14 results for 'judge:"Oldham"'.
J. Oldham finds the district court properly denied qualified immunity for the Houston officers. The good Samaritan was arrested after effectuating a citizen's arrest after a drunk driver crashed. He was charged with felony impersonation of an officer and spent thousands of dollars defending himself before the city dropped the charges. The Samaritan's actions were in accordance with Texas law, and the only evidence he impersonated an officer was the drunk driver’s statement that he identified himself as police. The driver was highly intoxicated and gave other, wildly inconsistent statements, and no reasonable officer could have suspected a felony had occurred. A corrected warrant affidavit could not have established probable cause. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 22-20621, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Oldham finds the bankruptcy court improperly held the company in civil contempt and ordered it to pay $239,000 in compensatory damages. The capital management company filed for bankruptcy and its founder objected to a $300 million unsecured claim settlement. The founder filed suit in the district court through another of his companies, alleging the company involved in bankruptcy withheld material information and engaged in self-dealing related to the settlement. The other company then moved for leave to amend to add the bankruptcy restructuring officer as a defendant. The bankruptcy court found the motion constituted “pursu[it] of a claim” against the officer in violation of his order. Fees awarded to the company involved in bankruptcy bore no connection to redressing the other company's decision to file the motion in the wrong court. Vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 22-11036, Categories: Bankruptcy, Contempt, Sanctions
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly entered summary judgment in favor of the insurer. After the 2020 SXSW music festival in Austin was cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns, the organizers sought its insurer's defense for the class action filed by certain ticketholders. The insurer responded it had no duty to defend, and the court found the festival sought a covered loss, also holding an exclusion excused the insurer from defending or covering the ticketholders' class action. Because the classes' complaint arises from the festival's refusal to offer refunds, not a professional service, the professional services exclusion does not bar coverage. Reversed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 22-50933, Categories: Insurance, Covid-19, Class Action
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly granted summary judgment to the law firm, which had been hired by the state of Louisiana to recover double payments made in a home repair grant program from which the octogenarian homeowners whose houses were damaged in hurricanes had potentially received double payments. An agreement cited by the firm allows for recuperation only where the grant recipient receives future payments after signing the program's suite of contracts. It provides no fee-shifting remedy against these recipients, who received payments before signing. Reversed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 22-30487, Categories: Administrative Law, Debt Collection, Banking / Lending
J. Oldham grants a petition for review of a decision by the Department of Energy to tighten regulations for dishwashers and washing machines. It is unclear the department has authority to regulate water use in those appliances. Furthermore, its new rule also fails to adequately consider appliance performance and substitution effects, as well as evidence that conservation standards are actually resulting in more energy and water use. The department must consider remedies short of repeal of existing rules.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 22-60146 , Categories: Administrative Law, Energy, Environment
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[Consolidated] J. Oldham grants the e-cigarette manufacturers' petitions for review of the Food and Drug Administration's denial of their applications for premarket tobacco approval. The FDA sent the manufacturers on a "wild goose chase" of regulatory requirements before pretending "it never gave ... instructions ... [and] imposed new testing requirements without notice." The FDA’s standards for adjudicating premarket tobacco applications are discretionary, the applications being highly fact-specific. Such decisions must turn on the agency's changing understanding of public health requirements and the harmless-error rule does not apply.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 21-60766, Categories: Administrative Law, Commerce
J. Oldham finds the district court properly dismissed this suit involving alleged improprieties related to elections. The citizens filed in state court against various officials challenging their use of an uncertified electronic voting system and seeking to prohibit electronic voting and require paper ballots. Although the citizens allege their votes were “illegalized” and not counted, and that their personal information was unlawfully disclosed, neither injury is sufficient for Article III standing. However, because there is no actual federal jurisdiction, the case must be remanded to state court. Vacated in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 23-50257, Categories: Elections, Jurisdiction
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly found Houston’s voter registration provisions governing circulators are unconstitutional. Though the citizens who filed the constitutional challenge seek to change the wording of the court's decision in their favor, the city has emphasized its agreement with the citizens that the provisions are unconstitutional. No controversy exists and the case should never have been allowed. Vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 22-20491, Categories: Constitution, Elections
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly rejected Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s argument that private civil rights suits involving his executive order, which prohibits private individuals from providing ground transportation for previously detained migrants, are barred by sovereign immunity. Though the federal government’s suit challenging the order for being preempted by federal law still stands, sovereign immunity does bar the private suits. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 22-50212, Categories: Government, Immigration, Immunity
J. Oldham finds the district court properly denied the University of North Texas Board of Regents members' motion to dismiss this First Amendment retaliation suit brought by the music theory professor who published an article defending another theorist against charges of racism by a Black professor. The Board members argue that the professor must specifically allege that each was personally involved with the publication/panel investigation. Though, allegations under Article III must only include that First Amendment injuries are “fairly traceable” to the Board. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 22-40059, Categories: Constitution, Education
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly dismissed with prejudice the Indian casino CFO’s complaint alleging that he was subject to a conspiracy to get him fired after he made an illegal severance payment to a newly elected tribal council member who previously worked at the casino but was no longer allowed to as a council member. Complaints by casino employees led to his arrest and to the suspension of his gaming license. An initial federal suit was dismissed without prejudice as barred by tribal sovereign immunity. An identical state case was removed to federal court by the tribe and dismissed with prejudice. The district court erred in holding that remanding the second case to state court would be futile because it would be barred by sovereign immunity. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 22-30436, Categories: Jurisdiction, Business Practices, Employment Retaliation
J. Oldham finds the trial court improperly sentenced defendant on a guilty plea conviction for three counts of possessing a firearm as a felon. Defendant sold 11 guns to confidential informants and an undercover agent through an intermediary during a sting operation, later meeting with an agent and informant to make another sale. Upon apprehension he waived his Miranda rights and consented to a vehicle search, where more loaded guns were found. Though all evidence supports the conviction, the court’s reasoning as to sentencing is ambiguous. During resentencing the court stated that it wished it had “held [defendant] in contempt rather than giving [him] 188 months,” adding, “I don’t think that 188 months is inappropriate” and that it was “knock[ing] eight months off” to preempt any “misunderstanding [whether defendant was] being sentenced for the crime and the crime only.” Vacated and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 22-10384, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly entered a preliminary injunction against Texas’ attorney general preventing him from requiring that the Palestinian-owned engineering firm, as a condition of its municipal contract with the city of Houston, according to Texas law, certify that it will not boycott Israel for the duration of the contract. The firm filed a constitutional claim against the Texas attorney general, alleging civil rights violations. The district court did not have jurisdiction to enter the injunction as any potential injury is not traceable to the official. Reversed and remanded with instructions to vacate the injunction and dismiss the suit.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 22-20047, Categories: Constitution, Municipal Law, Contract
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly found the insurance company does not have a duty to defend the Tarrant Regional Water District under its commercial general liability policy for a pipeline project where a worker died. The court’s analysis of the location of a colon in a sentence in a particular endorsement in the contract makes it clearly applicable to the actions of supervisory personnel. Even assuming that the policy is “susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation,” the Fifth Circuit resolves ambiguity in favor of coverage. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 22-10107, Categories: Construction, Insurance, Water