Designated for publication U.S. v. Bates, 19-10813, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (King, Graves, Willett), criminal, sentencing, Armed Career Criminals Act On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, vacating and remanding for resentencing. The Court held that, under Borden v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1817 (2021), the Texas crime of assault of a … More February 4-7, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Landmark American Insurance Co. v. SCD Memorial Place II, L.L.C., 20-20389, appeal from S.D. Tex. Elrod, J. (Elrod, Willett, Engelhardt), insurance Reversing summary judgment in favor of insured on action regarding coverage of flood-related damage sustained during Hurricane Harvey, and rendering judgment in favor of insurer. The policy at issue here is … More February 3, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Swenson, 20-20509, appeal from S.D. Tex. King, J. (King, Costa, Willett), criminal, sentencing, restitution, sufficiency of evidence Affirming conviction of mail fraud, sentence, and restitution award. The Court held that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction on count of mail fraud (the jury had found defendant not guilty … More February 2, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Martinez, 21-30068, appeal from W.D. La. Davis, J. (Davis, Jones, Elrod), criminal, search and seizure Affirming denial of motion to suppress evidence seized from USPS packages; defendant had argued that reasonable suspicion did not exist to detain the packages, and that the 17-day delay between their detention and the search … More February 1, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Dotson v. Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co., 21-30314, appeal from E.D. La. Ho, J. (King, Graves, Ho), insurance, res judicata Affirming summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s bad faith claims against insurer arising from insurer’s representations about policy limits in prior litigation arising from an auto accident, on grounds of the res judicata effect of … More January 31, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Gabriel Investment Group, Inc. v. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, 21-50322, appeal from W.D. Tex. Willett, J. (King, Costa, Willett), alcohol regulation Certifying to the Texas Supreme Court question regarding whether an exempt publicly-traded corporation owning a package store permit may retain that permit when it is sold to a non-exempt publicly-traded corporation … More January 28, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Danziger & De Llano, L.L.P. v. Morgan Verkamp, L.L.C., 21-20186, appeal from S.D. Tex. Higginson, J. (Davis, Higginson, Engelhardt), personal jurisdiction Affirming district court’s dismissal of suit against non-Texas LLC and two of its non-Texas-resident members on grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction. In a case arising from a fee-splitting arrangement between … More January 27, 2022, opinions
Unpublished U.S. v. Viator, 20-11235, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Higginbotham, Higginson, Duncan), criminal, compassionate release Afirming district court’s denial of motion for compassionate release. Small v. Zarvona Energy, L.L.C., 20-20316, appeal from S.D. Tex. per curiam (Smith, Stewart, Graves), prisoner suit Affirming dismissal of former prisoner’s § 1983 suit for lack of subject … More January 26, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Garrett, 17-10516, appeal from N.D. Tex. Jolly, J. (Jolly, Jones, Southwick), criminal, sentencing, Armed Career Criminal Act On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, reinstating prior judgment reversing imposition of a lesser sentence not enhanced under the ACCA and remanding for resentencing. The panel had previously held that a prior … More January 24-25, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Pennywell v. Hooper, 20-30045, appeal from W.D. La. Jolly, J. (Jolly, Higginson, Engelhardt), habeas corpus Reversing the district court’s dismissal of the petitioner’s petition for federal habeas relief, based on a holding of equitable tolling, and remanding for further proceedings. “Pennywell delivered his petition for direct review of his state conviction—which resulted … More January 21, 2022, opinions
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