Secret witnesses in civil lawsuits
Michael Devin Floyd v. 24 Hour Fitness USA
In brief
- Where it stands
- Petition Pending
Awaiting an order on the petition
- What it’s about
- Michael Devin Floyd asks the Supreme Court to review his claim that a federal court refused to disclose witness identities, then ruled for 24 Hour Fitness USA, LLC without a trial based on anonymous statements; he also says company managers ordered a customer’s allegedly unlawful arrest and later ended the customer’s contract.
- What's at stake
- Floyd’s challenge remains unresolved at the Supreme Court; the Court has not agreed to review it.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The pending petition was distributed for a conference, not accepted for review.
Floyd says 24 Hour Fitness managers ordered a customer’s allegedly unlawful arrest and later ended that customer’s contract.
The petition comes from the Ninth Circuit and raises questions about evidence in Floyd’s civil case and a business’s responsibility for an alleged arrest.
Question presented
1. Whether a federal district court violates a civil litigant ’ s Fifth Amendment Due Process rights by refusing a plaintiff ’ s motion to compel the disclosure of witnesses, and subsequently granting summary judgment to the defendant based entirely on anonymous declarations from those same concealed witnesses? 2. Whether an unauthenticated declaration from an unidentifiable individual satisfies the strict admissibility and competency requirements for summary judgment, mandated by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c)(4)? 3. Whether a federal court can weigh credibility and resolve disputes of material fact at the summary judgment stage by adopting anonymous allegations as true over conflicting, physical business records? 4. Whether a business can insulate itself from false arrest liability of its customer when its managers explicitly ordered the unlawful citizen's arrest and subsequently terminated its customer's contract?
What happens next
The Court must decide whether to hear the case. The petition was distributed for a Dec. 4, 2026 conference, but that does not guarantee a decision that day.
Documents
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
Brief added: Petition
More questions
- What evidence does Floyd say the court overlooked?
- He says the court accepted anonymous allegations over conflicting physical business records.
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.