After years of quiet reluctance, the Eleventh Circuit has finally begun posting oral-argument recordings on its website. The court thus joins the U.S. Supreme Court and the majority of U.S. Courts of Appeals that already make recordings of oral arguments publicly available online. The court’s change in policy toward oral-argument recordings is reflected in amendments to…
Category: Appellate Procedure
Security Is Secure, Even When It’s in Receivership
In 2009, the SEC filed an action against Arthur Nadel and others following the collapse of a Ponzi scheme. The district court appointed a receiver to administer the defendants’ property and business affairs “and take whatever actions are necessary for the protection of the investors.” The district court also established a bar date for creditors’…
Direct Appeal from Bankruptcy Proceeding Transferred for Lack of Jurisdiction
Federal courts have struggled with the implications of Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S. 462 (2011), and Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, 135 S. Ct. 1932 (2015)—in which the Supreme Court held that the Constitution requires the parties’ consent before bankruptcy courts can finally adjudicate claims that neither “stem[] from the bankruptcy itself [n]or would necessarily…
New Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Take Effect
Practitioners take note: Significant amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure took effect on December 1, 2016. The Eleventh Circuit’s website has a helpful summary of the major changes here, and a complete set of the amended rules, along with the latest Eleventh Circuit Rules and Internal Operating Procedures, is available here. The biggest…
Court Applies Final Judgment Review Standard to Grant of Summary Judgment
When no jury is demanded, does a district court have more leeway in granting summary judgment? The Eleventh Circuit explained the question in its July 26 opinion in Florida International University Board of Trustees v. Florida National University, Inc., 2016 WL 4010164 (11th Cir. July 26, 2016), affirming the district court’s judgment in favor of the…
When a Settlement Contingent on Vacatur is Grounds for Rule 60(b) Relief from Judgment
On July 12, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of a Rule 60(b) motion in Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Co., 2016 WL 3741972 (11th Cir. July 12, 2016), and vacated the underlying summary judgment orders that the parties had jointly sought relief from in the motion. …