Justia U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The case involves Sharon Lewis, an African-American woman who worked as an assistant athletic director for Louisiana State University’s (LSU) football team. Lewis alleges that she experienced and witnessed numerous instances of racist and sexist misconduct from former head football coach Les Miles and that she received complaints of sexual harassment from student workers that she oversaw. In 2013, LSU retained Vicki Crochet and Robert Barton, partners of the law firm Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips LLP, to conduct a Title IX investigation of sexual harassment allegations made against Miles. The report and its contents were kept confidential, and allegations brought by the student complainants were privately settled.The district court dismissed Lewis's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) claims against Crochet and Barton because Lewis’s claims were time-barred and she failed to establish proximate causation. On appeal of the dismissal order, a panel of this court affirmed the district court on the grounds that Lewis knew of her injuries from alleged racketeering as early as 2013, and thus the four-year statute of limitations had expired before she filed suit in 2021.The district court ordered Lewis to file a motion to compel addressing the lingering “issues of discoverability and the application of [its Crime-Fraud Exception Order].” The district court denied Crochet and Barton’s motion for a protective order and compelled the depositions of Crochet and Barton and the disclosure of documents drafted during the 2013 investigation. Crochet and Barton timely appealed.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s Crime-Fraud Exception Order and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion. The court concluded that the district court clearly erred in holding that Lewis established a prima facie case that the Board violated La. R.S. 14:132(B) and that the alleged privileged communications were made in furtherance of the crime and reasonably related to the alleged violation. View "Lewis v. Crochet" on Justia Law

A limited-partnership subsidiary of Argent Financial Group, RSBCO, was required to file over 21,000 annual information returns with the IRS for the 2012 tax year. However, due to errors in the files, the returns were not processed on time. The IRS imposed penalties on RSBCO for the delay in filing processable 2012 returns. RSBCO paid the penalties and accrued interest in full and filed an administrative refund claim, asserting a reasonable cause defense. When the IRS failed to act on the claim within six months, RSBCO filed a complaint for a refund in federal district court.The district court denied the Government’s motions for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial. The court then granted RSBCO’s post-trial motion for attorney fees. The court determined that the Government could “not overcome the presumption that it was not substantially justified” in denying RSBCO’s refund claim “because [the IRS] did not follow its applicable published guidance[.]” The district court awarded fees at a rate exceeding the statutory rate provided in I.R.C. § 7430(c)(1)(B)(iii), finding that “special factors” were present.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the jury instructions were irredeemably flawed, vacated the verdict, and remanded for a new trial. The court also vacated the attorney fees and costs awarded to RSBCO because RSBCO was no longer the prevailing party. The court found that the district court’s jury instruction as to “impediments” that would excuse RSBCO’s untimely filing of its 2012 information returns was fatally inconsistent with the governing Treasury Regulation. View "RSBCO v. United States" on Justia Law

The case involves SKAV, L.L.C., the owner of a Best Western hotel in Abbeville, Louisiana, and Independent Specialty Insurance Company. The hotel was damaged by Hurricane Laura in August 2020, and SKAV filed a claim on a surplus lines insurance policy it had purchased from Independent Specialty. The policy contained an arbitration clause requiring all disputes to be settled by arbitration. However, SKAV sued Independent Specialty in the Western District of Louisiana, alleging that the insurance company had failed to adequately cover the hotel's hurricane damage under the policy's terms. Independent Specialty moved to compel arbitration, but the district court denied the motion, citing a prior decision that concluded that § 22:868 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes voids an arbitration provision in a contract for surplus lines insurance.The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The main dispute was the effect of § 22:868 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes on the insurance policy's arbitration clause. The statute bars insurance policies from depriving Louisiana courts of jurisdiction and permits, in limited circumstances, forum- and venue-selection provisions. The court noted that there were conflicting decisions on this issue from district courts in Louisiana and New York.The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's decision. The court concluded that the arbitration clause in the surplus lines insurance policy was void under § 22:868. The court reasoned that the Louisiana Legislature's 2020 amendments to the statute did not reverse the state's longstanding anti-arbitration policy. The court also rejected Independent Specialty's argument that the issue of the arbitration clause's validity must itself go to arbitration, stating that when a statute prevents the valid formation of an arbitration agreement, the court cannot compel arbitration, even on threshold questions of arbitrability. View "S. K. A. V. v. Independent Specialty Insurance Co." on Justia Law

The case revolves around the fatal shooting of Jabari Asante-Chioke by police officers in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The officers, including Nicholas Dowdle, allegedly shot Asante-Chioke after he raised a gun in their direction. An autopsy revealed that thirty-six rounds were fired by the officers, with twenty-four hitting Asante-Chioke. The plaintiff, Asante-Chioke's daughter, filed a lawsuit against the officers and Colonel Lamar Davis, superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, alleging unlawful seizure and excessive force.The defendants moved to dismiss the case, asserting qualified immunity. The district court denied the motion, stating that the plaintiff had pled sufficient facts to overcome the defense of qualified immunity. The court also denied the defendants' request to limit discovery. The defendants appealed the denial of limited discovery, and the district court stayed discovery only as to claims against Dowdle and issues regarding his qualified immunity on appeal.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the district court's order. The court found that it had jurisdiction to review the order under the collateral order doctrine, as the district court's failure to limit discovery was tantamount to the denial of qualified immunity. The court vacated the district court's order and remanded the case, directing the lower court to limit discovery to uncover only the facts necessary to rule on qualified immunity. View "Asante-Chioke v. Dowdle" on Justia Law

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Educational Foundation (AAPS) alleged that the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the American Board of Family Medicine, and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security coordinated to censor and chill the speech of physicians who criticized positions taken by Dr. Anthony Fauci, lockdowns, mask mandates, Covid vaccination, and abortion. The AAPS claimed that these entities threatened to strip certification from physicians who expressed such views, which harmed the AAPS.The District Court dismissed all of AAPS's claims with prejudice, stating that it lacked standing to assert its claims against the medical boards and that the Department of Homeland Security had mooted claims against it by dissolving the Disinformation Governance Board, which AAPS alleged was responsible for censorship. The District Court also denied AAPS the ability to amend its complaint.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the District Court's decision, finding that AAPS had provided sufficient allegations to support standing. The Court of Appeals also found that the District Court had erred in denying AAPS an opportunity to amend its complaint. However, the Court of Appeals agreed with the District Court that AAPS's claims against the Department of Homeland Security were moot due to the dissolution of the Disinformation Governance Board. The Court of Appeals remanded the case for further proceedings. View "AAPS v. ABIM" on Justia Law

Several Louisiana coastal parishes, joined by the Louisiana Attorney General and the Louisiana Secretary of Natural Resources, filed lawsuits against various oil and gas companies, alleging violations of Louisiana’s State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978. The companies removed these cases to federal court, asserting that they satisfy the requirements of the federal officer removal statute due to their refining contracts with the government during World War II. The district courts granted the parishes’ motions to remand these cases to state court, concluding that the oil companies did not meet their burden of establishing federal jurisdiction.The oil companies appealed the district courts' decisions. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district courts’ orders remanding these cases to state court. The court concluded that the oil companies failed to satisfy the “acting under” requirement of the federal officer removal statute, as their compliance with federal regulations or cooperation with federal agencies was insufficient to bring a private action within the statute. The court also found that the oil companies failed to establish that the conduct challenged in the parishes’ lawsuits was “connected or associated with” acts the companies had taken under color of federal office. View "Plaquemines Parish v. BP America Production Co." on Justia Law

The case involves Tammy O’Connor and Michael Stewart (the Sellers) who sold their company, Red River Solutions, LLC, to Atherio, Inc., a company led by Jason Cory, Greg Furst, and Thomas Farb (the Executives). The agreement stipulated that the Sellers would receive nearly half of their compensation upfront, with the rest—around $3.5 million—coming in the form of ownership units and future payments. However, Atherio went bankrupt and the Sellers received none of the promised $3.5 million. The Sellers sued the Executives, alleging fraud under federal securities law, Delaware common law, and the Texas Securities Act.The district court granted summary judgment to the Executives on all claims. The Sellers appealed the decision, arguing that the district court erred in applying the summary-judgment standard to the federal securities law and Delaware common law claims.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision on the extracontractual and Texas Securities Act fraud claims, but reversed the summary judgment grants on the federal securities law and Delaware common law claims. The court found that there was a genuine dispute as to whether the Executives' misrepresentation of Farb's role as CFO was a substantial factor in the Sellers' loss. The case was remanded for further proceedings. View "Cory v. Stewart" on Justia Law

The case involves a dispute over the ownership of a painting by Bernardo Bellotto, which was sold under duress by Max Emden during the Nazi persecution of Jews prior to World War II. The painting was later found in a salt mine in Austria by the Monuments Men, a group of U.S. military officers tasked with facilitating the restitution of art stolen by the Nazis. The painting was mistakenly sent to the Netherlands to fulfill a claim by a gallery in Amsterdam, but the painting was actually a replica painted by Bellotto himself, not the gallery's version. The painting was eventually sent to the United States and is currently housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The heirs of Max Emden, the original owner, are seeking to recover the painting.The case was initially heard in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, which dismissed the claim due to the act of state doctrine. This doctrine prohibits U.S. courts from questioning the actions of a foreign government, in this case, the Dutch government's decision to send the painting to the United States.The case was then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The court affirmed the lower court's decision, agreeing that the act of state doctrine applies in this case. The court held that any evaluation of the painting's ownership would require questioning the Dutch government's actions, which is prohibited by the act of state doctrine. The court also rejected the plaintiffs' arguments that the doctrine should not apply because the Dutch government's actions were not official, there would be no negative impact on foreign relations, and the act was not solely within the Netherlands. The court concluded that the act of state doctrine bars U.S. courts from questioning the validity of the Dutch government's actions. View "Emden v. Museum of Fine Arts" on Justia Law

In 2021, Grant and Sarah Palmquist, on behalf of their minor son, sued baby-food manufacturer Hain Celestial Group, Inc. and grocery retailer Whole Foods Market, Inc. in Texas state court. They sought damages for their son Ethan’s physical and mental decline, which they allege began when he was about thirty months old and had been consuming Hain’s Earth’s Best Organic Products, purchased from Whole Foods. The Palmquists attributed Ethan's health issues to heavy metal toxicity caused by the baby food. The case was removed to federal court, where Whole Foods was dismissed as improperly joined and judgment was granted in favor of Hain during trial.The district court dismissed Whole Foods on the grounds of improper joinder and denied the Palmquists’ motion to remand the case to state court. The court also granted Hain’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, concluding that the Palmquists had presented no evidence of general causation. The Palmquists appealed these decisions.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment denying the Palmquists’ motion to remand, vacated the final judgment of the district court, and remanded with instructions for the district court to remand the case to the state court. The court held that the Palmquists were entitled to a remand to state court because the allegations in their state-court complaint stated plausible claims against Whole Foods. The court did not address whether the district court erred in granting judgment as a matter of law in favor of Hain. View "Palmquist v. Hain Celestial Group" on Justia Law

The case involves four plaintiffs who took docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug, as part of their treatment for early-stage breast cancer and subsequently suffered permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia (PCIA). The plaintiffs allege that the manufacturers of the drug, Hospira, Inc., Hospira Worldwide, LLC, and Accord Healthcare, Inc., violated state law by failing to warn them that docetaxel could cause PCIA.The case was initially heard in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where the defendants moved for summary judgment on the basis that the plaintiffs' state law failure-to-warn claims were preempted by federal law. The district court denied the motion, and the defendants appealed.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit was tasked with determining whether federal law preempts the plaintiffs' state law failure-to-warn claims against the defendant drug manufacturers. The court found that the district court had erred in its interpretation of what constitutes "newly acquired information" under the changes-being-effected (CBE) regulation, which allows manufacturers to file a supplemental application with the FDA and simultaneously implement a labeling change before obtaining FDA approval. The court held that the district court failed to enforce the requirement that newly acquired information must "reveal risks of a different type or greater severity or frequency than previously included in submissions to FDA."The court vacated the district court's judgment on the plaintiffs' failure-to-warn claims and remanded the case for further consideration of one outstanding issue: whether the Bertrand Abstract, a scientific study, constituted "newly acquired information" that revealed a greater risk of PCIA than previously known. If the Bertrand Abstract does not meet this standard, the court held that the defendants would not be liable to the plaintiffs on their state law failure-to-warn claims. View "Hickey v. Hospira" on Justia Law