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 Jones, J. (Jones, Stewart, Duncan), breach of contract, fraudulent inducement Reversing judgment and $1.6 billion in combined compensatory and punitive damages in favor of plaintiff on breach of contract and fraudulent inducement claims, holding that liability determination was in error. The Court held that IBM’s actions in replacing BMC mainframe software on … More April 30, 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 Graves, J. (Graves, Higginson, Ho), Ho, J., would affirm (but no dissenting opinion filed); prisoner suit Reversing summary judgment in favor of prisoner officials on basis of failure to exhaust administrative remedies with regard to Texas state prisoner’s § 1983 suit alleging that prison officials failed to prevent his assault by another … More January 31, 2024, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Richman, Stewart, Scholer, by designation), Title VII, Family and Medical Leave Act, employment discrimination, sanctions, discovery Affirming summary judgment dismissal of Title VII, Rehabilitation Act, and FMLA discrimination claims against former employer, and discovery decisions and denial of motion for sanctions. per curiam (King, Haynes, Graves), criminal Affirming conviction on bank robbery … More January 9, 2024, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Wiener, Willett, Douglas), criminal, sentencing Affirming 110-month sentence on conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon in connection with a drug trafficking offense. per curiam (Willett, Duncan, Douglas), criminal, sentencing Affirming sentence on conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of cocaine with intent to distribute … More November 6, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Clement, Haynes), Haynes, J., dissenting in part; diversity jurisdiction, sanctions Affirming dismissal of third-party claims as sanction for party’s deliberate “hiding of the ball” on L.L.C. citizenship/jurisdictional facts. The Court held that the district court’s power to issue a case-dispositive sanction fell within its collateral jurisdiction. The Court summed … More September 12, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Richman, Wiener, Willett), Wiener, J., dissenting; qualified immunity Reversing a denial of qualified immunity summary judgment dismissing § 1983 claims against school officials by mother of disabled public-school student who had been sexually assaulted by another student with known violent tendencies, whose teacher allowed the assaulted student and the aggressor … More March 16, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Higginson, Oldham), Oldham, J., dissenting in part; qualified immunity Dismissing for lack of appellate jurisdiction officers’ appeal of denial of qualified immunity summary judgment on plaintiff’s excessive force claim against one officer, false arrest claim against four officers, and fabrication of evidence claim against another officer, arising from the … More March 9-10, 2023, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Smith, Barksdale, Haynes), breach of contract, sanctions Affirming summary judgment in favor of defendant in breach of contract dispute arising from agreements to transfer hotel properties; denying plaintiff’s motion for sanctions; granting defendants’ motion for Rule 38 sanctions for a frivolous appeal; and remanding for calculation of amount of sanctions award. per … More December 23, 2022, opinions
