Eversheds Sutherland 11th Circuit Business Blog
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Court Rejects Three-Year Time Bar for Damages Awarded under the Copyright Act

In Nealy v. Warner Chappell Music, Inc., 2023 WL 2230267 (11th Cir. Feb. 27, 2023), the Eleventh Circuit rejected the application of a three-year “lookback” period for the purposes of awarding damages under the Copyright Act. In answering a certified question of law presented by the district court, the appellate panel declined to time-bar damages for acts of copyright infringement that...

Florida Prohibition on Proof of COVID Vaccination Upheld by Divided Court

A Florida statute which prohibits all businesses operating in the state from requiring customers to provide documentary proof that they are vaccinated against COVID-19 does not violate the Free Speech and Commerce Clauses of the Constitution, a sharply divided Eleventh Circuit panel held in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. v. State Surgeon General, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 27997 (11th...

Tax Penalty May Be Communicated to Taxpayer Prior to Required Supervisory Approval

In Kroner v. Commissioner, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25650 (11th Cir. Sept. 13, 2022), the court reversed a U.S. Tax Court decision to hold that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) did not violate section 6751(b) of the Internal Revenue Code when it obtained supervisory approval prior to the assessment of a tax penalty, even though the penalty was communicated to the taxpayer prior to...

ERISA Beneficiary May Recover as “Appropriate Equitable Relief” Benefits Lost Due to Fiduciary’s Breach

The Eleventh Circuit has joined every other Court of Appeals to consider the issue by holding that an ERISA beneficiary may recover under ERISA’s Section 1132(a)(3), which permits an action for “appropriate equitable relief,” benefits lost as a result of a breach of fiduciary duty. Gimeno v. NCHMD, Inc., 38 F.4th 910 (11th Cir. June 28, 2022). Justin Polga was a doctor employed by...

“Local Controversy” CAFA Exception Not Established by Proof of Class Citizenship

An inartfully pleaded class definition coupled with a failure of proof was enough to prevent a class-action plaintiff from invoking the Class Action Fairness Act’s “local controversy” exception to avoid removal from the sheltering arms of a Florida circuit court, according to the Eleventh Circuit in Simring v. GreenSky, LLC, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 8002 (11th Cir. Mar. 28, 2022). The...

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