Designated for publication
- Cory v. Stewart, 19-10622, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Richman, Higginbotham, Willett), Richman, C.J., dissenting in part; securities law, fraud, breach of contract
- Affirming summary judgment dismissal of extracontractual and Texas Securities Act fraud claims; but reversing summary judgment on federal securities law and Delaware common law fraud claims; and remanding for further proceedings. Claims arose from an agreement to sell a company, when the company subsequently failed and the sellers did not receive approximately half of their compensation for the sale.
- Chief Judge Richman dissented in part, as she would have affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of all of the claims.
- Gentry v. Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions, L.L.C., 22-40219, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Stewart, Southwick), Fair Labor Standards Act
- Affirming judgment that workers did not qualify for the “highly compensated employee” or “learned professional” exemptions from the FLSA’s overtime rules; and vacating and remanding for reconsideration of liquidated damages.
- Work v. Intertek Resource Solutions, Inc., 23-20120, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- Graves, J. (Richman, Graves, Wilson), arbitration
- Affirming district court’s judgment that the JAMS Employment Arbitration Rules and Procedures would apply to parties’ arbitration because the arbitration agreement incorporated the JAMS Rules by reference, and that the question of whether class arbitration was available was a question for the arbitrator to decide along with any other questions of arbitrability.
- Emden v. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 23-20224, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- Smith, J. (Smith, Haynes, Douglas), international law
- Affirming dismissal of suit by heirs of original owner of artwork for recovery of painting from the art museum defendant, on the basis of the act of state doctrine, where the artwork had been sent to the owner who ultimately transferred it to the art museum based on a determination made by an agency of the government of the Netherlands. The Court upheld the district court’s “reasoning that any evaluation would require it to question an action of the Dutch government—a foreign state,” which “is precisely what the act of state doctrine prohibits.”
- U.S. v. McNeal, 23-20351, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- Oldham, J. (Higginson, Willett, Oldham), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming 60-month sentence on conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that the sentence was procedurally unreasonable on the basis that the district court had failed to rule on his counsel’s objection to the § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement, holding that any error was harmless because the district court pronounced justifications for a 60-month sentence regardless of the reliance on the enhancement.
- U.S. v. Woods, 23-20452, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Higginson, Willett, Oldham), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming 30-month sentence and conditions of supervised release on conviction of damaging property of a foreign official in the United States, modifying supervised release conditions to provide that, while the defendant is undergoing a drug treatment program he is not to consume alcohol excessively.
- U.S. v. Joseph, 23-30005, appeal from E.D. La.
- Graves, J. (Richman, Graves, Wilson), criminal, restitution
- Affirming district court’s order to instruct BOP to transfer funds from inmate account to cover restitution payments.
- Plaquemines Parish v. BP America Production Co., 23-30294, c/w Cameron Parish v. BP America Production Co., 23-30422, appeals from E.D. La. and W.D. La.
- Davis, J. (Davis, Engelhardt, Oldham), Oldham, J., dissenting; federal officer jurisdiction
- Affirming remand from third attempt to remove lawsuits brought by parishes arising from land-loss and contamination in Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, holding that the fact that defendants were vertically-integrated companies that included entities that operated refineries that refined fuel as federal contractors for the war effort during World War II did not support removal under federal officer jurisdiction because, while the companies may have been “acting pursuant” to a federal officer’s instructions, their actions at issue in the lawsuit did not “relate to” the federal officer’s instructions.
- Judge Oldham dissented. He would find that the defendants’ actions did relate to the federal officers’ instructions because of the breadth of “relat[ing] to” and the breadth to be afforded to federal officer jurisdiction.
- Hickey v. Hospira, Inc., 23-30323, appeal from E.D. La.
- per curiam (Wiener, Haynes, Higginson), products liability, preemption
- Vacating district court’s judgment denying summary judgment that federal law preempted state law failure-to-warn claims against drug manufacturers, and remanding for further consideration of whether one particular study constituted “newly acquired information” such that the state-law claims may be maintained.
- Palmquist v. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., 23-40197, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- Stewart, J. (Stewart, Clement, Ho), diversity jurisdiction
- Reversing district court’s denial of motion to remand, holding that the allegations of the complaint stated plausible claims against an in-state defendant such that the in-state defendant was not improperly joined and diversity was lacking; vacating final judgment dismissing non-diverse defendants; and remanding to district court with instructions to remand to the state court.
- Thryv, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 23-60132, petition for review of NLRB Order
- Oldham, J. (King, Jones, Oldham), labor law
- Granting employer’s petition for review of NLRB order that employer had engaged in unfair labor practices, and vacating NLRB’s order in part, holding that the employer’s layoffs of unionized employees did not violate the NLRA and that the employer need not now provide further compliance with the union’s information requests regarding the layoff plan.
- MCR Oil Tools, L.L.C. v. U.S. Department of Transportation, 24-60230, petition for review of DOT Order
- per curiam (Jones, Higginson, Ho), Ho, J., concurring; Jones, J., dissenting in part; administrative law
- Granting motion for expedited review of petition, but carrying motions for stay pending review and administrative stay with the case for the argument panel to decide.
- Judge Ho concurred, noting that the argument panel would no doubt consider the stay arguments expeditiously and pursuant to the Circuit’s panel practice.
- Judge Jones dissented in part, opining that the stay motion should have been granted to “stay pending review of the agency decision that threatens to kneecap” the small business challenging the DOT order.
Unpublished
- Gomez-Vargas v. Garland, 20-60429, petition for review of BIA order
- per curiam (Clement, Duncan, Wilson), immigration
- On remand from Supreme Court, denying petition on holding that BIA did not err in determining petitioner was ineligible for cancellation of removal.
- U.S. v. Schenck, 22-30655, appeal from E.D. La.
- per curiam (Barksdale, Graves, Oldham), criminal, sentencing, restitution, guilty plea
- Affirming factual basis for guilty plea to interstate and foreign travel or
transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises and wire fraud, and dismissing under appeal waiver in guilty plea the defendant’s challenges to restitution award and 300-month sentence.
- U.S. v. Hernandez-Pacheco, 23-10619, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Wiener, Stewart, Douglas), criminal
- Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
- U.S. v. Woods, 23-10849, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Higginbotham, Stewart, Southwick), criminal
- Affirming constitutionality of conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
- U.S. v. Martinez, 23-10877, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Jones, Southwick, Ho), criminal
- Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
- U.S. v. Maldonado-Sandoval, 23-10989, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Jones, Smith, Dennis), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming conviction and sentence for illegal reentry.
- U.S. v. Keeling, 23-10990, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Jolly, Higginson, Duncan), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming conviction and 420-month sentence for possession of child pornography.
- U.S. v. Rangel, 23-11083, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (King, Haynes, Graves), criminal, compassionate release
- Affirming denial of motion for compassionate release.
- Montgomery v. State Farm Lloyds, 23-11126, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Jones, Smith, Dennis), insurance, attorneys’ fees
- Affirming district court’s award of reduced attorneys’ fees following judgment in plaintiff’s favor on insurance coverage dispute.
- U.S. v. Guerette, 23-11263, appeal from N.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Elrod, Oldham, Wilson), criminal
- Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
- U.S. v. Guevara, 23-20392, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Elrod, Oldham, Wilson), criminal
- Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
- U.S. v. Sidney, 23-20402, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Barksdale, Engelhardt, Wilson), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming 480-month sentence on conviction of sexual exploitation of children, distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography; and remanding for conformance of supervised release conditions with orally pronounced sentence.
- Ramey & Schwaller, L.L.P. v. Zions Bancorporation NA, 23-20586, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Dennis, Wilson, Ramirez), Paycheck Protection Program
- Affirming summary judgment at fee award in favor of defendant lender against plaintiff borrower in claims arising from repayment of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.
- U.S. v. Broussard, 23-30126, appeal from W.D. La.
- per curiam (Jones, Douglas, Doughty, by designation), criminal, sentencing, search and seizure
- Affirming conviction and 162-month sentence on drug-trafficking conviction, upholding denial of motion to suppress.
- U.S. v. Timmons, 23-30676, appeal from W.D. La.
- per curiam (Jones, Southwick, Ho), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming 84-month sentence on conviction of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of ammunition after a felony conviction.
- Berry v. Sheriff’s Office Ouachita Parish, 23-30704, appeal from W.D. La.
- per curiam (Davis, Willett, Oldham), employment discrimination, Title VII
- Affirming district court’s judgment on jury verdict in favor of defendant on plaintiff’s Title VII retaliation claim.
- U.S. v. Oliver, 23-30712, appeal from M.D. La.
- per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming 190-month sentence on conviction of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
- U.S. v. Bosley, 23-30728, appeal from W.D. La.
- per curiam (Willett, Duncan, Ramirez), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming 110-month sentence on conviction of distribution of methamphetamine.
- Barrientes v. Pollock, 23-30896, appeal from W.D. La.
- per curiam (Jones, Southwick, Ho), habeas corpus
- Affirming dismissal of § 2241 petition.
- Pratt v. Hall, 23-40240, appeal from E.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Elrod, Haynes, Douglas), prisoner suit
- Dismissing as frivolous appeal from dismissal of Texas state prisoner’s § 1983 suit.
- U.S. v. Pennygraph, 23-40631, appeal from E.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Jones, Southwick, Ho), criminal
- Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
- U.S. v. Webb, 23-50464, appeal from W.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Higginson, Ho, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing
- Affirming sentence on revocation of supervised release.
- U.S. v. Luna-Hernandez, 23-50578, appeal from W.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Engelhardt), criminal
- Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
- Eze v. Garland, 23-60282, petition for review of BIA order
- per curiam (Jones, Southwick, Ho), immigration
- Denying Nigerian citizen’s petition for review of BIA order affirming IJ’s order of removal.
- Molani v. Garland, 23-60375, petition for review of BIA order
- per curiam (Jolly, Higginson, Duncan), immigration
- Denying Pakistani citizen’s petition for review of BIA order denying her request for remand and dismissing her appeal from an order of an Immigration Judge (IJ) denying her application for cancellation of removal and ordering her removed.
- M.D. v. Abbott, 24-40248, appeal from S.D. Tex.
- per curiam (Jones, Clement, Wilson), contempt
- Granting motion for stay of contempt order finding 38 instances of noncompliance with two of 60+ remedial orders for deficiencies in the state’s foster-care system, with $100,000/day contempt penalties for noncompliance.
Take the Fifth 