262 results for 'court:"USDC Southern District of Texas"'.
J. Alvarez finds that an employee who claimed that his employer discriminated against him based on his age and race has not provided sufficient evidence of constructive termination. The employee was moved to another position after he complained about harassment from other workers. The employee claimed that the move and the performance plan that the employer placed him on was a discriminatory attempt to motivate him to quit. However, because the employee performed well in the new position, it was the same pay and there is no indication that it was a demotion there is no basis for constructive termination. The employer’s motion for summary judgment is granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Alvarez, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv102, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Hanen finds that an employee, who claims that his employer discriminated against him for based on a disability when the employer fired the employee after he requested accommodation that would allow him not to wear a mask because of his asthma, has not proven that this was the cause of his termination. The employer presented evidence that the employee was terminated for a separate incident of insubordination and the employee has not met his burden to prove that there was a mixed motive or that the motive was related to the mask mandate. The employer’s motion for summary judgment is granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hanen, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 4:21cv3324, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Palermo finds that a lessee of several commercial properties, who prematurely terminated a lease, has shown that information that could be provided through additional discovery is likely to have bearing on the case. The lessor entered into a replacement lease days after the close of discovery and the lessee requests additional information on the new lease which may have bearing on the damages involved in the early termination of the prior lease. The lessee’s motion to continue is granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Palermo, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv1194, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Landlord Tenant, Business Practices, Contract
J. Hanen finds that an employee, who claims that his employer discriminated against him based on his race by failing to promote him and by terminating his employment, has not shown evidence of unequal treatment. The employee had received several valid complaints from other workers and he was not replaced by someone from a non-protected class so the employee has not met his burden to provide evidence of discrimination. The employer’s motion for summary judgment is granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hanen, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv1523 , NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Rodriguez finds that that a veteran who suffered severe and permanent injuries from improvised explosive devices while on duty in Iraq has submitted sufficient evidence to recover damages under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from the Islamic Republic of Iran for supporting the insurgents who conducted the attacks. The County of Iraq has not responded, and the veteran has moved for a default judgment which the court grants in part. The veteran is awarded $5 million of his $7 million claim for pain and suffering, he is awarded $25 million of his $300 million punitive damages claim, but he cannot recover lost wages for lack of evidence and he cannot recover attorney fees.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv76, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Procedure, International Law, Sanctions
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J. Hoyt finds that a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case can proceed against an anesthesiologists’ group that bought enough similar groups in Texas that they could not easily be excluded from insurance carriers for charging higher prices because they were indispensable. The degree to which the anesthesiologists’ group controls the Texas market has led to higher insurance premiums for consumers and the Federal Trade Commission has submitted sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hoyt, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv3560, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Unfair Competition
J. Rosenthal finds that Nike can recover a portion of their request for attorney fees for a dismissed trademark infringement claim over the company’s use of the term “Ballin.” The claimant who brought the original claim against Nike did not act with animus, rather he believed, albeit falsely, that he held trademark ownership over the commonly used term. Nike easily obtained dismissal, so its request for $570,000 in attorney fees is excessive, and the court instead grants Nike $25,000.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Rosenthal, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv103, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trademark, Attorney Fees
J. Rosenthal finds that a maker of stuffed animals has not identified specific creative elements of its products that would entitle the maker to recover damages for copyright infringement from another company, which produces very similar toys. Characteristics or common qualities of nature cannot be copyrighted, and suing stuffed animal maker has not identified features of its toys that rise above common natural characteristics of the animals to constitute a creative idea that can be protected under copyright. The claims of the suing toy maker are dismissed, but they are granted leave to amend their complaint.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Rosenthal, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv4146, NOS: Copyrights - Property Rights, Categories: Copyright, Trademark
J. Hanks finds that an Asian American Muslim employee, who claims that his employer, a housing authority, discriminated against in their denial of his request for a hardship withdrawal from his retirement plan, has not provided sufficient evidence to survive the housing authority’s motion for dismissal. While the employee’s claims do indicate a hostile work environment the employee has not shown that the incidents are connected to the denial of his hardship withdrawal request. The employee’s claims are dismissed without prejudice.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hanks, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv814, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Privacy, Employment Discrimination
J. Ellison finds that a homeowner whose house was damaged in a flood and now disputes the cost of the damages with his insurance company has not provided sufficient evidence on several of his claims. Many of the claims are based on the estimates of an insurance adjuster that the homeowner hired however the court grants the insurance company’s motion to strike the homeowner’s expert because the expert refuses to provide his resume or other qualifications. The insurance company’s own expert indicated that the damage compensation provided by the insurance company is inadequate to so a dispute of fact as to the cost of the damages exists. The homeowner’s claims based on his own repairs and the dispute of fact can proceed but the insurance company is granted summary judgment on all other claims.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Ellison, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv34, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Insurance, Experts
J. Rosenthal finds that a salon company, which recovered only a fraction of their damages in bankruptcy court after a construction contractor filed for bankruptcy during construction of a salon and did not complete the project, cannot pursue fraudulent inducement claims against the family that operated the construction firm. The salon company argues this case involves a different cause of action from the claim adjudicated during bankruptcy proceedings, but the court finds that the facts asserted in both claims center on the construction company entering a contract it did not intend to complete. The fraudulent inducement claim is barred by the prior proceeding, so the suit is dismissed.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Rosenthal, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv2408, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Bankruptcy, Fraud
J. Rosenthal finds that a law firm’s claims over a lawyer referral service’s practice of diverting the law firm’s prospective clients toward the referral service by purchasing the law firm’s business name and other business marks on the Google search engine can proceed against the referral service but not against an individual employee of the service. The law firm has not provided sufficient evidence of the employee’s personal involvement. A motion to dismiss the claims against the individual employee is granted without prejudice and the law firm is granted leave to amend its complaint.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Rosenthal, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv4643, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Tort, Trademark, Business Practices
J. Rosenthal finds that a company that discontinued payment on a software product contract when the product failed to meet the company’s needs may proceed on a negligent misrepresentation counterclaim against the software firm. An integration clause, stating that the contract supersedes any prior agreements, does not release the software vendor from its responsibility to accurately represent the ability of the product to meet the needs of the company.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Rosenthal, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv108, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: False Claims, Contract
J. Ellison finds that an employee and stockholder who seeks recission of an inapplicable joinder agreement he mistakenly signed as part of a packet of documents for a required sale of his stock due to a merger shall honor portions of the merger agreement calling for disputes to be governed by the Delaware Court of Chancery or the United States District Court of Delaware. The employer’s motion to dismiss is granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Ellison, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv4290, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Ellison finds that FBI employees who were required to take regular Covid-19 tests, as part of an accommodation policy for those that requested a religious exemption to vaccine mandates, cannot sue Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray in their individual and official capacities for violations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because sovereign immunity prevents the plaintiffs’ claim under the Act, and the defendants’ location in Washington D.C. and their roles enforcing U.S. policy prevent the court from having personal jurisdiction. The suit is dismissed.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Ellison, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv1817, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Equal Protection, Jurisdiction, Employment Discrimination
J. Lake finds that class action claims by a dental office customer, who received text messages and calls from the dental office even though he requested to be added to the “do not call list,” cannot proceed because the claims fall under an arbitration agreement. The customer of the dental office signed an arbitration agreement when he first engaged the dental office for services. The dental office’s motion to strike the class allegations and its motion to compel arbitration are granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Lake, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv3460, NOS: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) - Other Suits, Categories: Arbitration, Communications, Consumer Law
J. Hanen finds that evidence does not support an employee’s claims that his prior employer retaliated against him by investigating his conduct after he made complaints about discrimination. There is evidence that the employer initiated the investigation into personal expenditures charged by the employee to the company credit card before the employee made complaints of discrimination so the investigation could not have arisen as a retaliatory action. The employer’s request for summary judgment is granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hanen, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv3454, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination
J. Edison finds, upon remand, that one group of investors in a divided class can move forward with class certification in a case regarding a failure to disclose information prior to a merger. The court initially ruled that applicants for a class action must be separated because the class included stockholders of both companies involved in the merger creating a conflict. On remand, one group of investors holding stock in one of the companies involved in the merger can certify as a class at this juncture with the recommendation that investors holding stock in the other company be permitted to apply for class certification separately.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Edison, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 4:18cv4330, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Class Action
J. Anderson grants, in part, attorney fees, interest and conditional appeals fees to a company that filed a breach of contract claim in state court but then filed a motion to dismiss to file a new claim in federal court in which the company prevailed. The attorney fees and interest are not recoverable for the case in the state court because of the defendant’s LLC status, but the fees are recoverable in federal court. The requests for fees pertaining to the federal case are granted in full.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Anderson, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv298, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Civil Procedure, Venue, Attorney Fees
J. Edison examines diversity jurisdiction on remand from the Fifth Circuit Court and finds that a trustee was appointed solely to qualify for diversity jurisdiction in a property dispute with a rental company. The trustee has no special experience, he was appointed quickly with no evidence of a longstanding relationship, and the trustee duties basically involved following the direction of the trust’s lawyers. The rental company’s motion to dismiss on lack of diversity jurisdiction is granted without prejudice.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Edison, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv249, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Property, Jurisdiction