Take the Fifth

Designated for publication

• Southwest Airlines Pilots Association v. Southwest Airlines Co., 23-11065, appeal from N.D. Tex.
  • Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Wiener, Wilson), labor law
  • Reversing dismissal of union’s complaint against airline under the Railway Labor Act as subject to arbitration, holding that the union sufficiently pled the anti-union animus exception to RLA arbitration, and remanding for further proceedings.

• Stanley v. Morgan, 24-30119, appeal from W.D. La.
  • Engelhardt, J. (Jones, Willett, Engelhardt), First Amendment, timeliness
  • Affirming dismissal of former police officer’s First Amendment § 1983 claims arising from his suspension as time-barred.
  • The Court held that the plaintiff’s § 1983 claim accrued upon notice of the adverse action, not upon completion of an elective administrative appeal, as dictated by U.S. Supreme Court precedent that exhaustion of state remedies is not a prerequisite to a § 1983 action.
  • The Court held that, under Louisiana law as determined by the Louisiana Supreme Court in Kling v. Hebert (Kling II), 378 So. 3d 54 (La. 2024), the plaintiff’s prior state-court TRO suits did not interrupt the running of the time period for bringing his § 1983 claim.

• U.S. v. Aguilar-Torres, 23-50866, appeal from W.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (en banc), en banc, criminal, sentencing
  • Vacating and setting for en banc rehearing of the September 9 panel opinion dismissing the defendant’s appeal of his conviction and sentence for illegal reentry, where the defendant had moved for summary disposition affirming his conviction on the basis that he knew that his appeal was foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres but that the appeal was taken purely to preserve the issue. The original panel opinion had been decided by Judges Jones and Engelhardt (per curiam), with Judge Willett dissenting.

• Memorial Hermann Accountable Care Organization v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 23-60608, appeal from U.S. Tax Court
  • Haynes, J. (Southwick, Haynes, Douglas), tax
  • Affirming U.S. Tax Court’s judgment that plaintiff organization was not entitled to a § 501(c)(4) tax exemption for non-profits “operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare.”

Unpublished

• 20100 Eastex, L.L.C. v. Saltgrass, Inc., 23-20414, appeal from S.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Clement, Engelhardt, Wilson), breach of contract, property rights
  • Affirming dismissal of breach of contract claims by property owner against neighboring property owner; but reversing dismissal of plaintiff’s declaratory judgment claims regarding scope of easement held by neighboring property owner, arising from failure of neighboring property owner to give consent for demolition of old restaurant building.

• U.S. v. Wesley, 24-30330, appeal from W.D. La.
  • per curiam (Elrod, Haynes, Duncan), criminal
  • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.

• Dillion v. Martin, 24-30360, appeal from E.D. La.
  • per curiam (Davis, Stewart, Southwick), personal tort, sanctions
  • Finding no abuse of discretion in the district court’s dismissal of the suit and denial of motion for reconsideration after the plaintiff’s counsel had ignored eleven notices and orders of the district court.

• U.S. v. Harris, 24-30384, appeal from W.D. La.
  • per curiam (Haynes, Higginson, Douglas), criminal, sentencing
  • Vacating 180-month sentence, as government conceded that the district court had made a calculation error in its criminal history calculation under the sentencing guidelines.