Designated for publication Willett, J. (Elrod, Willett, Duncan), habeas corpus Affirming denial of habeas relief, upholding district court’s judgment that the § 2254 petition was untimely. The Court first held that the appeal was timely, based on district court’s determination that the petitioner had placed his request for a “return date” and an extension to … More October 10, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (judges voting against rehearing: Richman, Jones, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Ho, Engelhardt, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez; judges voting for rehearing: Smith, Elrod, Willett, Duncan, Oldham); Oldham, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc (joined by Smith, Elrod, Willett, Duncan, JJ.); Fair Labor Standards Act, Motor Carrier Act, en banc … More October 1, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson), Ho, J., concurring; criminal, sentencing On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, affirming defendant’s conviction of being in possession of a firearm while subject to a domestic violence restraining order; and affirming sentence of 73 months to run consecutively with any state court sentence on pending charges. … More September 10-12, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Graves, J. (Barksdale, Southwick, Graves), Fair Labor Standards Act Affirming summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs’ FLSA overtime claims on the basis that each employee is a “bona fide executive” exempt from FLSA’s overtime provisions. Elrod, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Elrod), evidence Affirming summary judgment for defendant trustees on claims brought by plaintiff beneficiaries of … More September 4, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, J. (Elrod, Willett, Duncan), habeas corpus Affirming denial of § 2254 petition for habeas relief from state conviction and sentence on basis that state court impermissibly used a non-final conviction to enhance his sentence, holding that any error by the state court was harmless. Accordingly, the Court did not base its … More August 28, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Engelhardt, J. (Clement, Engelhardt, Wilson), breach of contract, tortious interference Reversing judgment as a matter of law to defendant on plaintiff’s declaratory judgment claim; reversing judgment as a matter of law to co-defendant on plaintiff’s declaratory judgment and tortious interference claims; remanding for jury trial on the reversed claims; affirming denial of … More August 23, 2024, opinions
Another quick-blurb catch-up post (the briefing and arguing has been non-stop since mid-July–Take the Fifth may need to take on some more staff!). Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Barksdale, Southwick, Graves), criminal, Sixth Amendment, sentencing Affirming conviction and sentence on fraud under the Paycheck Protection Program, upholding denial of motion to substitute counsel and district … More August 1-15, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Higginbotham, Higginson, Duncan), qualified immunity, municipal liability, Fourth Amendment, § 1983 Dismissing appeal in part for want of appellate jurisdiction over appeals of denial of summary judgment on punitive damages claim, the summary judgment to police officer on Fourth Amendment search claim, and the summary judgment to the City and … More July 30-31, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Graves, Wilson); Graves, J., dubitante; § 1983, amendment Affirming denial of untimely motion to amend, where § 1983 plaintiff failed to adequately explain the justification for his untimeliness. Judge Graves filed a dubitante opinion. “I agree that Banks failed to give an adequate excuse for his failure to diligently … More June 26, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Richman, Higginbotham, Willett), Richman, C.J., dissenting in part; securities law, fraud, breach of contract Affirming summary judgment dismissal of extracontractual and Texas Securities Act fraud claims; but reversing summary judgment on federal securities law and Delaware common law fraud claims; and remanding for further proceedings. Claims arose from an agreement … More May 23-29, 2024, opinions
