Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Clement, Wilson), criminal, supervised release, sentencing Vacating sentences for revocation of supervised release, and rendering judgment accordingly. Defendant had originally been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and 5 years’ supervised release for a conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court then vacated the … More April 28, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Southwick, Haynes, Higginson), securities law Reversing dismissal of securities claims (specifically, violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) by pension plan investor against amusement park corporation based on alleged material misrepresentations and omissions regarding development of amusement parks in China, and remanding for further … More January 18-19, 2023, opinions
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 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
Catching up on the blog after some non-stop over-drive briefing weeks, so both published and unpublished opinions will only contain summary disposition information and not the usual fuller descriptions. Designated for publication Guerrero v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., 20-20633, appeal from S.D. Tex. Duncan, J. (Higginbotham, Willett, Duncan), employment Affirming district court’s dismissal of claims of … More May 5, 2022, opinions
(Note: While normally Take the Fifth provides more detailed summaries for opinions designated for publication and only basic disposition notes and links for unpublished opinions, because this is a catch-up post after two weeks of being away from the blog, we are just providing the links and basic disposition notes for both published and unpublished … More March 19-31, 2022, opinions
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 Timpa v. Dillard, 20-10876, appeal from N.D. Tex. Clement, J. (Clement, Southwick, Willett), qualified immunity Reversing summary judgment on qualified immunity as to plaintiffs’ claims of excessive force, and affirming in part and reversing in part the qualified immunity summary judgment on claims of bystander liability, arising from Dallas Police Department’s killing … More December 15, 2021, opinions
Designated for publication New Falls Corp. v. LaHaye, 19-30795, appeal from W.D. La. Costa, J. (Elrod, Southwick, Costa), bankruptcy Affirming the district court’s judgment that the terms of a prior bankruptcy proceeding of a grocery store were binding in a subsequent personal bankruptcy by the grocery store’s owners. A lender to a grocery store made … More November 11-12, 2021, opinions
Designated for publication SED Holdings, LLC v. St. John, 19-20841, appeal from S.D. Tex. Duncan, J. (Haynes, Duncan, Engelhardt), fraud, breach of contract, res judicata, judicial estoppel Affirming judgment of fraud, but finding damages excessive and remanding for remittitur, and vacating judgment of breach of contract, and remanding for further proceedings. This case arose from … More June 17, 2021 opinions
