11th Circuit asks for help from Texas

This must not have been easy.  The 11th Circuit has asked for some help from the Texas Supreme Court.  Favorite of Twitter, Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett: Get Ready!

CERTIFICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT TO THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS PURSUANT TO ARTICLE V, § 3–c(a) OF THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION TO THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS AND ITS HONORABLE JUSTICES:
This appeal arises from an allegedly defective surgical mesh implant. The question to be answered concerns whether under the Texas “discovery rule” a claim accrues for  purposes of starting the applicable statute of limitations period when a plaintiff knows, or has reason to know, that there is a connection between her injury and the defendant’s product or whether instead accrual (and the corresponding start of the limitations period) occurs only when the plaintiff also has reason to know that the manufacturer acted wrongfully or negligently in its manufacture of the product.
The District Court concluded that the former interpretation of Texas law was correct, and therefore granted summary judgment in favor of Mentor Worldwide LCC, the Appellee in this case. The Appellant, Ms. Ann Bergin—a resident of Texas—argues that accrual requires discovery of both the injury and its negligent cause. Thus, she avers, the District Court erred in its application of Texas law. To resolve this appeal, we must decide which of the above positions is correct, but that answer depends on an unresolved question of Texas law. We therefore certify this question of law, based on the factual background recited below, to the Supreme Court of Texas and respectfully request its guidance.

Irma update

Although the Federal Courthouses are open in the District (except for Key West), you should check in with the courtroom deputy if you have a matter scheduled this week. Apparently, some of the individual courtrooms in the Ferguson building are still without power, and in those courtrooms, matters are being rescheduled. 

I am still without power, wifi, etc., as well, so blogging will be a little slow for now.

Southern District courthouses to reopen Monday

Southern District courthouses to reopen Monday. Hope everyone is back up and running.

Update on SDFLA courts

Update from the Court on Irma closures:

The Courts of the Southern District of Florida remain closed for normal operating business, anticipated to open to the public no sooner than Monday, Sept. 18th. The closure is due to school closures and travel conditions, as well as power outages at various courthouses impacting services including the Court’s computer network

Although the Court will generally remain closed to the public, depending on circumstances of power at each courthouse, Court employees are generally directed to return to work as of Thursday, Sept. 14th, if practical, as described below. This will enable the Court to prepare for the return to normal operations next week. Specifically, all Court staff in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale should report to work Thursday, Sept. 14th, if possible. All Miami supervisors and managers should report if possible on Thursday, as well as Miami IT staff, other critical Miami staff as directed by their supervisors and those who work in the Atkins and King Courthouses. In Key West and Fort Pierce, where the courthouses mostly do not have power or have other issues needing to be resolved, staff do not need to report at this time. Probation staff should contact their supervisors for reporting instructions, which may be different than for other Court personnel. 

If employees are unable to return to work due to their evacuation or other personal circumstances, the Court will be flexible in granting administrative leave for Thursday and Friday. The Court’s top priority is the safety and well being of our personnel, and no employee is expected to return to work if it would put their safety in jeopardy. However, all employees must pay close attention to the Court’s website and be on the look out for calls/emails from the Court providing further updates. If employees are unable to return to work Sept. 14th, they nonetheless should contact their supervisors and stay in close contact for further developments.

Magistrate duty Court for only new arrests and other urgent matters will commence in Miami on Thursday, Sept. 14th, at 1:30 p.m. or such other time as directed. Staff necessary to cover duty court will be contacted and directed to report. Magistrate duty Court at other divisions will be scheduled on an as-needed basis.

The Courts of the Southern District of Florida remain closed for normal operating business, anticipated to open to the public no sooner than Monday, Sept. 18th. The closure is due to school closures and travel conditions, as well as power outages at various courthouses impacting services including the Court’s computer network

Although the Court will generally remain closed to the public, depending on circumstances of power at each courthouse, Court employees are generally directed to return to work as of Thursday, Sept. 14th, if practical, as described below. This will enable the Court to prepare for the return to normal operations next week. Specifically, all Court staff in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale should report to work Thursday, Sept. 14th, if possible. All Miami supervisors and managers should report if possible on Thursday, as well as Miami IT staff, other critical Miami staff as directed by their supervisors and those who work in the Atkins and King Courthouses. In Key West and Fort Pierce, where the courthouses mostly do not have power or have other issues needing to be resolved, staff do not need to report at this time. Probation staff should contact their supervisors for reporting instructions, which may be different than for other Court personnel. 

If employees are unable to return to work due to their evacuation or other personal circumstances, the Court will be flexible in granting administrative leave for Thursday and Friday. The Court’s top priority is the safety and well being of our personnel, and no employee is expected to return to work if it would put their safety in jeopardy. However, all employees must pay close attention to the Court’s website and be on the look out for calls/emails from the Court providing further updates. If employees are unable to return to work Sept. 14th, they nonetheless should contact their supervisors and stay in close contact for further developments.

Magistrate duty Court for only new arrests and other urgent matters will commence in Miami on Thursday, Sept. 14th, at 1:30 p.m. or such other time as directed. Staff necessary to cover duty court will be contacted and directed to report. Magistrate duty Court at other divisions will be scheduled on an as-needed basis.

Downtown Miami update

Downtown Miami Update:

It looks like downtown Miami is mostly back up and running.  The Flagler Starbucks is open.  Many restaurants are also now open.  It is unclear when magistrate court will reopen.

If you are still home and looking for more reading, check out this Judge Rosenbaum opinion about the Dark Web from last week, snuck in right before Irma:

The Dark Web. For many, the name conjures images of a suspect shadow internet world where virtually anything can be bought for the right price.* Indeed, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”) Special Agent Tully Kessler described the Dark Web as “another side of the Internet . . . access[ible] through your Internet provider . . . [but only using] special software.” He opined that it “allow[s] the sale and trade of all kinds of things that you would never find on a regular website open to the public.” And the Dark Web—on, in one case, a site called Black Market Reloaded—is where Defendant-Appellant Michael Albert Focia chose to sell firearms domestically and internationally.
A jury convicted Focia of dealing in firearms without a federal firearms license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A), and selling firearms to unlicensed residents of states other than his own without having a license to do so, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5). He now challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to convict him, the jury instructions, the constitutionality of the criminal statutes of which he was convicted, and his sentence. After careful consideration, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm Focia’s conviction and sentence.

*In fact, the Dark Web also has a different side. Because of its layered encryption system, it plays an important role in providing safe fora for, among others, whistleblowers and journalists.