The Eleventh Circuit vacated the SEC’s 2023 Funding Order for its Consolidated Audit Trail (the “CAT”) as arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. Am. Sec. Ass’n v. SEC, No. 23-13396 (11th Cir. July 25, 2025). The court remanded the matter to the SEC for further proceedings. For over a decade, the…
Tag: Judge Barbara Lagoa
Prior Employment Retaliation Action Precludes False Claims Act Qui Tam Action
A False Claims Act (“FCA”) qui tam action may be barred by res judicata because of a prior employment retaliation action, the Eleventh Circuit held in Milner v. Baptist Health Montgomery, 132 F.45h 1354 (11th Cir. 2025). A physician brought suit against his former employer-hospital, alleging that he was fired for whistleblowing on a scheme…
Summary Judgment for Insurer Improper in Bad Faith Case Where Insurer Failed to Initiate Settlement Negotiations After Deadly Shooting
A reasonable jury could have found that a property insurer knew or should have known it was clearly liable to pay its insured the $50,000 policy limit in a case involving a bar fight gone wrong, culminating in a deadly shooting. Kinsale Insurance Company v. Pride of St. Lucie Lodge 1189, Inc., No. 22-12675, 2025…
Non-Party Removal Was a Waivable Defect, but State-Law Service-of-Process Rule Applied
James H. Wilson III sued Hearos, LLC in Georgia state court, alleging he suffered permanent hearing loss at a shooting range because of Hearos’s faulty earplugs. Wilson v. Hearos, LLC, No. 23-12550 (11th Cir. Feb. 18, 2025). A non-party, Protective Industrial Products, Inc. (PIP), removed that suit to federal court, where it was dismissed as…
Federal Communications Commission’s 2023 Rule Interpreting “Prior Express Consent” Under the TCPA Violates the Administrative Procedure Act
The Eleventh Circuit vacated the Federal Communication Commission’s (“FCC”) 2023 rule interpreting the meaning of “prior express consent” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) because the rule impermissibly conflicted with the ordinary statutory meaning of “prior express consent.” Insurance Marketing Coalition Limited v. FCC, 127 F.4th 303 (11th Cir. 2025). Insurance Marketing Coalition Limited…
Non-signatory Spouse Not Subject to Mandatory Arbitration
In Lubin v. Starbucks Corp., 2024 WL 5113125 (11th Cir. Dec. 16, 2024), the Eleventh Circuit rejected an employer’s attempt to compel arbitration of claims brought by a former employee’s husband, where he had not signed an agreement with the employer and his claims were not sufficiently related to his wife’s employment agreement. The decision…
Divided Panel Affirms Remand of COVID-Related Claims to State Court
A resident of a Florida assisted living facility died shortly after contracting COVID-19. The representatives of her estate brought an action in state court against the owners and operators of the facility, alleging that the defendants failed to prevent the spread of the virus at the facility and asserting only state-law claims. The defendants removed…
But-For Causation Required for Employees to Succeed on FMLA Retaliation Claims
An employee bringing a retaliation claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-54 must prove that the retaliation was the but-for cause of termination. Lapham v. Walgreen Co., 2023 WL 8609244 (11th Cir. 2023). Doris Lapham, an employee of Walgreens for almost ten years, sought leave under FMLA so that…
Failure of Loss Causation Does Not Negate Standing in § 10(b) Securities Fraud Action
The Eleventh Circuit recently held that Article III standing is not negated by a failure to state a claim on loss causation grounds. Carpenters Pension Fund of Ill. v. MiMedx Grp., Inc., 73 F.4th 1220 (11th Cir. 2023). Carpenters, the lead plaintiff in this consolidated securities class action, purchased and sold stock in MiMedx, a…
Plaintiff Has Standing to Assert Agency-Based TILA Claim Against Home-Improvement Financing Company
A plaintiff had Article III standing to bring a Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) claim against a home improvement financer, based on a theory that a heating and air conditioning contractor company acted as agent for the financer. Walters v. Fast AC, Ltd. Liab. Co., 60 F.4th 642 (11th Cir. 2023) Gary Walters, a 70-year-old…