Highlights of Recent Cases
from Federal Courts

• BANKRUPTCY. A chapter 13 debtor's surrender of a "910 vehicle" does not fully satisfy a claim secured by the vehicle and preclude a creditor from filing an unsecured claim for any remaining deficiency. (11th Cir.) C1134a

• FALSE CLAIMS ACT--QUI TAM ACTION--LIMITATION OF ACTIONS. An amended complaint involving a qui tam claim under the False Claims Act does not relate back to an original, non-qui tam, complaint under the "relation back" provisions of Rule 15(c). (11th Cir.) C1139a

• FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT--OVERTIME--EXEMPTIONS. Certain shuttle drivers employed with a corporation that provides ground transportation services to the general public traveling to and from local airports fell within the taxicab exemption from FLSA's overtime provisions. (U.S. Dist. Ct.) D365a

• INSURANCE--BAD FAITH--CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO SUIT. An insured failed to comply with a condition precedent to bringing a bad faith claim against an insurer under section 624.155, Florida Statutes, by failing to provide the Department of Insurance and the insurer with a Civil Remedy Notice which was sufficiently specific to allow the insurer an opportunity to cure the alleged violations giving rise to the bad faith claim. (U.S. Dist. Ct.) D367a

• EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS--DENIAL OF BENEFITS. The Supreme Court's decision in Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Glenn implicitly overruled Eleventh Circuit precedent to the extent that precedent requires district courts to review benefit determinations by a conflicted administrator under a heightened standard of review. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1111a.

• BANKRUPTCY--SANCTIONS--ATTORNEY'S FEES. Defendants, who were awarded attorney's fees under Section 57.105, Florida Statutes, in state court action instituted by the Chapter 7 trustee, were not required to obtain leave of the bankruptcy court under the Barton doctrine before seeking sanctions of attorney's fees against the trustee and her special counsel. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B428b.

• HABEAS CORPUS--SECOND OR SUCCESSIVE PETITIONS. A federal prisoner is not required to obtain permission from the court of appeals to file a second or successive petition for habeas corpus relief under section 28 U.S.C. section 2241. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1101a.

• EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PLAN--LONG-TERM DISABILITY. A plan administrator's reduction of benefits under a long-term disability plan based on a participant's receipt of Social Security disability benefits was reasonable and entitled to deference, and the interpretation of the plan's recoupment provision was correct. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1087a.

• CRIMINAL LAW--EVIDENCE--STATEMENTS OF CODEFENDANT. The government committed a Bruton violation by introducing a redacted statement of a codefendant which, although it did not mention defendant by name, summarized loans made by corporation to other companies controlled by the defendant, where the defendant was directly linked to the business entities named in the codefendant's statement, through both evidence at trial and express comments in the prosecutor's closing argument. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1075a.

• ZONING. The Court of Appeals upheld a district court order which invalidated a municipal zoning ordinance's restrictions on "formula" retail establishments because the restrictions violated the Dormant Commerce Clause. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1072a.

• CRIMINAL LAW--SENTENCING. Section 3582(c)(2), which permits a court to modify a sentence which was "based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered," does not apply where a retroactively applicable guideline amendment reduces a defendant's base offense level, but does not alter the sentencing range upon which the sentence was based. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1061a.

• CIVIL RIGHTS--STRIP SEARCHES. The practice of strip searching all arrestees as part of the process of booking them into the general population of a detention facility, even without reasonable suspicion to believe that they may be concealing contraband, is constitutionally permissible, provided the searches are no more intrusive than those upheld by the Supreme Court in Bell v. Wolfish. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1064a.

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION--CLEAN WATER ACT. The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency has discretion not to object to the issuance of a Title V operating permit on the ground that it is not in compliance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act when the only evidence of noncompliance is an agency-issued violation notice and a related civil complaint. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1042a.

• CRIMINAL LAW--SENTENCING--BAN ON FEDERAL BENEFITS. The district court improperly imposed a lifetime ban on the receipt of federal benefits pursuant to 21 U.S.C. section 862(a) against a defendant convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, which is a drug "possession" offense under section 862(b), not a drug "trafficking" offense. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1039a.

• APPEALS -- DISCOVERY ORDERS. The Court of Appeals declined to extend the "collateral order" doctrine to the exercise of its jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal of a discovery order implicating the attorney-client privilege. Reported at 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1028a.