U.S. Courts of Appeals

Bloomberg LP v. SEC, 45 F.4th 462 (D.C. Cir. 2022): representing an amicus curiae, we helped persuade the D.C. Circuit to remand an SEC order that permitted FINRA to build its own service for bond core reference data because it didn’t first consider the costs of building and implementing it;

Citadel Sec. LLC v. SEC, 45 F.4th 27 (D.C. Cir. 2022): representing an amicus curiae, we helped persuade the D.C. Circuit to deny a petition challenging the SEC’s approval of an order permitting a securities exchange to discourage latency arbitrage by offering d-limit order types;

Jacob v. Mentor Worldwide, LLC, 40 F.4th 1329 (11th Cir. 2022): we obtained reversal of the dismissal of a manufacturing defect lawsuit regarding leaky breast implants because those claims weren’t federally preempted;

Bates v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 964 F.3d 1326 (11th Cir. 2020): we obtained reversal of the dismissal of habeas petition as untimely because the amended postconviction motion, which contained a signed oath, related back to original postconviction motion, which had omitted a signed oath;

United States v. Lovelace, 726 Fed. App’x 770 (11th Cir. 2018): on behalf of an audiologist, we obtained reversal of convictions for three counts of substantive healthcare fraud after 10-day jury trial in $2.5 million healthcare fraud conspiracy and remanding for resentencing);

Bredbenner v. Sullivan, 716 Fed. App’x 935 (11th Cir. 2018): on behalf of the mother of a young child, we obtained affirmance of the denial of qualified immunity to police officers who had arrested her for child endangerment without probable cause;

United States v. Carlyle, 712 Fed. App’x 862 (11th Cir. 2017): on behalf of a defendant convicted of stolen identity tax fraud fraud, we obtained vacation of a $1.8 million restitution award;

Turk v. Bergman, 685 Fed. App’x 785 (11th Cir. 2017): we obtained reversal of a summary judgment based on qualified immunity given “massive disputes of material fact” whether a suicidal veteran who was repeatedly shot in the face by police while taking a selfie had posed an immediate threat of serious bodily harm to the officers;

United States v. Cavallo, 790 F.3d 1202 (11th Cir. 2015): we obtained vacation of a $13 million restitution award after a three-month jury trial regarding a $37.5 million mortgage fraud conspiracy;

Dimanche v. Brown, 783 F.3d 1204 (11th Cir. 2015): we obtained reversal of the dismissal of a prisoner’s lawsuit because his grievance had administratively exhausted his claim that guards had gassed him;

Walter v. Avellino, 564 Fed. App’x 464 (11th Cir. 2014): we obtained reversal of the dismissal with prejudice of a Madoff securities fraud lawsuit despite the complaint’s supposed untimeliness and failure to plead fraud with particularity;

Ford v. Hunter, 534 Fed. App’x 821 (11th Cir. 2013): we obtained reversal of the dismissal of a pretrial detainee’s First Amendment free speech claim and vacation of the dismissal of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, First Amendment retaliation, and Fourth Amendment unreasonable search claims because he alleged his prison had interfered with his legal mail;

Moton v. Cowart, 631 F.3d 1337 (11th Cir. 2011): we obtained reversal of a summary judgment against a prisoner’s First Amendment retaliation claim because the mere use of capital letters in his grievance, viewed alone, was not disrespectful;

Sierra Club v. Van Antwerp, 526 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. 2008): before founding Burns, P.A., Thomas was part of a team at Gibson Dunn that obtained vacation of a summary judgment that had vacated mining companies’ permits to mine limestone;

Am. Home Assur. Co. v. Pope, 487 F.3d 590 (8th Cir. 2007): before founding Burns, P.A., Thomas was part of a team at Sidley Austin that obtained partial affirmance and reversal of a judgment regarding a complicated insurance coverage and indemnification dispute.