August 13, 2025, opinions

August 14, 2025

Designated for publication Stewart, J. (Stewart, Richman, Higginson), Higginson, J., dissenting in part; First Amendment, mootness Affirming district court’s preliminary injunction allowing plaintiffs access to park for religious ceremonies but declining to enjoin planned tree removal and cormorant rookery management measures. This appeal arose after the Texas Supreme Court answered a certified question, holding that … More August 13, 2025, opinions

August 12, 2025, opinions

August 14, 2025

Designated for publication Willett, J. (single-judge order), immigration, mandate Denying motion to reopen case. Jose Ernesto Romero-Lozano, removed from the U.S. in 2014 and illegally reentering eight years later, was placed in withholding-only proceedings after DHS reinstated his removal order in 2022. An Immigration Judge denied his application, and the BIA affirmed in November 2023. … More August 12, 2025, opinions

August 11, 2025, opinions

August 12, 2025

Designated for publication per curiam (Dennis, Haynes, Engelhardt), Engelhardt, J., dissenting; Title VII Affirming summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s Title VII claim of religious discrimination after defendant granted plaintiff employee a religious accommodation for flu vaccination requirement. Tisha Palms, a radiographer at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), sued the hospital for failure to accommodate her religious … More August 11, 2025, opinions

August 8, 2025, opinions

August 10, 2025

Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Smith, Higginson, Douglas), breach of contract Affirming summary judgment in favor of health insurers on claims by healthcare providers where no written assignment of the insured’s claims was provided, but reversing summary judgment on claims where a written assignment was provided, and remanding for further proceedings. The case involves fifty-six … More August 8, 2025, opinions

August 7, 2025, opinions

August 10, 2025

Designated for publication per curiam (Elrod, Higginbotham, Smith), Clean Air Act, administrative law, Administrative Procedure Act, venue On remand from U.S. Supreme Court, original panel opinion from November 22, 2023 (Elrod, Smith, Higginbotham; Higginbotham, J., dissenting) (vacating EPA decision to deny refineries’ requested exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard program of the Clean Air Act), … More August 7, 2025, opinions

August 6, 2025, opinions

August 10, 2025

Designated for publication Ho, J. (King, Ho, Ramirez), CARES Act, administrative law Affirming district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claim for forgiveness of CARES Act paycheck protection program loan for which plaintiff had not been eligible to begin with. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created by Congress under the CARES Act during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided … More August 6, 2025, opinions

August 5, 2025, opinions

August 7, 2025

Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Duncan, Engelhardt), employment discrimination, COVID-19 Reversing summary judgment in favor of the employer on the plaintiff former employee’s Title VII religious discrimination claim arising from his termination after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccination and the employer failing to grant him a religious exemption, and remanding for further proceedings. … More August 5, 2025, opinions

August 4, 2025, opinions

August 7, 2025

Designated for publication Ho, J. (Higginbotham, Willett, Ho), election law Reversing district court judgment that Texas election law requiring an ID number on the mail-in ballot application and on the mail-in ballot violated federal law, and rendering judgment for Texas official defendants. The Fifth Circuit upheld Texas’s Election Protection and Integrity Act of 2021, which … More August 4, 2025, opinions

August 1, 2025, opinions

August 6, 2025

Designated for publication Willett, J. (Higginbotham, Willett, Ho), Ho, J., dissenting; judicial immunity, sec. 1983, appellate jurisdiction Reversing denial of judicial immunity for defendants on claims arising from prevailing over jury proceedings, and dismissing plaintiffs’ appeal from grant of judicial immunity over other sec. 1983 claims as that ruling was at the interlocutory stage. Loving … More August 1, 2025, opinions