United States Eleventh Circuit

In case consolidating 28 separate complaints brought by a consortium of Florida growers, denial of motions to amend complaints and grant of summary judgment against claims of fraudulent settlement, spoilation, racketeering, and breach of contract are affirmed over claims that: 1) the district court denied plaintiffs' motions to amend the complaints solely based on the lengthy nature of the litigation or mere passage of time; 2) since the Green Leaf decision, Florida litigation immunity has been curtailed, and also, reliance is not an element of negative fraud or concealment; and 3) as to partial summary judgment on defendant's breach of contract claim, plaintiffs breached the settlement agreement by filing suit based on its conduct in the underlying litigation.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/27/2006
• Published 11/27/2006

Judges

• PER CURIAM:, Before PRYOR, FAY and REAVLEY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eleventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William Angus McKinnon, A. Camden Lewis, Lewis, Babcock & Hawkins, LLP, Columbia, SC, David J. Sales, Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart & Shipley, P.A., West Palm Beach, FL, Stephen T. Cox, Cox & Moyer, San Francisco, CA, Walter Samuel Holland, The Ferraro Law Firm, P.A., Coral Gables, FL, for Plaintiffs.


• For Appellees:
  
• C. Allen Garrett, Jr., A. Stephens Clay, IV, James F. Bogan, III, Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP, Atlanta, GA, Edward A. Moss, Eileen Tilghman Moss, Law Offices of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Miami, FL, for Defendants.