226 results for 'court:"USDC Western District of Texas "'.
J. Pulliam issues several rulings, including denying an Air Force worker���s motion for leave to amend her complaint, after that worker sued the secretary of the Air Force in a pro se case for failing to accommodate her alleged disability and retaliating against her. Multiple ripe motions stacked up because the worker has not responded to filings, which she says is a result of service issues. Regardless, the worker���s delays have been ���particularly egregious��� and have caused undue prejudice, and this court is ���uncertain��� why she has been unable to receive court orders.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv1186, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment
J. Howell mostly dismisses defamation claims against the widow of the former CEO of a game publisher following a dispute between that publisher and a video game developer over ���persistent issues��� with the game, ���The Outbound Ghost.��� The developer can proceed with one part of its defamation claim after the widow claimed on social media that the developer had ���sabotaged��� efforts to fix the game, which ���both parties seemingly agree��� is not true.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Howell, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1302, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Defamation, Contract
J. Biery adopts a report and recommendations and dismisses, with prejudice, a medical malpractice suit brought against an Army hospital under the Federal Torts Claim Act because the pro se patient has failed to timely respond to court motions and did not properly serve the Army hospital despite an order from a judge explaining how to do so.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Biery, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv307, NOS: Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Government, Tort, Medical Malpractice
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J. Pitman grants a tech company���s motion to transfer to the Northern District of California after it was sued by a competitor for alleged infringement of several patents because the factors in this case ���weigh overwhelmingly in favor of transfer,��� including because the ���vast majority of witnesses��� are based there.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv904, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Venue
J. Pitman denies a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)���s motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to force a mobile-payments processor to turn over communications after the suing company claimed the payment processor company had breached its contract, including by violating an NDA. Granting the suing company���s injunction in this case could create ���significant compliance costs��� for the payment-processing company and ���potentially hamstring��� its operations, and the suing company has not shown that the ���burden on irreparable harm or the balance of equities��� justifies the injunction.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1549, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Communications, Privacy, Contract
J. Pitman mostly adopts a report and recommendations in a civil rights suit brought by a former district manager against a Whataburger franchisee for alleged discrimination against him based on his sex and sexual orientation, finding, among other things, that the former manager cannot bring unconscionability arguments over clauses in his contract which the franchisee has already agreed to waive. The franchisee also cannot compel arbitration because the agreement required arbitration before the American Mediation Association, which no longer exists.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv686, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Arbitration, Civil Procedure, Employment
J. Rodriguez partially grants summary judgment to a couple who ��� after being sued by a insurance company for which they were indemnitors through performance bonds issued by the insurance company ��� brought suit against other parties whom they in turn said had a duty to indemnify them. While the husband has established that he had ���a valid and enforceable indemnity agreement,��� the couple has not shown that the wife was party to this agreement.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: 5:20cv1433, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Indemnification
J. Chestney grants an insurance company���s motion to exclude expert testimony in an insurance dispute with policyholders over damages from Winter Storm Uri while also denying a separate motion to exclude by those policyholders. While the policyholders have attempted to designate as experts adjusters and contractors who reviewed alleged damage to their home, they have not shown these individuals are relying on sufficient facts or data to provide reliable court testimony. Conversely, the insurance company has shown that its plumbing expert is reliable, and that person should be allowed to testify.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Chestney, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv1110, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Insurance, Experts
J. Berton partially grants a motion for summary judgment by a professional photographer in a lawsuit against a company that used edited versions of his photos on its commercial Facebook page because, while the photographer has established that the business violated his copyrights, he has not shown that the infringement will ���tarnish his reputation��� or established the dollar amount of lost licensing.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Berton, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv271, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Licensing, Damages
J. Guaderrama dismisses an ADA lawsuit brought by a citizen against a food bank over its requirement that he wear a mask at the food bank because that requirement is no longer in place and therefore, as the citizen concedes, his claim his moot.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Guaderrama, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv55, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Covid-19
J. Ezra adopts a report and recommendation and partially dismisses a RICO suit brought by an investment fund against several parties, including subsidiaries, which the fund says defrauded it of ���substantial assets.��� The prior judge���s findings were ���neither clearly erroneous nor contrary to law��� when he found that the fund has failed on many of its claims, including all of its fraud-based claims ��� though it may proceed with a handful of others, including for breach of contract. Because of the fund���s ���repeated failure to adhere to the local rules,��� it will have future pleadings stricken if it continues to not comply.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Ezra, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv652, NOS: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, Banking / Lending, Racketeering
J. Pulliam adopts a report and recommendations and denies partial summary judgment to a oilfield services company after it was sued by former workers in a class action for allegedly failing to pay overtime. At dispute in this case is whether employee pay by the company constitutes ���a salary plus a bonus or a salary plus a day rate.��� The company argued that a previous judge failed to comply with precedent on wage laws, but in fact it is the company that misreads precedent.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv142, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Class Action, Labor
J. Pitman grants a law firm���s motion for leave to intervene in a civil rights lawsuit brought by relatives of a two people who were killed or injured in a police shooting. That law firm, which was previously retained by the relatives, has a legal right to intervene because it is seeking to recover funds allegedly promised in a prior contingency fee agreement with the relatives.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv655, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Attorney Fees, Police Misconduct
J. Pulliam dismisses most claims in a lawsuit brought by a citizen against San Antonio and several police officers after the citizen was shot multiple times with sponge rounds during George Floyd protests in 2020. While the citizen���s claims overall do not survive qualified immunity, and he has ���abandoned��� some of them by failing to brief them, he can bring excessive force claims against the officer who shot him twice. Video footage of the scene ���does not unambiguously support��� the officer���s explanation for why he fired a second time, and the San Antonio Complaint and
Administrative Review Board found the citizen���s allegations about the second shot are ���justified.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 5:21cv837, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Police Misconduct
J. Rodriguez denies one nonprofit���s efforts to disqualify another, related nonprofit���s counsel in a convoluted dispute over trademark claims between two groups that split off from each other and have since ���found themselves ensnared in litigation repeatedly.��� The suing nonprofit made a number of arguments for disqualification, including saying the lawyer possessed confidential information and was a necessary witness in the case, but the group does not ���specifically identify any disclosed information,��� and the group���s arguments that he is a witness are ���dubious at best.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv1307, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Trademark
J. Pulliam finds a bankruptcy court ruled correctly in confirming a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan after that plan was disputed by a loan servicing company. The company���s arguments here are ���repetitive��� and have already been ���dispelled by courts in other divisions,��� and the company is admonished that in the future it must ���focus on ways in which it contends the bankruptcy court erred, rather than simply reiterating arguments made to the bankruptcy court.��� Affirmed.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv361, NOS: Bankruptcy Appeal 28 USC 158 - Bankruptcy, Categories: Bankruptcy, Civil Procedure
J. Briones remands to state court a lawsuit brought by a construction worker who said he was injured on the job and separately allows him to amend his complaint to add other prospective defendants. While this court finds that the construction worker has overall met the requirements to add new defendants, the court has ���concerns��� about one of these defendant companies because while the construction worker says he only recently learned its identity, the company is run by his own son, and this court ���finds it difficult to believe that plaintiff was not aware of his sonzs identity, nor
the fact that he purportedly worked for his son���s company on the date of the alleged fall.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Briones, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv268, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Tort, Jurisdiction
J. Pitman dismisses a putative class action brought by male migrants against Governor Greg Abbott and other officials alleging they were ���channeled into a separate criminal system��� after being arrested for criminal trespass as part of Operation Lone Star ��� Texas��� state operation to counter human and drug smuggling ��� rather than being processed ���through the normal state jail system.��� The migrants said they sometimes ���waited for weeks or months��� for a defense attorney and were ���detained for extended periods of time after they were eligible for release.��� The migrants��� claims fail for a number of reasons, including because they have failed to show ���direct involvement��� of state officials in allegedly unconstitutional policies and because higher courts have rejected their arguments that they could seek injunctive relief despite no longer being in prison.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv397, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, Immigration
J. Pitman grants a preliminary injunction barring Caldwell County and its officials from closing bail hearings to the public and the press after they were sued by Texas Tribune and other news outlets, which said the county had ���adopted a policy of categorically closing��� all such hearings. The public and press have a ���presumptive��� right to access such hearings and are being harmed by the lack of access, and Caldwell County has provided ���no support��� for its arguments that such hearings should remain closed.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv910, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, First Amendment
J. Pitman dismisses most claims brought by a Texas bank against state officials after a leasing agreement between the bank and the Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation fell apart. The parties agreed that the state corporation would lease space from the bank, but after the bank made improvements and modifications per the leasing agreement, an appropriations bill passed during the 2023 Texas legislative session barred the corporation from fulfilling the lease. Because Texas ���has passed legislation that unilaterally and completely reneges on its own agency���s obligations under the lease agreement,��� the bank may bring contract clause claims against the state comptroller, but its claims against other state officials fail on immunity grounds.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv691, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Government, Contract