Today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al., No. 24-1238. Creed & Gowdy attorneys Bryan Gowdy and Dimitri Peteves drafted the petition. The question presented is whether a provision of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA)-49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)-preempts a state common-law claim against a broker for negligently selecting a motor carrier or driver.
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Havana Docks Corporation v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., et al., No. 24-983. Creed & Gowdy attorneys Bryan Gowdy and Dimitri Peteves drafted an amicus brief in support of the petitioner. The amicus brief was filed on behalf of a bipartisan group of congresspersons: Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, and Rep. Carlos Antonio Giménez. The petitioner, Havana Docks, sued several cruise lines under the Helms-Burton Act-also known as the LIBERTAD Act-for trafficking in property confiscated by Cuba. The question presented in the petition is whether a plaintiff must prove that the defendant trafficked in property confiscated by the Cuban government as to which the plaintiff owns a claim (as the statute requires), or instead that the defendant trafficked in property that the plaintiff would have continued to own at the time of trafficking in a counterfactual world "as if there had been no expropriation" (as the divided Eleventh Circuit panel held below).
Bryan Gowdy will serve as the moderator for the Jacksonville Lawyers Chapter's virtual preview of the upcoming Supreme Court term. The preview will be conducted via Zoom, beginning at 12 noon on Thursday, October 2, 2025. The panel features Deepak Gupta, Roman Martinez, and Ben Snyder. This event will account for a 1-hour General CLE credit. Register here.
On Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at noon, Alison Preston will moderate a Q&A-style webinar called Bench Notes: Improving Your Legal Writing, hosted by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. The webinar aims to offer attorneys practical strategies to elevate their writing. Judges Robin Rosenbaum and Embry Kidd (United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit) will offer their perspectives. Within the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Ali currently serves on the Executive Board as the vice chair of the Appellate Committee and is a past chair of the Young Lawyers Division Committee. For more information on the webinar and registration, go to https://federalbartampa.org/event/bench-notes-improving-your-legal-writing/
At 8:00 AM on August 5, 2025, Creed & Gowdy associate Nick McNamara will be presenting "A Synopsis of Key Supreme Court Cases" at the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates' (ABOTA) "Teacher's Law School." The event will be held in the jury assembly room at the Duval County Courthouse. ABOTA's Teacher's Law School provides an opportunity for local middle school teachers to learn from local attorneys and judges about the judicial branch and our constitutional system. For more details, please visit https://abotajax.com/upcoming-events/teachers-law-school/.