Designated for publication Stewart, J. (Smith, Stewart, Haynes) (oral argument), maritime law, timeliness Affirming summary judgment dismissal of limitation-of-liability suit as untimely, when it was filed three years after former employee’s state-court negligence suit was filed in state court. Seaman claimant Brandon Darrow, employed by Genesis Marine, LLC, suffered a severe back injury while working … More January 16, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Higginson, Willett, Engelhardt) (oral argument), criminal, sentencing Affirming 240-month sentence on convictions of wire fraud and money laundering. The defendant — Christopher Kirchner — was the co-founder and CEO of a logistics software startup. He diverted millions in investor funds to finance a lavish personal lifestyle rather than developing the … More December 8, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Elrod, Higginbotham, Smith), Clean Air Act, administrative law, Administrative Procedure Act, venue On remand from U.S. Supreme Court, original panel opinion from November 22, 2023 (Elrod, Smith, Higginbotham; Higginbotham, J., dissenting) (vacating EPA decision to deny refineries’ requested exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard program of the Clean Air Act), … More August 7, 2025, opinions
Richman, J. (Richman, Willett, Douglas), Americans with Disabilities Act, sec. 1983, expert witness Affirming district court’s exclusion of plaintiff’s expert witness and grant of Rule 50 motion dismissing plaintiff’s ADA claim. William Carter, a paraplegic man, was jailed for eight days in the Shreveport City Jail for unauthorized use of 911. Prior to his incarceration, … More July 21, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Guidry, J. (Elrod, Enhelhardt, Guidry, by designation), qualified immunity Dismissing appeal of denial of qualified immunity dismissal as an interlocutory appeal. Deputy Jose Nunez responded to a 911 call about a possible home invasion but ended up shooting Stephen Benavides, the unarmed father of the homeowner, upon arrival. Body camera footage showed … More July 16, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Richman, Oldham, Ramirez, JJ.; Judges Richman and Ramirez did not concur in footnote 5); Fourth Amendment, state-law immunity, state constitutional claims, qualified immunity On claims arising from alleged conspiracy to steal documents from a cloud-based file storage system against various Texas agencies and in official- and individual-capacity against officials of … More May 28, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (voting against rehearing en banc: Elrod, Jones, Smith, Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ.; voting for rehearing en banc: Ho, J.–yes, a 16-1 vote againt rehearing en banc); Duncan, J., concurring in denial of rehearing (joined by Jones, Smith, Willett, Oldham, Engelhardt, … More January 31, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Wiener, Wilson), labor law Reversing dismissal of union’s complaint against airline under the Railway Labor Act as subject to arbitration, holding that the union sufficiently pled the anti-union animus exception to RLA arbitration, and remanding for further proceedings. Engelhardt, J. (Jones, Willett, Engelhardt), First Amendment, timeliness Affirming dismissal of … More October 28, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Dennis, Southwick, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing Affirming 33-month sentence and conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the district court acted appropriately in accepting the Sentencing Guidelines’ commentary defining “large capacity magazine” and that the underlying criminal statute is not unconstitutional; but vacating imposition of discretionary terms … More October 15, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Douglas, J. (Wilson, Douglas, Vitter, by designation), tax Reversing district court judgment in favor of plaintiff tire retailer and against IRS on question of liability for excise tax, holding that, “[w]hen a party orders taxable articles to be shipped to the United States for resale and is otherwise uninvolved in the importation … More October 8, 2024, opinions
