Arbitrary And Capricious Standard Of Review

3,214 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 87 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• Finney v. Metro. Life Ins. Co.
  11th Cir.· 2026-01-26
  The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment, holding that the insurance company's denial of accidental death benefits was not arbitrary or capricious because the insured's pre-existing physical illness contributed to her death, triggering a policy
• Fla. Agency for Health Care Admin. v. Adm'r for the Ctrs. for Medicare & Medicaid Servs.
  11th Cir.· 2025-12-05
  The Eleventh Circuit held that the CMS Bulletin was a final agency action subject to judicial review, but that Florida was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge, thus affirming the denial of a preliminary injunction.
• Miller v. Am. United Life Ins. Co.
  388 F. Supp. 2d 1342· M.D. Fla.· 2025-11-24
  The court granted the plaintiff's request for limited discovery to support her claim that the denial of benefits was arbitrary and capricious or tainted by self-interest.
• Cheriese Johnson v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co.
  11th Cir.· 2025-11-21
  The court held that an insurance company's interpretation of a preexisting condition clause, which denied benefits for a disability based on treatment for symptoms not inconsistent with the condition (but not the condition itself), was unreasonable and arbitrary.
• Bldg. Resilient Infrastructure & Developing Greater Equity, Inc. v. Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau & Russell Vought
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-11-03
  The court denied the motion for a preliminary injunction because the plaintiff failed to establish a substantial likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable injury.
• Dellapa v. Major League Baseball Players Benefit Plan
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-09-30
  The court held that the Plan's denial of surviving spouse benefits was reasonable and not discriminatory under ERISA, as the plaintiff did not meet the plan's explicit definition of a 'Qualified Spouse'.
• Tapia v. Ur Mendoza Jaddou
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-09-30
  The court held that USCIS's denial of the plaintiff's immigrant visa petition was not arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law, as USCIS provided a satisfactory explanation for its decision based on the plaintiff's failure to meet the required criteria.
• Royal Potcake Rescue & Potcake Rescue, LLC v. Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-09-30
  Two dog rescue organizations challenged a 2024 CDC regulation requiring dogs imported into the United States to be at least six months old, arguing the age restriction exceeded the agency's authority and was arbitrary and capricious, particularly as applied to rabies-free Caribbe
• Sualeh Ashraf v. United States Drug Enforcement Administration
  11th Cir.· 2025-09-03
  The Eleventh Circuit held that the DEA did not violate Dr. Ashraf's procedural due process rights and that the Ruan decision's mens rea standard does not apply to this regulatory license revocation proceeding.
• Echeverri Mancilla v. Brennan Seng
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-08-24
  The court held that the Immigration and Nationality Act bars judicial review of discretionary decisions regarding National Interest Waivers, and the plaintiff's claim of procedural error was a substantive challenge to the agency's reasoning.
• Figueroa v. Dep't of Health & Human Servs.
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-08-13
  The court affirmed the Secretary's decision, finding that the Inspector General acted within statutory authority and discretion in setting the exclusion date.
• Martinez-Lara v. U.S. Attorney General
  11th Cir.· 2025-08-06
  The court held that the Board of Immigration Appeals' application of the 'exceptional and extremely unusual hardship' standard is reviewed under the deferential substantial-evidence standard, and there is no basis to reject the Board's determination.
• Am. Sec. Ass'n v. U.S. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n
  11th Cir.· 2025-07-25
  The court held that the SEC's 2023 Funding Order was arbitrary and capricious because it failed to adequately justify allowing self-regulatory organizations to pass all Consolidated Audit Trail costs to broker-dealers, contradicting prior mandates for shared costs.
• Mactown Inc. v. Acting Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs.
  S.D. Fla.· 2025-06-30
  The court held that the HRSA's repayment demand is not committed to agency discretion and is subject to judicial review under the APA, and that the plaintiff has stated plausible claims for relief.
• Ajugwe v. Noem
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-05-12
  The court held that the termination of the plaintiff's SEVIS status was likely arbitrary and capricious, violating the APA and Due Process Clause, and granted a preliminary injunction.
• Ajugwe v. Noem
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-04-18
  The court granted the plaintiff's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, finding he was likely to succeed on the merits of his claims that his SEVIS record was unlawfully terminated.
• Hans-Atchison v. Highmark Inc.
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-04-03
  The court held that limited discovery is permissible in an ERISA benefits denial case to ascertain the completeness of the administrative record and the basis for the administrator's decisions, but supplementation of the record with post-decision documents is denied.
• Pankey v. Aetna Life Ins. Co.
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-03-28
  The court held that the defendant's interpretation of the plan, allowing termination of benefits for insufficient proof of disability, was reasonable and entitled to deference, thus not arbitrary or capricious.
• Hospice v. Agency for Health Care Admin.
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2025-03-19
  The Agency for Health Care Administration properly approved VITAS's certificate of need application under the special circumstances standard, interpreting "not being served" to mean that existing providers fail to serve all subsets of terminally ill populations or geographic area
• Worldwide Aircraft Servs. Inc. v. Sec'y of the United States Dep't of Health & Human Servs.
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-02-04
  The court held that the No Surprises Act does not permit Certified IDR Entities (CIDREs) to issue payment determinations in disputes involving non-covered services, and the plaintiff failed to state a claim under the Administrative Procedure Act.
• Aquino-Martinez v. Dir., Neb. Serv. Ctr., U.S. Citizenship & Immigr. Servs.
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-01-23
  The Court held that the agency's denial of the U-visa petition was arbitrary and capricious because it failed to reasonably explain why robbery was not substantially similar to felonious assault, a qualifying crime for U-visa status.
• Thompson v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-12-30
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of her Administrative Procedure Act claim, thus denying her motion for a preliminary injunction.
• Onyenanu v. Garland
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-12-11
  The court held that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review the denial of a National Interest Waiver (NIW) because such decisions are committed to the discretion of the Attorney General and are barred from judicial review by statute.
• Sarmiento v. United States Dep't of Hous. & Urban Dev.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-11-15
  The court granted the motion to dismiss, finding the plaintiff lacked standing, the court lacked jurisdiction over several claims, and the plaintiff failed to state a claim for unjust enrichment.
• Acevedo Tovar v. Mayorkas
  S.D. Fla.· 2024-11-15
  The court held that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to review the plaintiff's claims because the case was moot and the relevant statute barred judicial review of the agency's decision.
• Eggleston v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am.
  S.D. Fla.· 2024-10-21
  The court held that the insurer's denial of long-term disability benefits was not arbitrary and capricious, as the administrative record contained reasonable grounds to support the decision.
• Landa v. Aon Corp. Excess Benefit Plan
  S.D. Fla.· 2024-09-30
  The court held that the Administrative Committee's denial of Plaintiff's excess benefit plan benefits was not arbitrary and capricious, as there was a reasonable basis in the administrative record to support the finding that Plaintiff violated the plan's forfeiture provisions.
• Molla v. Gerdau Ameristeel
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-09-20
  The court held that a breach of fiduciary duty claim under ERISA is not automatically a benefits claim for all purposes, and discovery is not limited to the administrative record when the arbitrary and capricious standard does not apply.
• Marques Machado v. Mayorkas
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-09-13
  The court granted in part Plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order, finding they established a substantial likelihood of success on their APA claim and demonstrated irreparable harm, a favorable balance of harms, and that the order would not disserve the public intere
• Arenas v. United States Citizenship & Immigr. Servs.
  S.D. Fla.· 2024-09-03
  The court held that the agency's denial of the plaintiff's visa application was not arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise contrary to law.
• Tunkle, M.D. v. Voya Fin., Inc.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-08-02
  The court held that the defendant insurance company properly denied the plaintiff's long-term disability claim because his hand tremors constituted a pre-existing condition excluded from coverage. The plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence that he maintained active emplo
• Sami v. The Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am.
  S.D. Fla.· 2024-07-22
  The court held that the insurer failed to provide a full and fair review by not providing new evidence to the claimant sufficiently in advance of the final decision, thus violating ERISA regulations.
• Bald Guy C-Store, Inc. v. United States
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-07-16
  The court held that the plaintiffs failed to present sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact regarding SNAP trafficking violations, and thus summary judgment for the defendant was granted.
• Fla. Growers Ass'n, Inc. v. Su
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-03-29
  The court adopted the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, denying Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction and granting Defendants' motion to dismiss Count IV (RFA claim) with leave to replead.
• Cottingim v. Reliastar Life Ins. Co.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-03-18
  Kevin Cottingim applied for short-term and long-term disability benefits under insurance policies issued by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, claiming he was disabled due to cognitive decline from vascular dementia, but ReliaStar denied both claims based on medical evaluations sh
• Michael W. Arrington Judge Leonard L. Williams Just. Ctr.
  Del.· 2024-02-08
  The court affirmed the Permanency Planning Committee's decision denying the petitioner's application for adoptive placement. The court found that the decision was supported by substantial evidence, was not arbitrary or capricious, and did not constitute an abuse of discretion, as
• Oshiro Laos v. Garland
  S.D. Fla.· 2023-11-17
  The court held that the plaintiffs' claims were moot because the filing periods for H-1B visas had passed and the court could not grant meaningful relief. The court also found that the USCIS's rejection of petitions complied with regulations and that the Adjudicator's Field Manua
• Sierra Club v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-11-01
  The court held that the amended biological opinion was properly before the court and that the agency's actions were not arbitrary or capricious, thus granting summary judgment for the defendants.
• Teovski v. United States Citizenship & Immigr. Servs.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-10-30
  The court held that USCIS's denial of the visa petition was not arbitrary or capricious and was supported by substantial evidence, as the plaintiff failed to rebut evidence of prior marriage fraud.
• Givens v. Nextran Corp.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-10-27
  The court held that the default de novo standard of review applies because the ERISA plan does not explicitly grant discretionary authority to the plan administrator.
• Fla. Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm'n v. Gulf Cnty.
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2023-08-16
  A state agency created by the Florida Constitution is entitled to the home venue privilege, which requires civil actions against it to be brought in the county where it maintains its principal headquarters, absent waiver or a valid exception. The sword-wielder exception does not
• Bongiovanni v. Austin
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-07-05
  The case is moot because the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and the religious accommodation request process are no longer in effect, and the plaintiffs are not facing adverse actions or separation based on their vaccination status.
• Bongiovanni v. Austin
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-07-05
  Four Navy service members challenged the Department of Defense's COVID-19 vaccination mandate and the Navy's policy of denying religious accommodation requests on constitutional and statutory grounds, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The court dismissed the case as moot
• Martinez v. Miami Child's. Health Sys., Inc.
  S.D. Fla.· 2023-05-25
  A former employee of a health system challenged the denial of his severance benefits under an ERISA-governed severance policy, claiming the administrator's review process was procedurally unfair and biased. The court granted in part the employee's summary judgment motion and rema
• Collins v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-03-24
  The court held that the insurance plan granted the administrator discretionary authority, thus the denial of benefits was subject to arbitrary and capricious review, and the denial was not arbitrary or capricious.
• Balul v. Mayorkas
  S.D. Fla.· 2023-03-09
  The court held that USCIS's denial of the petition was arbitrary and capricious, but it declined to order the petition approved, remanding instead for further agency consideration.
• Allen v. First UNUM Life Ins. Co.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-02-06
  The court held that the jury's prior determination that the plaintiff was not totally disabled from his own occupation precluded him from relitigating the same issue in his ERISA claim for benefits under a different policy.
• Sierra Club v. United States Army Corps of Eng'rs
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-01-20
  The Sierra Club challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a permit for a road project (Ridge Road Extension) in Florida on grounds that the permit violated the Clean Water Act and National Environmental Policy Act by relying on outdated wildlife data, failing to adequat
• Rodas Cifuentes v. Sec'y, Dep't of Homeland Sec.
  M.D. Fla.· 2022-09-16
  The court adopted the magistrate judge's report and recommendation, denying the defendants' motion to dismiss.
• Vill. of Indian Creek v. FAA
  11th Cir.· 2022-09-02
  The Eleventh Circuit upheld the Federal Aviation Administration's design and implementation of new flight procedures for the South-Central Florida Metroplex, rejecting consolidated challenges from South Florida municipalities and residents who claimed violations of the National E