In this state-law libel and negligence action, the Appellants—officials from New York City and various investigators hired by the City to conduct investigations in Georgia—appeal the district court’s order concluding that Georgia privilege law applies to this case and that Georgia’s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute does not apply in federal court. Becaus... More...   $0 (12-19-2008 - AL)

Yvonne Baldwin, the former acting police chief of Prichard, Alabama sued the city on a sexual discrimination theory under 42 U.S.C. 2000e claiming that the City offered her a discriminatory contract and then retaliated against her for filing a complaint. Plaintiff claimed that Prichard discriminated against her when it offered only a two-year contract. After she rejected the offer, the city gave L... More...   $235000 (12-20-2008 - AL)

This appeal concerns the personal jurisdiction of a U.S. district court over a Taiwanese company in a suit for declaratory judgment of non-infringement and invalidity of two U.S. patents owned by that Taiwanese company. Because the plaintiffs failed to allege that the Taiwanese company purposefully directed any activities beyond merely sending notice letters at residents of the forum and that the ... More...   $0 (12-19-2008 - AL)

This appeal involves a dispute over insurance coverage. Plaintiff-Appellee Capstone Capital Corporation (“Capstone”), a real estate investment 1 trust, sued its insurance carrier Defendant-Appellant Twin City Fire Insurance Company (“Twin City”) for coverage of litigation expenses related to defending a particular lawsuit.

In moving for summary judgment, Twin City argued to the dist... More...   $0 (11-10-2008 - AL)

This appeal involves a dispute over insurance coverage. Plaintiff-Appellee Capstone Capital Corporation (“Capstone”), a real estate investment 1 trust, sued its insurance carrier Defendant-Appellant Twin City Fire Insurance Company (“Twin City”) for coverage of litigation expenses related to defending a particular lawsuit.

In moving for summary judgment, Twin City argued to the dist... More...   $0 (11-04-2008 - AL)

Sherry Knowles sued Macon County Greyhound Park d/b/a VictoryLand on fraud and breach of contract theories claiming that defendant wrongfully refused to pay off on May 2, 2006 when the bingo machine she was playing displayed a jackpot of about 41 million credits.

VictoryLand claimed the jackpot display was a malfunction and never paid Knowles for the credits. VictoryLand machines have sign... More...   $10000000 (09-06-2008 - AL)

This diversity case involves a commercial real estate lease and a proposal by the assignee of that lease to sublease the real estate to a third party. A significant issue in this case arises out of a consent clause in the assignment, which gives the assignor “sole discretion” to withhold consent to the assignee’s proposed sublease. We certify this issue to the Alabama Supreme Court because i... More...   $0 (07-31-2008 - AL)

The plaintiffs in this employment discrimination case brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, are seven employees and two former employees of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated ("CCBCC"). In their complaint, they allege that CCBCC is maintaining a "pattern or practice" of discrimination against them and all other similarly sit... More...   $0 (02-06-2008 - AL)

The primary issue in this case is whether MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company ("MEGA") can rescind a life insurance policy issued by it on the ground that the insured overstated her income in the application for the policy. We conclude that there are genuine issues of material fact as to whether MEGA had a good faith underwriting policy which would have caused it to reject her application, ... More...   $0 (02-08-2008 - AL)

While child custody battles are all too common, it is not often that one of them finds its way into the federal courts. Those that do usually come by way of an action brought under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 11601–11 (ICARA), which implements the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Oct. 25, 1980, T.I.A.S. No. 11,670, 1343 U... More...   $0 (02-21-2008 - AL)

This matter is before this Court on Plaintiff Vicki V. Busby's ("Busby") appeal of the district court's denial of class certification to a class of plaintiffs seeking damages arising out of Defendant JRHBW Realty, Inc.'s, d/b/a RealtySouth ("RealtySouth"), alleged violation of Section 8(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), 12 U.S.C. §§ 2601, et seq. We accepted juri... More...   $0 (01-20-2008 - AL)

The two main questions in this appeal involve the timeliness of a proof of loss for an insurance policy issued under the National Flood Insurance Program and whether a related tort claim of bad faith refusal to pay is preempted by federal law. Dorothy Shuford appeals the summary judgment against her complaint regarding the denial of her claim for benefits under a Standard Flood Insurance Po... More...   $0 (12-21-2007 - AL)

Cynthia Morrissette-Brown, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, appeals the district court's entry of final judgment after a bench trial, in favor of her former employer, the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, Infirmary Healthcare Systems ("Mobile Infirmary"), on her religious discrimination claim alleging a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2. Morris... More...   $0 (11-12-2007 - AL)

Lexington disputed it was Katrina's 85 mph wind gusts or the six-foot floodwaters that shattered the 4,500-square-foot home in Point Clear, ... More...   $70000 (08-17-2007 - AL)

Employers generally are liable for a supervisor's sexual harassment if the harassment is severe and pervasive enough to result in a hostile work environment amounting to discrimination prohibited by Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. There is, however, an affirmative defense, which the Supreme Court wrote into the law in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 118 S. Ct. 2275 (1998)... More...   $0 (03-25-2007 - AL)

Dr. W.E. "Gene" Patterson sued Tom and Carol Huntington d/b/a Prattville Memory Gardens on breach of contract and fraud theories for reducing the size of a 16-plot burial pracel in Defendants' cemetery that Plaintiff bought from Defendants' predecessor in interest in 1976 for $1,595.... More...   $1080000 (03-15-2007 - AL)

Breach of contract---Inernational Paper failed to perform according to a contract in order to force Madison-Oslin out of business .... More...   $8900000 (01-28-2005 - AL)

Polar Construction Corp. and BE&K sued real estate developer Alex Baker for breach of contract for failing to re-pay the 25% portion of loan secured by the plaintiffs in an effort to develop and advance the partnership that they formed to develop and build shopping center properties in Shelby County Alabama.... More...   $5683000 (09-27-2005 - AL)

The City of Huntville, Alabama sued Proliance Energy LLC for fraudulently inducing the plaintiff to enter into a contract with the defendant, breaching the contract, stealing Huntsville's natural gas reserves, engaging in a civil conspiracy to hide high gas charges with a series of fake invoices, and interfering in the utility's business relations by blocking a proposed contract with Duke Energ... More...   $50000000 (02-11-2005 - AL)

The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court installed a two-and-onehalf ton monument to the Ten Commandments as the centerpiece of the rotunda in the Alabama State Judicial Building. He did so in order to remind all Alabama citizens of, among other things, his belief in the sovereignty of the Judeo-Christian God over both the state and the chu rch. An d he rejected a requ est to perm it a ... More...   $0 (07-01-2003 - AL)

As part of its services, UILIC issues various types of insurance policies, including variable-annuity insurance policies. A variable-annuity insurance policy is an investment vehicle that combines aspects of insurance and securities. All of the W&R defendants are financial services organizations. W&R sold and serviced the variable-annuity insurance policies issued by UILIC. At the outset o... More...   $45000000 (03-17-2004 - AL)

Class action antitrust claims on behalf of 30,000 cattle producers for wrongful manipulation of live cattle market prices. The plaintiffs alleged that IBP, Inc., which was later acquired by Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., depressed the live cattle market by contracting long term with certain large producers at a low price and then only bought cattle when prices were high and avoided the live cattle m... More...   $1280000000 (02-17-2004 - AL)

Breach of Contract and fraud claims by the State of Alabama against Exxon Mobil Corporation relating to oil and gas contract leases. The State alleged that Exxon Mobil cheated it out of billions of dollars in natural gas royalties by deducting too much in expenses for operating the wells located on state land.... More...   $11800063300 (11-14-2003 - AL)

William Mitchell v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Liggett Group Incorporated

William Mitchell, a federal prisoner, appeals from the dismissal without prejudice of his pro se action against five cigarette manufacturers. Mitchell filed this action in state court. The defendants removed the action to the district court because the parties were of diverse citizenship and Mitchell prayed for damages in excess of $75,000. The district court adopted the magistrate judge's reco... More...   $0 (06-19-2002 - AL)

The defense did not dispute the seriousness of Bolton's injuries but argued J.C. Duke was not res... More...   $9500000 (02-19-2003 - AL)

We must decide whether the district court erred in dismissing this declaratory judgment action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, notwithstanding the existence of an actual controversy between the parties regarding non-frivolous federal claims that could be brought by the defendants in a coercive action. The district court held that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because the plaintiff... More...   $0 (02-18-2003 - AL)

We have held a number of times that a claimant's failure to exhaust the administrative remedies that an ERISA plan provides for challenging the denial of a benefits claim ordinarily bars her from pursuing that claim in court. E.g., Counts v. Am. Gen. Life & Accident Ins. Co., 111 F.3d 105, 108 (11th Cir. 1997). We have never decided the issue presented in this case, however, which is whether that ... More...   $0 (01-07-2003 - AL)

A substantial judgment was entered against an insured in a case arising from the death of a worker on the insured's job site. The insured maintained primary liability coverage with Aetna (now Travelers), and excess coverage from Federal Insurance Company. The decendent's personal representative sued the employer but settlement negotiations were unsuccessful. A jury then returned a substantial verd... More...   $0 (10-29-2002 - AL)

In February 2000, Shrader filed a complaint against the City of Attalla, Fletcher Mallard, a city police officer, and Barnie Gilliland, a part-time bailiff at the city jail. Shrader's complaint alleges that Mallard and Gilliland sexually abused her after her arrest for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and reckless driving on April 7, 1999. Shrader's complai... More...   $0 (10-21-2002 - AL)

In this case, the plaintiffs, African-Americans, claim that they were subjected to racial harassment in the workplace, and thus a hostile work environment, from 1981 through the filing of their suit in August 1999, and they seek damages from their employer under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The employer denied the harassment; alternatively, as an affirmative defense, it contended that, at most, the plaintiff... More...   $0 (09-20-2002 - AL)

The important question presented in this appeal is whether the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act permits or prohibits the enforcement of pre-dispute binding arbitration clauses within written warranties. We hold that the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act permits binding arbitration and that a written warranty claim arising under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act may be subject to a valid pre-dispute binding arbitr... More...   $0 (09-20-2002 - AL)

Negligent failure to keep nursing home free of fire ants with result that elderly resident was attacked and severely bitten by hundreds with not thousands of fire ants. Lucille Devers was a resident of Greystone Community Retirement Community which contracted with Terminix for pest control. Plaintiff claimed that defendants were negligent in failing to control fire ants inside the building.... More...   $5350000 (06-27-2002 - AL)

Frank and Harriett Smith (the "Smiths") appeal the district court's dismissal of their claims for fraud, negligence, wantonness, or willfulness, and outrage against the United Parcel Service ("UPS") and Pamela Burnett Marlow ("Marlow"), a UPS delivery person. The district court dismissed the Smiths' claims as preempted by the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706 (1994). We agree with the distri... More...   $0 (07-12-2002 - AL)

Shannon Leonard and Theresa Moore, as representatives of a class of Alabama citizens, appeal the district court's dismissal of their diversity suit against seven car rental companies for failure to state a claim for relief. We conclude that the district court should have dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the amount in controversy does not exceed $75,000, as require... More...   $0 (01-18-2002 - AL)

In this interlocutory appeal of a retaliatory discharge case, the court is asked to determine whether an employee's refusal to agree to a compulsory arbitration provision regarding employment discrimination claims constitutes protected activity for the purposes of alleging a prima facie case of retaliation. We find that it does not. We therefore vacate in part the district court's order and remand... More...   $0 (05-29-2002 - AL)

This appeal involves the scope of state law preemption under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461. Specifically, the case presents two questions: (1) whether ERISA's saving clause applies to Alabama's bad faith law, saving it from preemption by ERISA; and (2) whether a sole shareholder of a corporation can be a "beneficiary," within the meaning of 2... More...   $0 (12-27-2001 - AL)

Breach of contract and tort claims relating to he replacement of United Investors Life Insurance Company policies by Waddell & Reed, a brokerage firm and mutual-fund manager. Waddell & Reed counterclaimed.... More...   $50000000 (03-21-2002 - AL)

Former Police Chief Arthur Deutsch and Captain Julius Walker appeal from the denial of their motions for a judgment as a matter of law filed pursuant to Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Rule 50 motions were filed by Chief Deutsch and Captain Walker following the jury's verdict awarding damages to the plaintiffs, Valinda F. Oladeinde ("Sergeant Oladeinde") and Patricia Fields ("... More...   $0 (10-16-2001 - AL)

Bryant Myles, Jr. and Chuck Hall, both Mobile, Alabama, police officers and detectives with the Property Crimes Unit, respectively appeal their denials of absolute and qualified immunity in district court. (1) On April 6, 1997, Myles and Hall, wearing plain clothes, went to the Mobile Flea Market accompanied by Jim Holder, a trademark infringement investigator and independent contractor who repres... More...   $0 (03-29-2001 - AL)

Dallas Johnson appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants-appellees on her sexual harassment and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and its dismissal of her pendent state law assault and battery claims. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment on Johnson's retaliation claim, but reverse on her sex... More...   $0 (11-29-2000 - AL)