ORDER STEVEN D. MERRYDAY, District Judge. "[O]n behalf of all `hourly-paid dealers' employed by the defendant in Florida and who worked for the defendant within the applicable statute of limitations," the plaintiff sues (Doc. 1) the Seminole Tribe of Florida (the "Tribe") to recover minimum wages due under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") 1 and Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution. The plaintiff alleges that the proposed class—comprised of "mostly non-tribal member...
ORDER GREGORY A. PRESNELL, District Judge. This cause comes before the Court without oral argument upon consideration of Defendant Vermont Mutual Insurance Company's ("Defendant") motion for summary judgment (Doc. 24), Plaintiffs Russell and Denise Noonan's (collectively "Plaintiffs") responsive memorandum (Doc. 29), and Defendant's reply (Doc. 30). Also before the Court is Defendant's Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' Notice of Proposal of Settlement (Doc. 25), and Plaintiffs' responsive...
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING PART MOTION TO DISMISS AND ORDER FOR MEDIATION AND TO SHOW CAUSE JAMES S. MOODY, JR., District Judge. THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Class Action Complaint (Dkt. # 6) and Plaintiffs Response (Dkt. #33). Defendants ask this Court to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint in its entirety. The Court, having reviewed the pleadings and accompanying memoranda, determines that the motion should be granted in part and denied in part....
ORDER HOWELL W. MELTON, Senior District Judge. This cause is before the Court on Defendant's Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 33), filed June 1, 2010. Plaintiff's response thereto (Doc. 36) was filed on June 18, 2010. On July 28, 2010, the Court conducted a hearing on the motion. On July 29, 2010, Defendant filed supplemental authority in support of its motion (Doc. 41) and Plaintiff filed an additional document in support of her response in opposition (Doc. 42). For the reasons...
ORDER THOMAS G. WILSON, United States Magistrate Judge. The plaintiff seeks damages for copyright infringement, misappropriation of her image, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from the defendants' unauthorized use of her photograph on the packaging of their pornographic movie DVD "Body Magic" (Doc. 121). The defendants failed to defend this case, and a default was entered against them. The well-pled complaint allegations establish her claims of direct...
ORDER ON PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DEFENDANT'S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ELIZABETH A. KOVACHEVICH, District Judge. This cause came before this Court pursuant to both parties' motions for summary judgment. (Doc. 18 & 24). A review of the record indicates that, for the following reasons, the Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment should be DENIED, and the Defendant's motion for summary judgment should be GRANTED. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The facts of...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PAUL A. MAGNUSON, District Judge. This matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Expert Witness. BACKGROUND Defendants Robert Ousnamer and Peter J. Esposito are real estate appraisers. At the time of the events giving rise to this lawsuit, Ousnamer was a trainee appraiser and Esposito was a certified appraiser. They worked for a company called Online Appraisals, Inc., although whether they were independent...
ORDER GRANTING IN PART & DENYING IN PART SUMMARY JUDGMENT SUSAN C. BUCKLEW, District Judge. The Court now considers the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by United States Postmaster General John E. Potter, which Plaintiff Wendy Johnson opposes. (Docs. 31, 45.) BACKGROUND 1 In October 2004, Wendy Johnson, an African-American female, applied for a position with the United States Postal Service in Lutz, Florida. Branch Postmaster Shelah Marsh interviewed Johnson for the job. Soon after,...
ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DECLARE TITLE 21 U.S.C., SECTION 841 UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND MOTION TO DISMISS COUNT TWO OF THE INDICTMENT AND MEMORANDUM OF LAW ELIZABETH A. KOVACHEVICH, District Judge. This cause comes before the Court for consideration of Defendant Courtney Antoine Sanders' Motion to Declare Title U.S.C, Section 841 Unconstitutional, Motion to Dismiss Count Two of the Indictment, and Memorandum of Law in support thereof (Dkt. 86), and the Government's response in opposition to...
ORDER STEVEN D. MERRYDAY, District Judge. The plaintiff sues under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq. (the "FLSA"), to recover overtime compensation. Pursuant to Local Rule 3.08, the parties announced (Doc. 11) a settlement and jointly moved (Doc. 14) for approval of the settlement agreement. See Lynn's Food Stores, Inc. v. United States, 679 F.2d 1350 (11th Cir.1982). An April 29, 2010, order (Doc. 15) rejects the parties' initial settlement, which contains an...
ORDER THOMAS G. WILSON, United States Magistrate Judge. The plaintiff, Steven Wynn, sues police officer Todd Taylor and his employer, the City of Lakeland ("the City"), asserting both a violation of his constitutional rights and state law tort claims arising when Taylor struck the plaintiffs face with his flashlight, causing serious injuries. The defendants have filed a motion for summary judgment as to all six counts of the plaintiff's complaint (Doc. 27). The plaintiff has adduced...
ORDER GREGORY A. PRESNELL, District Judge. This matter came before the Court without oral argument upon consideration of cross-motions for partial summary judgment filed by Plaintiff-Counterdefendant Mid-Continent Causality Company ("Mid-Continent") (Doc. 30) and Defendant-Counterclaimant CED Construction Partners, Ltd. ("CED") (Doc. 35); the parties' respective responses in opposition thereto (Docs. 39 and 40); and the parties' replies (Docs. 40 and 42). I. Overview Mid-Continent brought...
ORDER WILLIAM H. STEELE, Chief Judge. This matter comes before the Court on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (doc. 35). The Motion has been briefed and is now ripe for disposition. I. Background. Plaintiff, Robin Petersen, is a licensed Florida attorney who commenced this action for declaratory and injunctive relief against numerous defendants, including the Florida Bar, the Florida Bar's executive director John F. Harkness, Jr., and more than four dozen individual members of...
ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ELIZABETH A. KOVACHEVICH, District Judge. This cause is before the Court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 143), Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment as to Court One (Doc. 144), and responses thereto (Doc. 152, 153). For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED IN PART, as to Count Seven of the Second Amended Complaint, and DENIED IN PART, as to all other counts. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary...
ORDER VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON, District Judge. This matter comes before the Court pursuant to cross motions for summary judgment. Both Defendant Ideal Image Development Corporation and Plaintiffs Randy and Cindy Hetrick filed Motions for Summary Judgment on October 15, 2010. (Docs. ## 163, 165). The Hetricks filed their Response in Opposition to Ideal Image's Motion for Summary Judgment on November 5, 2010. (Doc. # 169). Ideal Image filed a timely Reply. (Doc. # 173). Ideal Image...
ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEY'S FEES SUSAN C. BUCKLEW, District Judge. The Court now considers the motion, as corrected, from Defendant Auto-Owners Insurance Company for attorney's fees in the amount of $258,883.50 and costs in the amount of $221,049.27. (Docs. 596, 601.) Plaintiff Clayton Kearney urges the Court to cut the attorneys's fees by 60 percent and award Auto-Owners $103,553.40. Kearney also asks the Court to award Auto-Owners no costs beyond those permitted in 28 U.S.C. 1920. (Doc....
ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT SUSAN C. BUCKLEW, District Judge. The Court now considers the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiffs Jeff Bishop and Heidi Bishop. (Doc. 28.) The Bishops seek summary judgment on one of five claims in Count I of the Amended Complaint against Defendant I.C. System, Inc. for a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692c(c). I.C. System opposes the motion. (Doc. 32.) With exceptions, 1692c(c) prohibits a debt...
ORDER VIRGINIA H. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON, District Judge. This matter is before the Court pursuant to the Bechtelheimers' Motion to Remand (Doc. # 5), which was filed on September 30, 2010, and Continental Airlines, Inc.'s Response in Opposition (Doc. # 10), which was filed on October 18, 2010. For the reasons that follow, the Court denies the Motion to Remand. I. Background and Summary of the Arguments Ms. Bechtelheimer alleges that she tripped and fell while disembarking from a...
ORDER AND OPINION CHARLENE EDWARDS HONEYWELL, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Citibank, N.A. ("Citibank") filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, in and for Lee County, Florida, for mortgage foreclosure based on payment default and to reestablish a lost note. 1 In response to the foreclosure complaint, Christopher Dalessio ("Dalessio") filed an answer, affirmative defenses, and counterclaims against Citibank and a third-party complaint against American...
ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR FINAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT ELIZABETH A. KOVACHEVICH, District Judge. This cause comes before the Court on Defendant's Motion for Final Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's Response thereto (Doc. 21 and 27). For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's Motion for Final Summary Judgment is GRANTED. PROCEDURAL HISTORY This action is a claim for relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (hereinafter "ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et. seq. This dispute...
