2024 Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: Jose Villegas, a 39-year-old inmate at Lake Correctional Institution (LCI) in Florida, died following a physical confrontation with correctional officers. The incident began when officers found Villegas unconscious in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Troy Olhausen, a former Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Arriva Medical, LLC, filed a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against his former employers, Arriva, Alere, Inc., and Abbott…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ariel Torres, a former Starbucks employee, and Raphyr Lubin, the husband of another former Starbucks employee, filed a putative class action against Starbucks. They alleged that Starbucks sent them deficient…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Elvis Eghosa Ogiekpolor, who was convicted of conspiring to commit money laundering and 15 counts of money laundering. The charges stemmed from business email compromise schemes and online romance…

Justia Opinion Summary: ArrMaz Products, Inc. (ArrMaz), a specialty chemical manufacturer, and the International Chemical Workers Union Council of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (the Union) entered into a stipulated election…

Justia Opinion Summary: John Armstrong, Jr. was indicted on multiple charges, including Hobbs Act robbery, bank robbery, attempted bank robbery, aiding and abetting bank robbery, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during these…

Justia Opinion Summary: C.H., an eleven-year-old, was sexually exploited by a stranger on Omegle.com, an online platform that connects users in video chatrooms. The stranger, referred to as John Doe, threatened C.H. into creating child…

Justia Opinion Summary: One night, Officer Devosie Jones of the City of Remerton Police Department attempted to stop a black Cadillac with one headlight. The car did not stop, leading to a high-speed chase that ended when the Cadillac crashed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Reginald Graham, Antonio Glass, Jerimaine Bryant, Mario Rodriguez, Torivis Reginald Ingram, Michael Walker, Levi Bryant, Curtis Bryant, Daniel Jones, and Samuel Hayes, who were convicted of various…

Justia Opinion Summary: A medical student at Florida International University (FIU) failed nine courses, including six while on academic probation, and was required to repeat a year. He was also reported for unprofessional behavior by three…

Justia Opinion Summary: Carey Dale Grayson, an Alabama prisoner, sought a preliminary injunction to halt his scheduled execution by nitrogen hypoxia, arguing that the method violated the Eighth Amendment due to the risk of conscious suffocation…

Justia Opinion Summary: Rockwater, Inc., doing business as Peerless Manufacturing Company, sold three peanut-drying trailers and was audited by the IRS, which determined that Rockwater owed excise taxes on these sales. Rockwater paid the taxes,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a fatal shooting by Deputy Jafet Santiago-Miranda, who fired his weapon into a moving vehicle, killing two young individuals, Angelo Crooms and Sincere Pierce. The plaintiffs, representing the estates…

Justia Opinion Summary: On February 11, 2021, Twitter suspended Project Veritas, an investigative journalistic organization, for allegedly violating its policy against publishing private information. Four days later, CNN's Ana Cabrera and Brian…

Justia Opinion Summary: MaChelle Joseph, a former head women’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech, and Thomas Crowther, a former art professor at Augusta University, filed separate complaints alleging sex discrimination and retaliation under…

Justia Opinion Summary: Rodolfo Maisonet was arrested for conspiring to distribute cocaine, a crime subject to a mandatory minimum sentence. He initially cooperated with the government, providing some information about the drug distribution…

Justia Opinion Summary: Thomas Swinford was shot and killed by Athens-Clarke County police officers after he refused to drop a gun and instead raised and pointed it at the officers. His widow, Jayne Swinford, filed a lawsuit in Georgia state…

Justia Opinion Summary: Alfreida Hogan, an African-American woman, was employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a nurse practitioner from July 2012 until March 2019, when she was demoted to staff nurse and subsequently resigned.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jimmy Ray Lightsey was convicted by a jury of possessing a firearm as a felon, possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs, co-personal representatives of the estate of Sara Schleider, filed a lawsuit in Florida state court against GVDB Operations, LLC, and JSMGV Management Company, LLC. They alleged that the defendants failed…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Jimmy Davis, Jr., an Alabama prisoner sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of Johnny Hazle during a gas station robbery, appealed the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 federal habeas…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, four individuals sued the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) under the Anti-Terrorism Act, resulting in a default judgment of $318 million against FARC. Unable to collect from FARC, the plaintiffs…

Justia Opinion Summary: Eric and Todd Romano, trustees of the Romano Law, PL 401(k) Plan, filed a class action against John Hancock Life Insurance Company. They claimed that John Hancock breached its fiduciary duties under the Employee…

Justia Opinion Summary: VFS Leasing Co. ("VFS") leased trucks to Time Definite Leasing, LLC ("TDL"), which insured the trucks with Markel American Insurance Company ("Markel American"). Markel American issued joint checks to VFS and TDL for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Hector Diaz-Arellano, a Mexican national, entered the U.S. illegally in 1989. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security charged him as a removable alien. Diaz-Arellano conceded removability but sought cancellation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Two state prisoners, Theresa Batson and Michael Cassidy, filed federal petitions for writs of habeas corpus, arguing their petitions were timely due to amended state court judgments. Batson was convicted of conspiracy…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves a dispute between two insurance companies, Gemini and Zurich, over their respective contributions to a $2 million settlement arising from a fatal accident involving a tractor-trailer. FSR Trucking, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Havana Docks Corporation, which held a 99-year usufructuary concession at the Port of Havana, Cuba. This concession, granted in 1905, allowed Havana Docks to build and operate piers at the port. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Louis Mercado was charged with three counts of capital sexual battery in Florida. During his trial, the court granted judgments of acquittal on two counts and declared a mistrial on the third count due to prosecutorial…

Justia Opinion Summary: Two plaintiffs, Lester Jenkins and Dwight Siples Jr., participated in the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and later developed chronic sinusitis, which they attributed to exposure to crude oil and dispersants…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves two grand jury subpoenas issued to an accounting firm and an investment company in connection with an alleged illegal tax-shelter scheme. The investment company claimed that the documents sought were…

Justia Opinion Summary: Fane Lozman owns a parcel of submerged and upland land in the City of Riviera Beach, Florida. After the city enacted a comprehensive plan and ordinance restricting development, Lozman sued, claiming the city deprived his…

Justia Opinion Summary: A Guatemalan company, HSR, engaged another Guatemalan company, AICSA, to design and construct a hydroelectric power plant. The project faced opposition from the local indigenous community, leading to work suspension and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs, citizens of the Dominican Republic, requested records from three federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) related to the revocation of their U.S. visas. The agencies produced some…

Justia Opinion Summary: Joseph and Jo-Lynn Jenkins Parrott filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2018, committing to a payment plan. After several amendments to their plan, the bankruptcy trustee moved to dismiss the case due to missed payments.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute between two federally recognized Indian tribes, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, over the excavation and development of a burial site known as Hickory Ground…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this labor dispute, several employees sued their employer, a steel manufacturer, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Alabama common law. They claimed the company failed to pay wages for all…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Constantine Varazo II, who was convicted by a jury for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. The key…

Justia Opinion Summary: A group called Moms for Liberty, along with several individual members, filed a lawsuit against Brevard Public Schools and members of the Brevard County School Board. The plaintiffs claimed that their speech was…

Justia Opinion Summary: A former railroad employee, Demetris Hill, was convicted of theft of government property and making a false claim to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). Hill had been receiving monthly disability benefits from the RRB…

Justia Opinion Summary: Willie Hayden pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin and possession with intent to distribute heroin. After serving a prior term of imprisonment for drug trafficking, Hayden was released and began supervised release.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Joseph Lusk was convicted in Florida state court in 2018 for traveling to meet a minor after soliciting a guardian. Less than a month after his release from prison in 2021, Lusk engaged in sexually explicit conversations…

Justia Opinion Summary: Loren Read was indicted for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity after he exchanged online messages with an undercover federal agent posing as the father of young girls. Read expressed his desire to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Bradley Rodriguez, who applied for disability benefits and supplemental security income, claiming a disability due to a traumatic brain injury, bipolar disorder, and depression. His application was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves John Holland, William Moore, and Ed Cota, who were accused of participating in an illegal healthcare kickback scheme. The government alleged that Holland and Moore, hospital executives for Tenet…

Justia Opinion Summary: John Moore, Jr., and Tanner Mansell, who worked as boat crew for a shark encounter company in Jupiter, Florida, were involved in an incident on August 10, 2020. During a trip with the Kuehl family, they found a long…

Justia Opinion Summary: Transgender residents of Alabama sought to change the sex designation on their driver’s licenses without undergoing sex-change surgery, as required by Alabama’s Policy Order 63. This policy mandates that individuals…

Justia Opinion Summary: Two plaintiffs, Julia McCreight and Rebecca Wester, were long-term employees of AuburnBank, each with over twenty years of service. McCreight, a mortgage loan originator, and Wester, a loan closer, were both terminated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Andrew Butler III was convicted by a jury of knowingly and intentionally possessing five grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The district court sentenced him to 84 months of imprisonment…

Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Turner, a property owner in Suwannee County, Florida, claimed that his homestead property was sold at an impermissibly low amount under Florida law, which deprived him of any surplus after back taxes and costs…

Justia Opinion Summary: Amir Meshal, a professional truck driver, was stopped by Georgia State Police officers for a minor traffic infraction. During the stop, the officers discovered Meshal was on the FBI’s No Fly List. Despite instructions…

Justia Opinion Summary: A member of the Church of Christ, Stephen Jarrard, participated in a county jail's volunteer ministry program but was later dismissed and denied reentry. He sued, claiming his dismissal violated his free speech rights…

Justia Opinion Summary: George Wagner III filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, omitting a show horse he had purchased for his daughter from his bankruptcy petition. Wagner claimed he believed the horse belonged to his daughter, as it was registered…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jeremy Hitt, a Remote Control Operator for CSX Transportation, Inc., was terminated after receiving three workplace violations within a three-year period. Hitt's first violation occurred in 2017 for failing to leave…

Justia Opinion Summary: Three members of the Gangster Disciples, Vertuies Wall, Lawrence Grice, and Lewis Mobley, were indicted on charges including conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and drug…

Justia Opinion Summary: In August of 2020, Matthew Ostrander, a homeless fugitive, was arrested in Gainesville, Florida, for failing to register as a sex offender following a 2007 child pornography conviction. At the time of his arrest,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Adam and Miranda Steines, along with Andrew Ormesher, filed a class action lawsuit against Westgate, a resort company, alleging violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA). The Steines, who purchased a timeshare in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Candace Hensley sustained injuries from a trip and fall accident at a Westin Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 2, 2017. She and her husband, Timothy Hensley, filed a lawsuit in the State Court of Gwinnett County,…