Foreign Parent Company Not Subject to Personal Jurisdiction Based Solely on Actions of Subsidiary, and Expert Testimony Properly Excluded as Unreliable in Products-Liability Case
Posted on Oct 5, 2022 in Consumer Protection, Jurisdiction | Comments Off on Foreign Parent Company Not Subject to Personal Jurisdiction Based Solely on Actions of Subsidiary, and Expert Testimony Properly Excluded as Unreliable in Products-Liability Case
In the absence of facts supporting piercing the corporate veil or rendering affiliated companies alter egos, the actions of a subsidiary alone cannot subject a foreign parent company to personal jurisdiction in Florida, the Eleventh Circuit recently confirmed. The court’s decision in Knepfle v. J-Tech Corp., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25781 (11th Cir. Sept. 14, 2022), also reviewed the...
Arbitration Agreement’s Delegation Clause Must Be Enforced Even If Arbitration of Underlying Claims Prohibited by Statute
Posted on Aug 21, 2022 in Arbitration | Comments Off on Arbitration Agreement’s Delegation Clause Must Be Enforced Even If Arbitration of Underlying Claims Prohibited by Statute
In Attix v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, 35 F.4th 1284 (11th Cir. May 26, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration and enforced the parties’ agreement to delegate to the arbitrator questions of arbitrability, including whether arbitration itself was precluded by the Dodd-Frank Act. The decision not only reinforces the...
Restaurant’s Mandatory Service Charge is Not a “Tip” Under FLSA
Posted on Mar 29, 2022 in Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on Restaurant’s Mandatory Service Charge is Not a “Tip” Under FLSA
Tipped employees at Miami’s Nusr-et Steakhouse sued their employer, alleging that the restaurant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by counting payments to employees from the restaurant’s mandatory 18% “service charge” as part of the employees’ “regular rate of pay,” rather than as tips. The district court rejected the employees’ claim and granted the restaurant’s motion for summary...
Dismissal of Complaint Against Universal Life Insurer Affirmed Under Georgia Law
Posted on Jan 3, 2022 in Insurance | Comments Off on Dismissal of Complaint Against Universal Life Insurer Affirmed Under Georgia Law
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s order in the defendant insurer’s favor, dismissing the complaint and rejecting a claim that the plaintiff’s universal life policy was ambiguous and thus had to be construed against the insurer, in Anderson v. Wilco Life Insurance Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 33846 (11th Cir. Nov. 15, 2021). Vanessa Anderson brought a putative class action...
“Pinnacle” Trademark Dispute Offers Lessons in Trademark Trial Procedure
Posted on Aug 11, 2021 in Intellectual Property | Comments Off on “Pinnacle” Trademark Dispute Offers Lessons in Trademark Trial Procedure
The court vacated a $550,000 jury verdict in a trademark dispute teeming with procedural issues, Pinnacle Advertising & Marketing Group, Inc. v. Pinnacle Advertising & Marketing Group, LLC, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 22770 (11th Cir. Aug. 2, 2021), but kept alive the possibility of injunctive relief for the plaintiff on remand. The case is a primer on the intersection of judge...