Unpublished U.S. v. Taylor, 19-10261, appeal from N.D. Tex. Higginson, J. (Stewart, Higginson, Wilson), criminal, sentencing Affirming above-guidelines sentence following guilty plea to one count of attempted bank robbery and one count of using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. v. Valdez, 19-11158, appeal from … More Take the Fifth: Feb. 5, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Gonzalez v. CoreCivic, Inc., 19-50691, appeal from W.D. Tex. Ho, J. (Smith, Ho, Oldham), Ho, J., additionally concurring, Oldham, J., dissenting; Trafficking Victims Protection Act Affirming district court’s denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss claim by immigrant detainee in its facility who brought claims that defendant’s work program was involuntary and a … More Take the Fifth: Jan. 20, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Brown v. Tarrant County, Texas, 19-10594, appeal from N.D. Tex. Duncan, J. (Clement, Ho, Duncan), § 1983, qualified immunity Affirming dismissal of civilly committed violent sex offender’s § 1983 claims against county and sheriff for a 20-day confinement in the county jail during which he did not receive his sex-offender treatment. The … More Take the Fifth: Jan. 19, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Taylor v. Stevens, 17-10253, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Owen, Jones, Smith), qualified immunity, § 1983, Eighth Amendment On remand from the Supreme Court, vacating its earlier decision reversing in part and remanding dismissal of Eighth Amendment conditions-of-confinement claims on qualified immunity grounds, and remanding case in its entirety. Texas v. … More Take the Fifth: Dec. 21-24 opinions
Designated for publication McMillan v. Amazon.com, Inc., 20-20108, appeal from S.D. Tex. Willett, J. (Wiener, Costa, Willett), products liability, certification Certifying question to the Texas Supreme Court whether an e-tailer such as Amazon is a “seller” liable under Texas’s products liability statute for products sold on its website by third-party vendors. The district court had … More Take the Fifth: Dec. 18, 2020 opinions
Designated for publication Jones v. New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization, Inc., 19-31027, appeal from E.D. La. Jones, J. (Higginbotham, Jones, Higginson), Fair Labor Standards Act Affirming summary judgment in favor of defendant employer, dismissing white-collar employees’ claims for violation of the FLSA. The Court rejected plaintiffs’ argument that their job duties did not fall … More Take the Fifth: Dec. 4, 2020 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Cano, 19-11297, appeal from N.D. Tex. Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Dennis), criminal, sentencing, supervised release Affirming sentence of consecutive 24-month imprisonment terms for violating terms of supervised release. Defendant had left the jurisdiction during his supervised release without informing his probation officer, to return to Mexico and assist his ex-wife … More Take the Fifth: Dec. 2, 2020 opinions
Designated for publication Joseph v. Bartlett, 19-30014, appeal from E.D. La. Willett, J. (Elrod, Willett, Oldham), Oldham, J., concurring; excessive force, qualified immunity Affirming district court’s denial of qualified immunity-based summary judgment in favor of two defendant officers who repeatedly tased and struck a young man (who subsequently died), reversing the district court’s qualified immunity … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 19 and 20, 2020 opinions
Only unpublished decisions released on October 29, 2020: Youmans v. Torres, 19-30144, appeal from M.D. La. per curiam (Wiener, Southwick, Duncan), qualified immunity, false imprisonment Affirming qualified immunity dismissal of suit against warden for allegedly keeping inmate imprisoned 52 days longer than his term, and affirming summary judgment in favor of sheriff who had been … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 29, 2020 opinions
Designated for publication In the Matter of: Ward, 18-10469, appeal from N.D. Tex. Owen, C.J. (Owen, Clement, Ho), bankruptcy, timeliness Affirming district court’s judgment that the bankruptcy court did not err in finding creditors’ complaint seeking denial of debtor’s discharge was timely and in entering an order denying discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(4)(A) and … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 23, 2020 opinions
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