⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Eleventh Circuit hears Ronda McNae's challenge to a judgment enforcing a confidential settlement with Michael Fitzgerald. The settlement addressed allegations of sexual assault, not an established criminal conviction. Fitzgerald paid money, and the parties exchanged releases and promises restricting disclosure and disparagement. He later sued McNae for breaching the agreement, including by contacting employers. The district judge found her liable without a trial on liability and rejected her duress defense. After a separate damages trial, the judge awarded more than two point seven million dollars. This is a contract appeal, not a criminal prosecution. McNae's lawyer will ask for a trial on whether she signed under duress: improper coercion that made the agreement involuntary. The panel will press him on the negotiations, the involvement of her own lawyer, and the record supporting that defense. Summary judgment is proper only when there is no genuine dispute over facts that matter to the result and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Listen for the difference between disagreeing with the agreement and identifying evidence that legally requires a trial.

Michael Fitzgerald et al. v. Ronda McNae (No. 25-11685) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, argued November 4, 2026.