Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc. · ¶57

The Eleventh Circuit previously employed a test that suffered from a similar problem. That Circuit used to “permi[t] the inference that a plaintiff intended to make a mockery of the judicial system simply because he failed to disclose a civil claim.” Slater v. United States Steel Corp., 871 F. 3d 1174, 1185 (2017) (en banc) (describing the Circuit’s prior test). Like the Fifth Circuit’s test, this inference resembled a “one-size-fits-all approach,” which did not ensure that judicial estoppel applied “only when a party acted with a sufficiently culpable mental state.” Id., at 1185–1186. It also did not allow a court to factor in “any proceedings that occurred in the bankruptcy court after the omission was discovered,” which hampered a court’s ability to “ensure that the integrity of the bankruptcy court [was] protected” by the application of judicial estoppel. Id., at 1186. Finally, it…

slip opinion
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.