January 18, 2024, opinions

Posted on by tadbartlett

Designated for publication

  • Shambaugh & Son, L.P. v. Steadfast Insurance Co., 23-50004, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • Wilson, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Wilson), insurance, personal jurisdiction
    • Affirming dismissal of insurance coverage dispute on the basis of lack of specific personal jurisdiction.
    • The plaintiff insured sought coverage for costs it incurred in responding to a non-party subpoena from multi-district litigation in South Carolina involving aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs); plaintiff was a wholly owned subsidiary of a Connecticut-based corporation, which procured insurance from the Illinois-corporation insurer on policies negotiated in New York and Massachusetts issued as Connecticut surplus lines policies. The insured, while itself a Texas limited partnership, was served with the subpoena at an Indiana office; as summarized by the Court, no one involved in the exchanges regarding coverage between the insured and insurer was based in Texas.
    • After first finding that the insured had forfeited three of its jurisdictional arguments by not raising them first before the magistrate judge.
    • The Court held that the facts of the policy procurement did not support specific jurisdiction, even though the insured was a Texas citizen, because “the many other facts pointing away from Texas preclude the Policies from being ‘distinctively Texan[.]'” The Court also held that the fact that the policy provided nationwide coverage did not provide specific jurisdiction. “Accepting Shambaugh’s argument would allow for specific personal jurisdiction against nationwide insurers virtually anywhere. Such ‘would offend the traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice’ by disregarding decades of well-developed law grounded in the Due Process Clause.”

Unpublished

  • U.S. v. Hall, 23-10249, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Willett, Duncan, Ramirez), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Devaney, 23-10385, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Barksdale, Graves, Oldham), Graves, J., concurring in judgment only; criminal, search and seizure, sentencing
    • Affirming conviction and 480-month sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and upholding denial of motion to suppress.
  • U.S. v. Whitehouse, 23-10617, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Haynes, Willett, Duncan), criminal, compassionate release
    • Dismissing as frivolous appeal from denial of motion for compassionate release.
  • U.S. v. Vasquez, 23-20366, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Willett, Duncan, Ramirez), criminal, sentencing
    • Vacating in part sentence on conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of a mixture or substance containing cocaine, and remanding to conform written judgment with orally pronounced sentence as to supervised release terms.
  • Jerusalem v. Louisiana Department of State, 23-30521, appeal from M.D. La.
    • per curiam (King, Haynes, Graves), election law, jurisdiction
    • Affirming sua sponte dismissal of voting machine lawsuit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
  • U.S. v. Vallejo, 23-40222, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Jones, Southwick, Ho), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming sentence on conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.
  • U.S. v. Cantu, 23-50310, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Stewart, Douglas), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Mendoza, 23-50394, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Jolly, Higginson, Duncan), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.