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
Take the Fifth’s resident opinion-aggregator was out of the country for the first two and a half weeks of July, so the following are just abbreviated accounts of dispositions without any summary. Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Smith, Southwick, Higginson), bankruptcy, contempt Affirming contempt order entered by bankruptcy court against defendant in adversary proceeding. Stewart, … More July 1-17, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Richman, Southwick, Oldham), election law, sovereign immunity Reversing district court’s denial of District Attorney’s motion to dismiss constitutional claims of voters and others challenging recent amendments to Texas election laws, holding that District Attorney is entitled to sovereign immunity; vacating denial of motion to dismiss for lack of standing; and … More June 20-21, 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
Designated for publication Dennis, J. (Dennis, Southwick, Ho), criminal, search and seizure Affirming conviction of defendant for transporting undocumented aliens, upholding denial of motion to suppress that was brought on the basis that the alert of a Border Patrol canine was insufficient reasonable suspicion to extend the stop and probable cause to search because the … More May 16-17, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, J. (Elrod, Ho, Wilson), timeliness After receiving response from Texas Supreme Court on certified question, reversing district court’s dismissal of claims as barred by the statute of limitations, and remanding for further proceedings. Oldham, J. (Jolly, Engelhardt, Oldham), qualified immunity Affirming denial of qualified immunity. To quote from the Court’s introduction: … More May 1-7, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (voting against en banc rehearing: Richman, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Douglas, Ramirez; voting for en banc rehearing: Jones, Smith, Elrod, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson); Willett, J., concurring in denial of en banc rehearing; Ho, J., dissenting from denial of en banc rehearing; Oldham, J., dissenting from denial … More April 16-22, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Higginson), Higginson, J., dissenting; product liability Reversing denial of judgment as a matter of law after jury verdict for plaintiff in manufacturing defect case arising from plaintiff’s injury while using propane tank manufactured by defendant, finding insufficient evidence to support the jury verdict, and rendering JMOL for defendant. … More March 21, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (voting against en banc rehearing: Jones, Smith, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Higginson, Willett, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, JJ.; voting for en banc rehearing: Richman, Elrod, Graves, Ho, Douglas, JJ.; recused: Ramirez, J.); Graves, J., dissenting from denial of en banc rehearing; ERISA Denying en banc rehearing of panel opinion reversing district … More March 15, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Smith, Southwick, Higginson), removal, jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction Affirming dismissal of two non-diverse defendants as improperly joined and denial of remand, and affirming dismissal of out-of-state defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction, in action arising from injuries suffered during crash of single-engine airplane piloted by the plaintiff. The crash occurred in … More February 23, 2024, opinions
