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RAMIREZ_PetitionFOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI_2_6_2017

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3<br />

28 U.S.C. § 1332 diversity jurisdiction. See A. 55. After removal, Ramirez amended<br />

his complaint to proceed exclusively under Florida’s Private Whistleblower Act.<br />

3<br />

See<br />

A. 55.<br />

The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Bausch & Lomb.<br />

Ramirez took a first appeal to the Eleventh Circuit.<br />

4<br />

A. 65. Although Ramirez had<br />

the benefit of pro bono counsel in the district court, he was pro se and in forma<br />

pauperis on appeal. See A. 66. Ramirez nonetheless prevailed in his first appeal and<br />

the Eleventh Circuit vacated and remanded for further proceedings. A. 17–25.<br />

After remand, the district court again entered summary judgment in favor of<br />

Bausch & Lomb. A. 4–16. Ramirez took a second appeal. A. 53–54.<br />

During the second appeal, Ramirez proceeded pro se and in forma pauperis.<br />

A. 48, 53. He was homeless; slept in shelters or on the street; and could only access<br />

computer equipment for research and drafting at the public library. E.g., A. 69–71,<br />

97–99. He received mail through general delivery at the local post office (A. 3) but<br />

sometimes the documents that the court sent to him were not properly delivered<br />

(see, e.g., A. 51, 68). Although done through unsworn statements, Ramirez made the<br />

lower court aware of his situation from the very beginning of the appeal. E.g., A. 69–<br />

70.<br />

In September 2015, Ramirez timely filed a brief and appendix. A. 49. Bausch &<br />

Lomb filed a brief in response. A. 50. With its brief, Bausch & Lomb<br />

contemporaneously filed a motion to strike portions of Ramirez’s brief and appendix<br />

because they included material outside the record. A. 50. Although the motion only<br />

requested that the improper portions be stricken (A. 80), the lower court struck<br />

Ramirez’s brief and appendix in their entirety. A. 26–27. The lower court also struck<br />

3<br />

4<br />

Fla. Stat. § 448.101 et seq.<br />

№ 12-14669-E.

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