Paradise Found: Consumer Not Damaged by Purchasing (and Consuming) Gin Containing Prohibited “Grains of Paradise”
Posted on Apr 21, 2022 in Consumer Protection | Comments Off on Paradise Found: Consumer Not Damaged by Purchasing (and Consuming) Gin Containing Prohibited “Grains of Paradise”
The Eleventh Circuit again had the opportunity to interpret the scope of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), this time applying the Act’s safe-harbor provision for actions otherwise permitted by law. In Marrache v. Bacardi U.S.A., Inc., 17 F.4th 1084 (11th Cir. Nov. 8, 2021), the court affirmed dismissal of a putative class action that had attempted to hold a...
Eleventh Circuit Emphasizes Importance of Striking Shotgun Pleadings
Posted on Jan 28, 2020 in Civil Procedure | Comments Off on Eleventh Circuit Emphasizes Importance of Striking Shotgun Pleadings
In a consolidated appeal of two cases filed against banking institutions, the Eleventh Circuit expressed frustration over being “forced to review a judgment that should never have been entered.” Estate of Bass v. Regions Bank, Inc., 2020 WL 284094 (11th Cir. Jan. 21, 2020). Rather than striking the complaints as impermissible shotgun pleadings and allowing the plaintiff an...
Procedural Lapses Short-Circuit Attack on Statute Aimed at Incentivizing Nuclear Plant Construction
Posted on Jul 19, 2018 in Civil Procedure, Class Actions, Constitutional Law | Comments Off on Procedural Lapses Short-Circuit Attack on Statute Aimed at Incentivizing Nuclear Plant Construction
The abandonment of the V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina and the questionable status of Plant Vogtle in Georgia have garnered headlines in recent months and raised questions about the validity of state statutes authorizing utility companies to preemptively charge customers for the design and construction of new nuclear facilities using rate hikes. In William B. Newton v....
The Federal Medical Device Amendments Do Not Preempt All State-Law Claims
Posted on Jun 27, 2017 in Consumer Protection | Comments Off on The Federal Medical Device Amendments Do Not Preempt All State-Law Claims
The Eleventh Circuit applied Florida law and the preemption provisions of the federal Medical Device Amendments of 1976, 21 U.S.C. § 360c et seq., to reverse the district court’s dismissal of some, but not all, of a plaintiff’s claims against the manufacturer of a hip-replacement device. Mink v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 2017 WL 2723913 (11th Cir. June 26, 2017). The device at issue—a...
No ERISA Claims for Multi-Employer Pension Fund Contributor
Posted on May 17, 2017 in Employment Law and Employee Benefits | Comments Off on No ERISA Claims for Multi-Employer Pension Fund Contributor
Responding to a pension fund’s dire financial condition, its board passed an amendment requiring employers withdrawing from the fund to pay a portion of the fund’s deficiency. One contributing employer, WestRock, then sought a declaratory judgment that the amendment violated ERISA, arguing on appeal that it had a claim under 29 U.S.C. §§ 1132(a)(10) or 1451(a). Whether these provisions...