Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Haynes, Duncan, Wilson), foreign official immunity, Torture Victim Protection Act Affirming dismissal of TVPA claims against former Nigerian governor under foreign official immunity. In this case, the widows of men killed by Nigerian military forces during rallies in 2020 sued former Nigerian governor Willie Obiano in a Texas federal court … More May 29-30, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Elrod, Dennis, Higginson), First Amendment, sovereign immunity Affirming in part and vacating in part preliminary injunction against state entities to enjoin Texas law limiting information provided under managed vision plans, as an impingement on commercial speech, and affirming in part and vacating in part motion to dismiss on sovereign immunity … More May 23, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Ho, Wilson, Ramirez), Ho, J., concurring; appellate jurisdiction On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court with an order for the Fifth Circuit to hear the appeal expeditiously, ordering the case to be set on the next available oral argument panel. Judge Ho concurred, noting that the Court had to comply … More May 20, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Engelhardt, J. (Graves, Engelhardt, Oldham), Graves, J., dissenting; Americans with Disabilities Act Affirming dismissal of former employee’s ADA claims on the pleadings. The Court held that Turner cannot establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination under the ADA because he failed to demonstrate that he was “qualified” for the job, having … More May 14, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Higginbotham, Southwick), toxic torts, expert witness Affirming exclusion of plaintiff’s expert testimony in Deepwater Horizon-cleanup-related toxic tort action, and affirming summary judgment for defendant, but clarifying Circuit’s requirements for causation proof in an expert report. Under Daubert and Rule 702, expert testimony is admissible if it is both relevant … More May 12, 2025, opinions
First, a return to the daily summaries of U.S. Fifth Circuit opinions; then, an explanation for the six-week pause in the daily summaries and a couple public service announcements: Unpublished opinions per curiam (King, Jones, Oldham), bankruptcy Affirming dismissal of putative creditor’s adversary claim challenging bankruptcy court’s discharge of debtor’s debts. per curiam (Smith, Stewart, … More April 23, 2025, opinions; plus a couple PSAs
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Jones, Stewart), criminal, search and seizure Reversing grant of motion to suppress evidence from a house and vehicle, holding that the good-faith exception applied to overcome the bare-bones nature of the affidavit in support of the search warrant, and remanding for further proceedings. Southwick, J. (Southwick, Haynes, Douglas), Equal … More March 3-4, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (voting against en banc rehearing: Elrod, Richman, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Ho, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ.; voting for en banc rehearing: Jones, Smith, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, JJ.); Ho, J., concurring in denial of rehearing; criminal, sentencing, en banc Denying en banc rehearing of panel opinion (Elrod, Dennis, Higginson) … More February 28, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Engelhardt, J. (Ho, Engelhardt, Douglas), Douglas, J., dissenting in part; qualified immunity Affirming district court’s denial of qualified immunity on excessive force claim, but reversing denial of qualified immunity on unreasonable search claim, and remanding for further proceedings on claims arising from shooting death of homeowner by officers who had not announced … More February 25, 2025, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Wiener, Higginson, Ho), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Jolly, Graves, Oldham), criminal, sentence reduction Affirming denial of motion for sentence reduction. per curiam (King, Southwick, Engelhardt), criminal Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon. per curiam (Higginbotham, Jones, Oldham), criminal, sentencing Affirming 275-month … More February 19, 2025, opinions
