January 23-26, 2025, opinions

Posted on by tadbartlett

Designated for publication

  • U.S. Anesthesia Partners of Texas, P.A. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 24-10384, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • Wilson, J. (Davis, Graves, Wilson), administrative law
    • Affirming dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims challenging as applied to them the use of a Total Per Capita Cost measure as part of the government defendants’ Merit-Based Incentive Payment System for purposes of adjustment of Medicare reimbursement rates, finding that plaintiffs’ regulatory challenge was statutorily barred.
  • New Orleans City v. Aspect Energy, L.L.C., 24-30199, appeal from E.D. La.
    • Stewart, J. (Smith, Stewart, Duncan), removal, improper joinder
    • Affirming district court’s denial of City’s motion to remand coastal-land-loss claims, dismissing claims against non-diverse defendant and finding that defendant had been improperly joined.
    • The Court held that Entergy’s pipeline activities were lawfully commenced prior to the state coastal management act and therefore fell within that statute’s historical use exception. The Court held that an environmental impact statement issued for federal approval of the state’s coastal management program, which contained an exception for historical activities that resulted in a change of use after the program’s effective date, “does not displace the unambiguous text of” the state statute. And the Court held that Entergy’s failure to maintain its pipeline canals was not a “use” requiring a coastal use permit under the state statute.
    • The Court also rejected the City’s argument that it was only a nominal plaintiff representing the interests of the State, and that the State’s real interest and presence in the suit destroyed diversity jurisdiction. The Court held that the City was the master of its complaint and, unlike coastal lawsuits filed by other parishes, it chose not to include the State as a plaintiff or to allege that it was seeking enforcement of uses of state concern under the statute. “Because the City filed this suit on its own behalf under SLCRMA, and because the City stands to benefit from a favorable ruling, the district court did not err in considering the City to be the sole party in interest.”
  • Cook v. Marshall, 24-30222, appeal from E.D. La.
    • Duncan, J. (Smith, Stewart, Duncan), diversity jurisdiction
    • Affirming partial summary judgment in favor of plaintiff trustee of two charitable trusts on claims against trustee of a related trust for lapses that caused the plaintiff trusts to incur debt and tax penalties, rejecting argument that plaintiff’s unnamed co-trustees lack diversity of citizenship.
  • U.S. v. Giglio, 24-60047, appeal from S.D. Miss.
    • Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Dennis, Higginson), Second Amendment, sentencing, criminal
    • Affirming revocation of supervised release and conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that the criminal statute was not unconstitutional as applied to the defendant; and holding that any error in calculation of the applicable sentencing-guideline range was harmless.
  • Aguilar-Quintanilla v. McHenry, 24-60142, petition for review of BIA order
    • Dennis, J. (Dennis, Haynes, Ramirez), Haynes, J., dissenting in part; immigration
    • Granting Salvadoran citizen’s petition for review of BIA’s denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, “[f]inding that his removal from the United States did not moot his appeal and, on the merits, that the agency failed to consider critical evidence in its likelihood-of-torture assessment.”
    • Judge Haynes dissented in part, and would find that, although the petitioner’s appeal was not moot, he was not entitled to remand to the BIA on the merits of the CAT claim, “satisfied that the agency meaningfully considered the substantial evidence before it.”

Unpublished

  • U.S. v. Pina, 24-10621, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (King, Southwick, Engelhardt), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Porter, 23-10995, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Smith, Stewart, Duncan), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming12-month sentence on revocation of supervised release.
  • U.S. v. Millsaps, 24-30632, appeal from E.D. La.
    • per curiam (Jones, Graves, Duncan), criminal, sentence reduction
    • Dismissing appeal from denial of motion for sentence reduction.
  • U.S. v. Reyes-Salgado, 24-40496, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Graves, Willett, Wilson), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Ybarra, 24-50111, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Jolly, Jones, Willett), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Jaime-Rodriguez, 24-50310, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Graves, Willett, Wilson), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.