I am special counsel at Fishman Haygood LLP, focusing on appeals in all matters, as well as litigation in environmental land-damage, coastal land-loss, and complex commercial matters. I am also a writer, and I'm the managing editor of literary journal The Peauxdunque Review.
Unpublished Bruno v. Ford, 21-20204, appeal from S.D. Tex. per curiam (Davis, Jones, Elrod), Fair Labor Standards Act Vacating district court’s summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s FLSA claims, and remanding for further proceedings. U.S. v. Pontefract, 21-30032, appeal from W.D. La. per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Willett), habeas corpus Denying certificate of appealability, and affirming district court’s … More October 11, 2021 opinions
Unpublished Planned Parenthood Southeast, Inc. v. Snyder, 16-60773, appeal from S.D. Miss. per curiam (Owen, Dennis, Willett), abortion law Granting joint motion to dismiss appeal as moot, and remanding to district court to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint for lack of jurisdiction. Blessit v. Texas Office of the Attorney General Galveston County Child Support Enforcement Division, 20-40135, … More October 8, 2021 opinions
Unpublished U.S. v. El Hage, 20-10409, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Elrod, Oldham, Wilson), habeas corpus Denying COA from denial of § 2255 petition challenging petitioner’s conviction of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. Thomas v. Grundfos, CBS, 20-20505, appeal from S.D. Tex. per curiam (Davis, Elrod, Oldham), employment discrimination Affirming summary judgment dismissal … More October 7, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Gardner, 20-50481, appeal from W.D. Tex. Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Stewart, Wilson), criminal, guilty plea Vacating conviction for possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, and remanding for district court to hold an evidentiary hearing on defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. … More October 6, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Lefebure v. D’Aquilla, 19-30702, c/w 19-30989, appeal from M.D. La. Ho, J. (Owen, Graves, Ho), Graves, J., dissenting; standing Treating petition for rehearing en banc as a petition for panel rehearing, and denying petition for panel rehearing, but withdrawing Feb. 9, 2021 opinion and substituting with new opinion with same result–reversing judgment … More October 5, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Goldring v. U.S., 20-30723, appeal from E.D. La. Engelhardt, J. (Jones, Southwick, Engelhardt), tax Affirming in part and reversing in part district court’s summary judgment in favor of government dismissing taxpayers’ refund claims in their entirety. In separate litigation, one of the taxpayers had prevailed in a suit to have her stock … More October 1-4, 2021 opinions
At the end of each month, we tally various statistics from opinions released by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Then, corresponding to the traditional court term start date of October 1, we aggregate those statistics to note interesting trends for the previous court year (October through September). This is our first … More Annual statistics: Oct. 2020-Sept. 2021
We report after each month on interesting statistics from the data we generate from the daily opinion summaries from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and at the end of each court year (Oct.-Sept.) we will aggregate that–all of which provides useful insights into the inner workings of the Court, the relative … More September 2021 statistics
Designated for publication Adams v. All Coast, L.L.C., 19-30907, appeal from W.D. La. per curiam (Smith, Clement, Oldham), Fair Labor Standards Act, maritime law Denying petition for en banc rehearing (Judges Jones and Elrod voting for rehearing; Chief Judge Owen and Judges Smith, Stewart, Dennis, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Costa, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, … More September 30, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Johnson v. BOKF National Association, 18-11375, appeal from N.D. Tex. Dennis, J. (Higginbotham, Dennis, Ho), Ho, J., concurring in judgment only; banking law Affirming district court’s dismissal of putative class action against bank alleging that extended overdraft charges were usurious interest under the National Bank Act, for failure to state a claim. … More September 29, 2021 opinions
