Designated for publication Clement, J. (Smith, Clement, Wilson), insurance Affirming summary judgment in favor of insurer on homeowners’ suit for coverage for mold-related losses. Unpublished per curiam (Jones, Haynes, Oldham), criminal, restitution Affirming denial of writ of coram nobis as a collateral attack on restitution order. per curiam (Stewart, Dennis, Willett), prisoner suit Affirming dismissal … More April 18, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Southwick, Higginson), bankruptcy Affirming district court’s affirmance of bankruptcy court’s order approving credit-bid sale of hotel property to debtor’s parent company and discharge of all liens, holding that the lender was a good faith purchaser. Elrod, J. (Wiener, Elrod, Engelhardt), criminal, guilty plea, restitution Affirming $75,000 restitution award as … More April 17, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Wiener, Higginson, Wilson), criminal, sentencing, Brady violation, restitution Affirming convictions of depriving two persons of their constitutional rights under color of law, arising from defendant’s sexual assault of two men while a police officer, and concurrent sentences of 12 and 360 months. The Court held that withheld evidence was not … More April 6-12, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Wiener, J. (Wiener, Higginson, Wilson), administrative law, standing Vacating district court’s preliminary injunction of Biden administration’s executive order establishing working group to formulate guidance on the “social cost of greenhouse gases” to be used by federal agencies in policymaking actions, and dismissing states’ suit seeking injunctive relief for lack of standing. As … More April 5, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Engelhardt), Higginbotham, J., concurring; immigration Affirming dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that status-adjustment decisions made by the USCIS outside the context of removal proceedings are not final agency actions reviewable under the Administrative Procedure Act, nor are they final removal actions reviewable per the Immigration and Nationality … More April 4, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Wiener, Higginson, Wilson), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, jury instructions, 404(b), Confrontation Clause Affirming convictions of kidnapping and other counts arising from drug trafficking conspiracy, rejecting arguments regarding the kidnapping jury instruction, sufficiency of the evidence, admission of 404(b) evidence, and violation of the Confrontation Clause. Dennis, J. (Davis, Dennis, Higginson), … More April 3, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Engelhardt, J. (Richman, Ho, Engelhardt), National Environmental Policy Act, sovereign immunity Affirming summary judgment in favor of Corps of Engineers on plaintiffs’ claims that Corps should be compelled to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement pursuant to NEPA to increase usage of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, which summary judgment dismissed claims on … More March 27, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Wiener, J. (Wiener, Stewart, Engelhardt), breach of contract Affirming judgment that original ship owners were in default on their loan agreements for the mortgages that financed construction of the vessels, and that, under Panamanian law, the lenders’ preferred ship mortgages outranked the state-created liens of a purchaser who agreed to purchase the … More March 24, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (denial of en banc rehearing; voting against rehearing were Richman, Jones, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Douglas, JJ.; voting for rehearing were Smith, Elrod, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, JJ.); Higginbotham, J., concurring in denial of rehearing; Higginson, J., concurring in denial of rehearing; Oldham, J., dissenting from denial … More March 23, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Dennis, J. (Wiener, Dennis, Duncan), criminal, Confrontation Clause, Sixth Amendment, sufficiency of evidence, sentencing, crime of violence Upon granting petition for panel rehearing, vacating defendants’ conviction for aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, but affirming conviction on other counts arising from two armored car armed … More March 22, 2023, opinions
