complaint to include Merritt and Marriott International, Inc. (Marriott). The case was removed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia based on diversity jurisdiction.Hartford Casualty Insurance Company, which had paid workers’ compensation benefits to Mrs. Hensley, intervened to protect its subrogation lien. The district court applied Indiana tort law and granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, concluding that they either did not control the hotel premises or lacked actual knowledge of the hazard. The court also dismissed Hartford’s claim, as it depended on the Hensleys' success. The Hensleys appealed the decision.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case and determined that the district court lost subject matter jurisdiction when Hartford, an indispensable party, intervened, destroying complete diversity. The appellate court vacated the district court’s summary judgment order and remanded the case with instructions to remand it to the State Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia. The main holding was that Hartford’s intervention as a matter of right and its status as an indispensable party required the case to be remanded to state court due to the lack of complete diversity. View "Hensley v. Westin Hotel" on Justia Law

Lucious Boyd, a Florida prisoner sentenced to death for first-degree murder, sexual battery, and armed kidnapping, filed a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 after a series of unsuccessful state collateral attacks. The district court held an evidentiary hearing on Boyd's claim that his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated due to a juror's undisclosed criminal history. The juror, Tonja Striggles, admitted her criminal history and disclosed additional information, but Boyd did not amend his petition to include these new disclosures. The district court denied Boyd's habeas petition on the merits and granted a certificate of appealability, leading Boyd to appeal.While his appeal was pending, Boyd moved in the district court to amend his habeas petition under Rule 15(a)(2) or, alternatively, to reopen his habeas proceedings under Rule 60(b)(6), citing new evidence from Striggles's testimony. The district court characterized Boyd's motion as a second or successive habeas petition, requiring preauthorization from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which Boyd had not obtained. Consequently, the district court dismissed his motion.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's decision. The court held that once a district court has entered a final judgment on a habeas petition, any new filing seeking to relitigate the same claims is considered a second or successive petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b). The court also noted that an appeal transfers jurisdiction to the appellate court, preventing the district court from amending the petition or reopening the case. Boyd's failure to obtain the necessary preauthorization from the appellate court meant that the district court correctly dismissed his motion. View "Boyd v. Secretary, Department of Corrections" on Justia Law

The case involves the valuation of a bitcoin mining property owned by Michael Oken, who had invested millions in infrastructure upgrades to support bitcoin mining. The property, located in College Park, Georgia, included a Power Sales Agreement with the city for low-cost electricity, which was crucial for the mining operation. After Oken's death in 2019, his businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the property was sold along with an adjacent data center for $4.9 million. The deeds indicated a $2.45 million value for each property based on transfer taxes. Two creditors, Thomas Switch Holding and Bay Point Capital, sought to recover on liens against the property.The bankruptcy court held a bench trial to determine the property's value. Switch's appraiser, Michael Easterwood, valued the property at $830,000 using the cost approach, considering the infrastructure improvements. Bay Point's appraiser, Jeff Miller, valued it at $48,000 using the sales comparison approach, comparing it to other light industrial properties. The bankruptcy court adopted Easterwood's valuation, finding the property to be a special purpose property with bitcoin mining as its highest and best use. The court valued the property at over $700,000, awarding the full escrow amount to Switch.The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia affirmed the bankruptcy court's decision. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case. The appellate court upheld the bankruptcy court's findings, agreeing that the property was a special purpose property with bitcoin mining as its highest and best use. The court also affirmed the use of the cost approach for valuation and found no clear error in considering the tax stamp value as supporting evidence. The judgment of the lower courts was affirmed. View "In re: VIRTUAL CITADEL, INC." on Justia Law

Bruce Jacobs, a Florida foreclosure attorney, filed a qui tam action against JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., alleging violations of the False Claims Act (FCA). Jacobs claimed that JP Morgan Chase forged mortgage loan promissory notes and submitted false reimbursement claims to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He asserted that JP Morgan Chase used signature stamps of former Washington Mutual employees to endorse loans improperly, thereby defrauding the government by seeking reimbursement for loan servicing costs.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed Jacobs's initial complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failing to plead fraud with particularity as required by Rule 9(b). The court also noted that Jacobs needed to establish that he was an original source of the information under the FCA’s public disclosure bar. Jacobs amended his complaint, but the district court dismissed it again, this time with prejudice. The court found that Jacobs still failed to meet the Rule 9(b) requirements and that the FCA’s public disclosure bar applied because the allegations had already been disclosed in three online blog articles, and Jacobs was not an original source of the information.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's dismissal. The Eleventh Circuit held that the blog articles, which were publicly available before Jacobs filed his lawsuit, qualified as "news media" under the FCA. The court found that the allegations in Jacobs's complaint were substantially the same as those disclosed in the blog articles. Additionally, Jacobs did not qualify as an original source because his information did not materially add to the publicly disclosed allegations. Therefore, the FCA’s public disclosure bar precluded Jacobs's lawsuit. View "Jacobs v. JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A." on Justia Law

Sarah Ritchie, a federal prisoner, appealed the district court's denial of her motion to vacate, set aside, or correct her sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Ritchie had pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e). She argued that her trial lawyer provided ineffective assistance by failing to advise her that the facts of her case might not support a conviction if the law developed in a particular way.The district court, after reviewing Ritchie's motion, concluded that her lawyer's failure to advise her on a "novel and unsettled point of law" did not amount to deficient performance under Strickland v. Washington. The court found that the existing legal precedent did not suggest that the facts of Ritchie's case were legally insufficient to support a conviction under § 2251(a). Consequently, the district court denied her motion and her request for an evidentiary hearing.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's decision. The appellate court held that Ritchie's lawyer was not constitutionally ineffective. The court noted that at the time of Ritchie's plea, there was no on-point decision suggesting that her conduct fell outside the scope of § 2251(a). The court emphasized that an attorney's failure to predict future legal developments does not constitute ineffective assistance. Given the state of the law at the time, the court found that it was not unreasonable for Ritchie's lawyer to advise her to accept the plea deal, which resulted in a significantly reduced sentence compared to the potential maximum.The Eleventh Circuit concluded that Ritchie's lawyer's performance was not deficient and affirmed the district court's denial of her § 2255 motion. View "Ritchie v. United States" on Justia Law

Taxinet Corporation sued Santiago Leon, alleging various claims stemming from a joint effort to secure a government concession for a taxi-hailing app in Mexico City. The district court granted summary judgment for Leon on all claims except for a Florida-law unjust enrichment claim, which went to trial along with Leon’s counterclaims for fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation. The jury awarded Taxinet $300 million for unjust enrichment and Leon $15,000 for negligent misrepresentation. However, the district court granted Leon’s Rule 50(b) motion for judgment as a matter of law, ruling that the damages award was based on inadmissible hearsay and was speculative.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida initially allowed testimony regarding a $2.4 billion valuation by Goldman Sachs, which was later deemed inadmissible hearsay. The court concluded that without this evidence, there was insufficient support for the jury’s $300 million award. The court also noted that the valuation was speculative and not directly tied to the benefit conferred by Taxinet in 2015.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s Rule 50(b) order, agreeing that the valuation evidence was inadmissible hearsay and that the remaining evidence was insufficient to support the $300 million award. However, the appellate court exercised its discretion to remand for a new trial on the unjust enrichment claim. The court found that Taxinet had presented enough evidence to show that it conferred a benefit on Leon, which he accepted, and that it would be inequitable for him to retain the benefit without payment. The court also noted that Taxinet could potentially present other evidence of damages in a new trial.The appellate court affirmed the district court’s summary judgment on Taxinet’s other claims, ruling that the alleged joint venture agreement was subject to Florida’s statute of frauds, as it could not be completed within a year. Thus, any claims based on the existence of the joint venture agreement were barred. View "Taxinet Corp. v. Leon" on Justia Law

Three owners and officers of a currency-exchange business, Sterling Currency Group, were involved in a scheme to defraud retail investors by promoting false rumors about the imminent revaluation of the Iraqi dinar. They also concealed their payments to advertise on dinar-discussion forums and falsely claimed plans to open currency-exchange kiosks. Two of the defendants lied to federal agents about their activities. The business sold over $600 million worth of currencies, and many investors lost significant amounts of money due to the fraudulent inducements.The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia conducted a five-week trial, after which the jury convicted the defendants of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements. The district court sentenced the defendants to prison terms ranging from 84 to 180 months. The defendants challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, jury instructions, evidentiary admissions, and one defendant's sentence.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the convictions and the sentence of one defendant, except for the refusal to grant a downward departure, which was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the fraud convictions, as the misrepresentations about the revaluation and the airport plan went to the core of the bargain with investors. The court also found that the district court properly instructed the jury and did not abuse its discretion in evidentiary rulings. The court upheld the sentencing enhancements applied by the district court, including those for sophisticated means, obstruction of justice, and substantial financial hardship. View "United States v. Bell" on Justia Law