Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Southwick (Costa had been on panel but resigned before opinion released, so opinion is issued by a quorum of the panel)); bankruptcy Affirming dismissal of avoidance and recovery claims related to payments under a prior settlement agreement, but reversing dismissal of avoidance and recovery claims related to two payments … More October 7, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Higginbotham, Graves, Ho), bankruptcy Affirming district court’s judgment accepting debtor’s decision under 11 U.S.C. § 365 to reject commercial lease (including sublease to appealing claimant) under the business judgment rule, and rejecting claimant’s argument that bad faith in a third party’s negotiations with the claimant tainted the decision to reject … More October 6, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Clement, Duncan, Wilson), prisoner suit, First Amendment Affirming summary judgment dismissal of Texas state prisoner’s § 1983 claims that confiscation of religious materials violated his First Amendment rights. The Court held that TDJC policies regarding storage of personal property and the confiscation of any personal property not stored properly according … More October 4-5, 2022, 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 (using the court term employed by the Supreme Court, though the Fifth Circuit itself compiles statistics on a July-to-June year), … More Annual statistics: Oct. 2021-Sept. 2022
Designated for publication per curiam (Jolly, Higginson, Engelhardt), Engelhardt, J., concurring; insurance, remand, diversity jurisdiction, removal Affirming denial of motion for remand, but reversing summary judgment in favor of insurer on coverage dispute arising from insurer’s denial of plaintiff’s Hurricane Harvey-related property damage coverage claims on the basis of an exclusion for pre-existing wear and … More October 3, 2022, opinions
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 2022 opinion statistics
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Duncan, Oldham), Oldham, J., dissenting; immigration Denying Mexican citizen’s petition for review of BIA order dismissing appeal of IJ order that IJ lacked jurisdiction to decide application for cancelation of a reinstatement of removal under the Violence Against Women Act. The Court held that, under the rule of orderliness, … More September 30, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Jolly, Smith, Engelhardt), Jolly, J., dissenting in part; First Amendment Reversing summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs challenging Texas Justice of the Peace Wayne Mack’s opening of court with a ceremony that includes a prayer, and rendering judgment in favor of Mack. The Court held this was “a zero-pence case,” … More September 29, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson), criminal, sentencing, Armed Career Criminal Act Vacating sentence on conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and remanding for resentencing, disagreeing with the district court that the ACCA (which would increase the statutory maximum from ten years to a minimum of 15 years) was … More September 26-28, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Clement, Haynes), criminal, search and seizure Affirming conviction of illegal possession of firearms by an illegal alien, and upholding denial of motion to suppress statement and weapons found in search of trailer after officers served an administrative warrant on defendant. The Court held there was no clear error in … More September 23, 2022, opinions
