Settlement of Accounting Malpractice Case Was Gross Income, Holds Eleventh Circuit

In McKenney v. United States, No. 18-10810 (11th Cir. Sept. 1, 2020), in a matter of first impression, holds that the settlement of an accountant malpractice lawsuit is includable in gross income, even if the alleged damages concerned the payment of federal taxes. The panel gives no credence to several items in the record thatContinue reading “Settlement of Accounting Malpractice Case Was Gross Income, Holds Eleventh Circuit”

State Department Cables Ruled Inadmissible Under Public-Records Exception, Fed. R. Evid. 803(8), by Eleventh Circuit

Creating a possible circuit split, the Eleventh Circuit holds in Eloy Rojas Mamani v. Gonzalo Daniel Sanchez De Lozada Sanchez Bustamante, No. 18-12728 (11th Cir. Aug. 8, 2020), that State Department cables containing unattributed observations about conditions in a foreign country are inadmissible hearsay, not covered by the public-records exception of Fed. R. Evid. 803(8).Continue reading “State Department Cables Ruled Inadmissible Under Public-Records Exception, Fed. R. Evid. 803(8), by Eleventh Circuit”

No Federal-Question Jurisdiction Over Declaratory Action Complaint to Block Federal-Law Defense, Holds Eleventh Circuit

In Patel v. Hamilton Medical Center, Inc., No. 19-13088 (11th Cir. July 30, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit holds that there is no federal-question subject matter jurisdiction over a declaratory action brought by a doctor against a hospital for suspending his privileges. Although the plaintiff’s claim arose under state law (and the parties were apparently non-diverse),Continue reading “No Federal-Question Jurisdiction Over Declaratory Action Complaint to Block Federal-Law Defense, Holds Eleventh Circuit”