William Greg Thomas, sentenced to death in Florida for orchestrating his wife’s murder, filed a federal habeas petition nearly nine months after the one-year AEDPA limitations period expired. The district court found that appointed counsel Mary Catherine Bonner had engaged in egregious misconduct, equitably tolled the deadline, and then denied habeas relief on the merits. The Eleventh Circuit did not decide whether Thomas was entitled to tolling. Instead, it vacated the equitable-tolling ruling and remanded for detailed findings about why Bonner filed late, what she understood about the deadline, whether she effectively abandoned Thomas or acted in bad faith, dishonesty, divided loyalty, or serious mental impairment, and what steps Thomas took to protect his rights. The court explained that ordinary attorney negligence, even gross negligence or recklessness, is not enough; equitable tolling requires diligence and an extraordinary circumstance, while recent Supreme Court and Eleventh Circuit precedent distinguishes attorney error from abandonment of the attorney-client relationship. The court also left the merits of Thomas’s eight habeas claims untouched, including ineffective-assistance, jury-prejudice, and capital-sentencing issues. The State’s motion to limit briefing and Thomas’s motion to stay were denied as moot. The case was vacated and remanded with instructions.