On July 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a precedential ruling that can have significant import for civil litigants in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. In the case of Wilbur Huggins v. Lueder, Larkin & Hunter, the appellate court reversed a ruling by the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Alabama, which held that once a summary judgment had been granted in favor of the defendant, the defendant was precluded from seeking an award of sanctions or damages under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.