LaVonne Washington v. USA
── LaVonne Washington v. USA ──
Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Date: May 21, 2026
Category: NEW
USCA11 Case: 25-10872 Document: 67-1 Date Filed: 05/20/2026 Page: 1 of 4
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 25-10872
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
ANGELA W. DEBOSE,
Plaintiff,
LAVONNE WASHINGTON,
MICHAEL WASHINGTON,
Intervenor Plaintiffs-Appellants,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,
CHIEF JUDGE, THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA,
ELIZABETH GADDY RICE,
individually and/or in her official capacity,
GREGORY P. HOLDER,
individually and/or in his official capacity, et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
USCA11 Case: 25-10872 Document: 67-1 Date Filed: 05/20/2026 Page: 2 of 4
2 Opinion of the Court 25-10872
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
D.C. Docket No. 8:21-cv-02127-SDM-AAS
____________________
Before LUCK, LAGOA, and BLACK, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Appellants Michael and LaVonne Washington, proceeding
pro se, appeal the district court’s denial of their Rule 24(a) motion
to intervene as of right. Angela DeBose, the plaintiff in this case, is
subject to a filing injunction on her future filings regarding her em-
ployment at the University of South Florida without the signature
of an attorney barred in Florida or the Middle District of Florida.
Appellants assert they have an interest in the underlying litigation
because they are beneficiaries to Patricia Washington’s estate, and
DeBose, the personal representative of Patricia Washington’s es-
tate, cannot fully protect their interest in the estate because DeBose
is subject to this filing injunction. After review, 1 we dismiss this
appeal.
A district court must permit intervention as of right under
Rule 24(a) if an entity “(1) is given an unconditional right to inter-
1 We review a district court’s denial of intervention of right under Fed. R. Civ.
P. 24(a) de novo, with subsidiary factual findings subject to review for clear
error. See Salvors, Inc. v. Unidentified Wrecked & Abandoned Vessel, 861 F.3d
1278, 1294 (11th Cir. 2017).
USCA11 Case: 25-10872 Document: 67-1 Date Filed: 05/20/2026 Page: 3 of 4
25-10872 Opinion of the Court 3
vene by federal statute; or (2) claims an interest relating to the prop-
erty or transaction that is the subject of the action, and is so situ-
ated that disposing of the action may as a practical matter impair
or impede the movant’s ability to protect its interest, unless existing
parties adequately represent that interest.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a). We
have distilled four elements that must be met to satisfy the second
subsection: (1) the application to intervene must be timely;
(2) there is an interest relating to the property or transaction which
is the subject of the action; (3) disposition of the action may im-
pede or impair the intervenor’s ability to protect that interest; and
(4) that interest is represented ina
{# E23 (Nick, ruling section 1 answer 10): quoting a bill or a court opinion works
the way quoting a news article works. Select a passage above and the same panel
opens: the passage goes to the official you choose, with this document's own
address as its source and its own type. #}