He allegedly got drunk at an annual sales meeting and repeatedly called one of his employees a “f***ing bitch.”
The former CEO of Interface, Inc., fired by its board of directors for cause after he allegedly engaged in misconduct at an annual sales meeting, forfeited his argument that his employment contract gave the employer no discretion to determine the existence of cause, the Eleventh Circuit found. Yee v. City of Escondido, 503 U.S. 519 (1992) and Eleventh Circuit precedents establish that, although parties cannot forfeit particular arguments or authorities, they can forfeit positions or issues that they fail to properly raise at the district court. And here, the CEO impermissibly sought to present a new position—or issue—on appeal when, having contended in the district court that his employment agreement meant one thing, he reversed course and contended on appeal that it meant another (Gould v. Interface, Inc., No. 23-12882 (11th Cir. Oct. 2, 2025)).
Drunk at annual sales meeting. The plaintiff, according to the court, was the CEO of Interface, Inc., a carpet manufacturer. According to the company, he got drunk at its annual sales meeting and repeatedly called one of his employees a “f***ing bitch.”
Prior issue and warning. Nor was this his first breach of etiquette, according to Interface. Just a year before, Interface had sanctioned and counseled him for engaging in alcohol-fueled sexual harassment. Any further infractions, the company had warned, would result in...
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