Court Declares Ratepayers’ Challenge to Jefferson County Bankruptcy Plan Equitably Moot
Posted on Aug 21, 2018 in Bankruptcy | Comments Off on Court Declares Ratepayers’ Challenge to Jefferson County Bankruptcy Plan Equitably Moot
In Bennett v. Jefferson County, Alabama, 2018 WL 3892979 (11th Cir. Aug. 16, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit held that the doctrine of equitable mootness barred a challenge by ratepayers to Jefferson County’s bankruptcy plan, representing the first time the court has applied the doctrine to a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy. Jefferson County declared bankruptcy in 2011, having run up some...
Eleventh Circuit Reverses Sanctions Award Against FLSA Plaintiff
Posted on Aug 12, 2018 in Bankruptcy | Comments Off on Eleventh Circuit Reverses Sanctions Award Against FLSA Plaintiff
In Silva v. Pro Transp., Inc., __ F.3d __, 2018 WL 3801663 (11th Cir. Aug. 10, 2018) (per curiam), the Eleventh Circuit applied its prior decision in Slater v. U.S. Steel Corp., 871 F.3d 1174 (11th Cir. 2017 ) (en banc) (see our blog post here) to reverse a sanctions award against a FLSA plaintiff and his attorneys. The plaintiff, Juan Antonio Silva, first consulted a lawyer about his...
Plaintiff Judicially Estopped from Pursuing Claims Not Disclosed in Bankruptcy
Posted on Jul 2, 2018 in Bankruptcy | Comments Off on Plaintiff Judicially Estopped from Pursuing Claims Not Disclosed in Bankruptcy
In Weakley v. Eagle Logistics, 2018 WL 3188663 (11th Cir. June 29, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit considered what “facts and circumstances” surrounding a plaintiff’s failure to disclose a pending lawsuit in bankruptcy proceedings will allow the lawsuit to be dismissed on judicial-estoppel grounds. The plaintiff, Timothy Weakley, had filed two separate lawsuits against a number of...
Supreme Court Grants Cert. in Bankruptcy Discharge Case
Posted on Jan 16, 2018 in Bankruptcy | Comments Off on Supreme Court Grants Cert. in Bankruptcy Discharge Case
The Supreme Court granted cert. on January 12, 2018, to review Appling v. Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP (In re Appling), 848 F.3d 953 (11th Cir. 2017), which we reported on below. The case, which involves the bankruptcy discharge exception for fraud, will be heard this term. Posted by Tom...
Bankruptcy Debtors Can Recover Attorneys’ Fees Spent in Enforcing Stay and Seeking Damages, Including for Appeals
Posted on Dec 11, 2017 in Bankruptcy | Comments Off on Bankruptcy Debtors Can Recover Attorneys’ Fees Spent in Enforcing Stay and Seeking Damages, Including for Appeals
Richard and Patricia Horne filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. After the bankruptcy was filed and the automatic stay imposed by Section 362(a)(1) went into effect, Mary Mantiply, an attorney, filed a state court action against the Hornes on behalf of Mantiply’s client. Mantiply repeatedly refused to dismiss the case, even after being informed of the...
Supreme Court Scorecard: Looking Back at the 2016 Term and Forward to October
Posted on Aug 29, 2017 in Bankruptcy, Court News | Comments Off on Supreme Court Scorecard: Looking Back at the 2016 Term and Forward to October
After a tough record in 2015, the Eleventh Circuit batted .400 last term at the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Court’s five merits decisions on appeal from the Eleventh Circuit, two judgments were affirmed, two were reversed, and one was vacated. The two affirmances were both in criminal cases with majority opinions by Justice Thomas. In Beckles v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 886 (Mar. 6,...