In Cochran v. Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., 35 F.4th 1310 (11th Cir. May 31, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty as barred by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA). After Jeffrey Cochran’s 401(k) retirement plan was terminated by his employer, he transferred…
Author: Rebekah Whittington
No “Follow-the-Fortunes” Doctrine Where a Reinsurance Agreement’s Terms Are Plainly Inconsistent with the Doctrine
The Eleventh Circuit in Public Risk Management of Florida v. Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., 38 F.4th 1298 (11th Cir. June 29, 2022), held that courts cannot infer application of the “follow-the fortunes” doctrine where a reinsurance agreement’s plain and unambiguous language is inconsistent with the doctrine. Public Risk Management of Florida (“PRM”), a self-insured intergovernmental…
Eleventh Circuit Upholds “Floating” Forum Selection Clause
In AFC Franchising, LLC v. Purugganan, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 22323 (11th Cir. Aug. 11, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit held that an individual consented to personal jurisdiction and venue by agreeing to a “floating” forum selection clause. Danilo Purugganan entered into a “Master Developer Agreement” with Doctors Express Franchising in 2009. The parties agreed that…
“Business Development Managers” Fall Under FLSA Administrative Exemption, Not Entitled to Overtime
In Brown v. Nexus Business Solutions, LLC, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 8777 (11th Cir. Apr. 1, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit held that “business development managers,” tasked with persuading corporate customers to purchase General Motors vehicles for their fleets, are not entitled to overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The business development managers…
Court Vacates Preliminary Injunction Enforcing Non-Disclosure Covenant Where Former Employer Did Not Allege Any Prior Violation and Did Not Establish a Legitimate Business Interest in Customer Relationships
In an appeal of a preliminary injunction, the Eleventh Circuit dismissed part of the appeal as moot while vacating the remaining provisions of the preliminary injunction. Vital Pharm., Inc. v. Alfieri, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 1771 (11th Cir. Jan. 20, 2022). Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. brought suit against four former employees and a competitor based on…
Settlement Release Negotiations and Actions of Third-Party Claimants Are Both Relevant in Bad Faith Actions
In Pelaez v. Government Employees Insurance Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 28312 (11th Cir. Sept. 20, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit upheld summary judgment for GEICO in a Florida bad faith case. Merely offering an overbroad release to a third-party claimant was insufficient to establish bad faith in the totality of the circumstances, which included GEICO’s…