Designated for publication DM Arbor Court, Ltd. v. City of Houston, 20-20194, appeal from S.D. Tex. Costa, J. (Davis, Southwick, Costa), ripeness Vacating district court’s dismissal of suit on ripeness grounds, and remanding for further proceedings. Plaintiff had brought suit challenging the refusal by the City to grant permits for repairs to apartments that had … More Take the Fifth: Feb. 11 and 12, 2021 opinion
Designated for publication Adams v. All Coast, LLC, 19-30907, appeal from W.D. La. Clement, J. (Smith, Clement, Oldham), Fair Labor Standards Act, maritime law Reversing summary judgment in favor of employer on employees’ FLSA overtime claims, on holding that district court erred in classifying the employees, who operated cranes on employer’s liftboats, a seamen who … More Take the Fifth: Feb. 10 and 11, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Munoz-Rivera v. Wilkinson, 19-60376, petition for review of BIA order per curiam (Owen, Graves, Ho), immigration Dismissing petition for review of cancellation of removal order upon determining that “the use of an unauthorized social security number constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) such that petitioner is ineligible for cancellation of his … More Take the Fifth: Jan. 27, 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 Ovalles v. Rosen, 17-60438, petition for review of BIA order Jones, J. (Jones, Smith, Elrod), immigration, equitable tolling On remand from the Supreme Court, denying petition for review of BIA order denying motion to reopen and failing to apply equitable tolling. The Court had originally dismissed the petition for review for lack … More Take the Fifth: Jan. 1 – 11, 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 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 U.S. v. McKinney, 19-50801, appel from W.D. Tex. Southwick, J. (Owen, Davis, Southwick), criminal, search and seizure Vacating conviction and sentence based on conditional guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that district court erred in denying motion to suppress evidence of discovery of firearm by an … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 16, 2020 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Beaudion, 19-30635, appeal from W.D. La. Oldham, J. (Smith, Clement, Oldham), criminal, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, Stored Communications Act Affirming conviction of defendant for drug offenses, upholding district court’s denial of motion to suppress evidence gained through government’s surveillance of the GPS coordinates on his girlfriend’s (and drug-dealing partner’s) … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 11, 2020 opinions
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