September 2, 2022, opinions

Posted on by tadbartlett

Designated for publication

  • Parada v. Garland, 19-60425, petition for review of BIA order
    • per curiam (King, Duncan, Engelhardt), immigration
    • Granting Salvadoran citizens’ petition for review of BIA order denying their motion to reopen removal proceedings and apply for cancellation of removal, and remanding to BIA for further proceedings.
    • The Court held that the failure of the government to provide the date and place of the petitioners’ original notice of hearing did not trigger the stop-time rule, and that the subsequent ten years of residency was sufficient to support reopening of the removal proceedings to apply for cancellation of removal.
  • Loggerhead Holdings, Inc. v. BP, plc, 21-30573, appeal from E.D. La.
    • Southwick, J. (King, Elrod, Southwick), Oil Pollution Act
    • Affirming in part and reversing in part summary judgment dismissal of BP-oilspill-related claims by scuba-diving cruise business that was already facing financial difficulties at the time of the Deepwater Horizon blowout. The Court held that there was a fact issue as to whether the plaintiff would have been able to continue operations, even in its financially weakened condition, if the oilspill had not happened, such that summary judgment on OPA’s financial-loss section was not appropriate. The Court held, however, that there was no genuine dispute of material fact as to the plaintiff’s physical damages claim.
  • Sweetin v. City of Texas City, 21-40784, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • Elrod, J. (Stewart, Elrod, Graves), qualified immunity, municipal liability
    • Reversing summary judgment dismissal of claims against city permit officer, and affirming summary judgment dismissal of claims against city, by ambulance drivers who were detained by the permit officer for failure to have a permit to operate an ambulance within the city.
    • The permit officer did not have authority to detain people or even to issue citations, so after he confronted the ambulance drivers and ascertained they did not have the appropriate permit, he told them they were detained and that they could not leave, while awaiting a fire marshal who did have authority to issue the citation. The Court held that this did constitute a Fourth Amendment violation for freedom from unlawful seizure, and that the permit officer was not entitled to qualified immunity because he was not acting within the scope of his authority. The Court held, however, that because the permit officer did have enforcement authority on behalf of the city, the municipal liability claims against the city were properly dismissed.

Unpublished

  • Pan v. Garland, 19-60606, petition for review of BIA order
    • per curiam (Richman, Clement, Duncan), immigration
    • Denying petition for review of BIA order affirming IJ’s order of removal.
  • U.S. v. Stiff, 21-10997, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Smith, Dennis, Southwick), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • Ovalle v. United Rentals North America, Inc., 21-11076, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Smith, Wiener, Southwick), personal tort
    • Affirming summary judgment in favor of employer dismissing employee’s slip-and-fall claim.
  • Scott v. Wollney, 21-11161, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson), breach of contract
    • Affirming dismissal of claim for payment of fees.
  • U.S. v. Castillo-Santana, 21-40530, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Smith, Wiener, Southwick), criminal, sufficiency of evidence
    • Affirming conviction of one count of conspiracy to transport and two counts of transporting illegal aliens within the United States.
  • King v. Cardinal Services, L.L.C., 21-40562, appeal from E.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Jolly, Willett, Engelhardt), personal tort
    • Affirming judgment and judgment amount in automobile accident case.
  • U.S. v. Turner, 21-40634, appeal from E.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson), criminal
    • Affirming conviction on attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
  • U.S. v. Davis, 22-30151, appeal from W.D. La.
    • per curiam (King, Higginson, Willett), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming 240-month sentence on conviction of production of child pornography.