226 results for 'court:"USDC Western District of Texas "'.
J. Rodriguez grants a bank���s motion to compel arbitration in a lawsuit brought by a consumer alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act after she received debt-collection letters relating to unauthorized charges. While the consumer argues she is not subject to arbitration under the Military Lending Act, the bank ���correctly identifies��� that the law ���does not preclude enforcement of the arbitration agreement here,��� as the updated law does not have a ���retroactive effect��� on prior agreements.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv157, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Debt Collection, Consumer Law
J. Castaneda orders both parties to respond to discovery requests in a lawsuit brought against a logistics company by a former employee who asserted that her ���religious beliefs precluded her from getting a vaccination or wearing a facemask.��� While the company must provide more information on why accommodating this request ���would have created an undue hardship,��� the former employee must likewise provide more information on her alleged beliefs and cannot use ���vague claims of ���harassment������ to obtain a protective order against discovery.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Castaneda, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv148, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Discovery, Covid-19
J. Pulliam remands a car accident lawsuit to state court because, while there is a genuine factual dispute over who owns a cab involved in the accident, the court at this point ���must resolve all factual issues, doubts as to the propriety of removal, and ambiguities in favor of��� the suing parties, and this federal court therefore lacks jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv320, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Tort, Vehicle, Jurisdiction
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J. Pitman denies property owners��� motion for a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a short-term rental ordinance in Volente, Texas. The owners raised a variety of complaints with the ordinance, such as arguing that rules prohibiting outside activities past 10 p.m. violated freedom of assembly rights. The ordinance ���abides by a well-trodden principle in property law: that ���all property in this country is held under the implied obligation that the owner���s use of it shall not be injurious to the community.������
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1246, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Government, Property
J. Casta��eda partially grants an insurance company���s opposed motion for an order seeking to protect confidential documents during discovery in a dispute with a policyholder over payment from hailstorm damage. While the company has not ���demonstrated a specific need��� for a general protective order, some of the policyholder���s requests are overbroad, including those seeking information on payments to other policyholders.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Castañeda, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv28, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Discovery
J. Montalvo dismisses, for lack of jurisdiction, a lawsuit brought by two customers against an estate sales company which they said wrongfully required them to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic despite their alleged medical exemption. Because the mask requirement is no longer in place, the people bringing this suit cannot establish a key element of their ADA claim and no controversy remains.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Montalvo, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv96, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Health Care
J. Pitman denies an entrepreneur���s motion to vacate a temporary injunction after she was sued by her former business partner, who accused her of misappropriating company assets, including a professional Instagram account, to create a competing personal development company. The woman being sued argued she had not received proper service about the injunction, but this court ���will not dissolve the [injunction] in this case based on the incorrect argument that service of process is a prerequisite.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 1:24cv382, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Contract, Injunction
J. Pitman dismisses claims in a countersuit brought by the co-founder of the Austin Chronicle and South by Southwest (SXSW) after he was sued by a former employee, who says he coerced her into sex and then withheld her salary after she refused to marry him. He countersued, alleging she had stolen ���several valuable comic books and pulp magazines��� from his garage. The counterclaim is inappropriate, as the legal questions in the suit and countersuit ���contain no overlap,��� and the co-founder���s alleged sexual harassment and abuse would not ���excuse or legally justify��� the alleged theft or vice versa. At the same time, claims against the Chronicle should be dismissed because no evidence suggests the Chronicle knew about this situation and ���deliberately chose to look the other way.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pitman, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1197, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, Tort, Civil Extortion
J. Rodriguez denies a compounding pharmacy���s motion to dismiss for want of prosecution after it was sued under the False Claims Act for allegedly falsely inflating prices in bills to the federal government. The pharmacy argued that the U.S. has excessively extended its ���intervention deadline��� since the original complaint was filed in 2014, but the False Claims Act requires the government to ���diligently ... investigate��� claims made under the Act, and the delays ��� rather than reflecting ���significant periods of total inactivity��� ��� have instead reflected the government���s efforts to investigate other companies, which are necessary here ���because all the defendants were alleged to have participated in the same scheme.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 5:14cv212, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Government, Due Process, False Claims
J. Ezra partially grants Texas��� motion to dismiss after the federal government sued the state and Governor Greg Abbott over its ���buoy barrier��� in the Rio Grande, which was installed in the national water boundary ���without any federal authorization.��� While the United States can proceed with claims under the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, it cannot pursue claims based on the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo because the treaty is ���not self-executing��� and does not ���provide any specific standard or rule of decision for a domestic court to follow.��� Nonetheless, while Texas has asserted that it has ���territorial rights��� to protect itself from a migrant ���invasion,��� ���the Founding Fathers conceptualized invasions as a part of war��� and not due to migration.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Ezra, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv853, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Government, Immigration
J. Rodriguez denies an organization���s motion for an injunction and temporary restraining order after it sued the city of Kerrville, arguing local ordinances on ���peddlers and solicitors��� and ���electioneering��� violate the First Amendment. Despite expressing ���generalized��� concerns about the ordinances, the suing parties have not shown specific plans to engage in proscribed conduct and therefore lack standing for a restraining order.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv403, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, First Amendment
J. Pulliam denies a franchisee���s motion to dismiss after he and his company were sued by a franchisor in a contract dispute. While that franchisee argues that this court lacks jurisdiction, he is ���closely related to the dispute��� and therefore ���bound by the forum selection clause contained within the Franchise Agreement,��� which specifies that either the Western District of Texas or Travis County state court will be the forum for any contract disputes.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv1531, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Jurisdiction, Venue, Contract
J. Rodriguez mostly adopts a magistrate judge���s recommendations and grants a loan company���s motion for summary and default judgment after it was sued by a homeowner seeking to stop a foreclosure. That company, which countersued to quiet title, is the valid owner of the property and is ���authorized to enforce the power of sale through foreclosure.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv1234, NOS: Foreclosure - Real Property, Categories: Property, Real Estate, Foreclosure
J. Rodriguez partially grants a subcontractor���s motion to dismiss after it was sued by a company that had contracted it for IT work, which said that the subcontractor did not have ���the specialized knowledge to develop the IT system��� as it claimed and had other irregularities in its work, including double billing and improper installation. While the hiring company can proceed with its lawsuit, it cannot bring claims under the Computer Fraud Abuse Act, as even under the suing company's version of events, the subcontractor ���had at least some authorization to access the IT system at issue.���
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv1038, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Negligence, Contract, Technology
J. Pulliam remands to state court a convoluted contractual dispute concerning the foreclosure of several properties, because a nondiverse party in the case ��� a substitute trustee for the foreclosing bank ��� was properly joined, and therefore this court lacks jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv1527, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Jurisdiction, Foreclosure, Contract
J. Pulliam mostly grants an insurer���s motion for summary judgment in a dispute with policyholders over payout for roof damage, which the insurer contends was largely uncovered wear-and-tear. While the policyholders have not shown bad faith, and the insurer is therefore entitled to summary judgement on most of their claims, the insurer has conversely presented ���no specific argument��� for dismissing the remainder of the case, including for alleged violations of the Texas Prompt Payment Act.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv411, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Casta��eda issues a multipronged discovery order in a lawsuit brought by an individual against a company for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ��� determining, among other things, that it is too late for the company to designate an additional witness because it would be prejudicial to the suing individual.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Castañeda, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv301, NOS: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) - Other Suits, Categories: Communications, Consumer Law, Discovery
J. Becerra grants summary judgment to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a dispute with the State of Texas and a pharmacy over the Affordable Care Act. Those suing parties argued that federal anti-discrimination laws referenced in the Affordable Care Act, including those protecting pregnant people, could force the pharmacy to dispense abortion-inducing medication in violation of state law and the pharmacy's sincerely held religious beliefs ��� but ���much to the court���s surprise,��� HHS has repeatedly stressed this is not the case and has issued revised guidance clarifying that pharmacies do not have to fill prescriptions for abortion medications, and as such, there is no ���legally cognizable interest��� in the outcome of the case, so it is moot.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Becerra, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv22, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, Health Care
J. Ezra partially adopts a report and recommendations and enters judgment in favor of outdoor company YETI in a trademark suit with several other people and brands after YETI said that some its products that were intended for destruction instead ended up at unauthorized resellers across the country. The sale of products bearing YETI���s ���famous and distinctive mark��� misled consumers into believing they were buying authorized products.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Ezra, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1337, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Fraud, Trademark
J. Berton allows an electronic company to conduct limited venue discovery in a patent dispute before ruling on a motion from a competitor it sued to either dismiss this case or transfer it to the District of Delaware. Venue is a ���threshold issue��� here, because if this case is ultimately transferred, the arguments for dismissal would be best considered by the other court.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Berton, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 6:23cv726, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Venue, Discovery