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

Plaintiff, a former inmate, filed suit against his nurses and his physician under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging they were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The district court denied defendants' motion for summary judgment, finding that, at that juncture, they were not entitled to qualified immunity.The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings. The court concluded that plaintiff has introduced evidence showing that officials knowingly furnished treatment unresponsive to his need. In this case, they ignored his inability to walk and refused to treat his lost mobility, permitting the inference that they intentionally treated him incorrectly. The court saw no meaningful distinction between an official's decision to offer plainly unresponsive treatment to a prisoner and his decision to refuse to treat him, ignore his complaints, or intentionally treat him incorrectly. Therefore, at minimum, the court concluded that plaintiff introduced evidence that officials engaged in similar conduct that would clearly evince a wanton disregard for his serious medical need. Furthermore, this rises to the level of deliberate indifference. The court also concluded that defendants had fair warning that their delay in treating plaintiff's fractured hip beyond the most cursory care violated his Eighth Amendment rights. View "Spikes v. McVea" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit dismissed plaintiff's appeal of the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants and imposition of a third strike under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The court concluded that plaintiff is a vexatious litigant who has admitted that he files federal lawsuits against his custodians as a means of intimidating them to comply with his demands for things like antacid and high-protein food. This is his seventh of at least twelve such complaints. The court barred plaintiff from filing additional abusive suits while he is incarcerated or detained in any facility unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury. View "Hale v. Harrison County Board of Supervisors" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of plaintiff's former employer, a restaurant chain, and to his former manager. The court concluded that, although plaintiff presented a prima facie case that the restaurant discriminated and retaliated against him, he failed to offer persuasive evidence that the restaurant's proffered, permissible reasons for his termination were a pretext for unlawful action. In this case, plaintiff failed to demonstrate that his employer's reasons for firing him—lying and preparing a dish incorrectly—constitute pretextual reasons to cover over racial discrimination and retaliation. Furthermore, plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence of bad faith or malice to support his tortious interference claim. View "Jones v. Gulf Coast Restaurant Group, Inc." on Justia Law

Petitioner was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Petitioner claims that the victim's parents were opposed to him receiving the death penalty and conveyed that opposition to the prosecutors prior to trial. Nevertheless, despite knowing this, the prosecutors stated during closing argument at the punishment phase of trial that all of the victim's family and everyone that loved him believed that the death penalty was appropriate. Petitioner unsuccessfully sought habeas relief in state court and subsequently in federal court.The Fifth Circuit concluded that petitioner is required to obtain a certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal the district court's dismissal of his Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) motion; the court declined to issue a COA; and the court declined to grant petitioner's motion invoking the All Writs Act. The court explained that petitioner's Rule 60(b) motion is ultimately an effort to advance "a new ground for relief" that was not contained in his initial federal habeas petition rather than an effort to redress a procedural defect in his initial federal habeas proceedings. Furthermore, the district court did not err in concluding that petitioner's motion invoking the All Writs Act should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because 28 U.S.C. 2254 is the proper avenue for him to seek relief. The court affirmed the district court's order transferring petitioner's new section 2254 petition to this court as a second or successive petition within the meaning of section 2244(b) and dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction. The court affirmed the district court's order denying compensation to petitioner's counsel for their work on his successive state habeas proceedings. View "Storey v. Lumpkin" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the hospital because plaintiff failed to show that the hospital intentionally discriminated against him based on his deafness. The court explained that the summary-judgment evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, is sufficient for a reasonable jury to determine that the hospital should have known that plaintiff needed an on-site interpreter. However, fatal to plaintiff's claims, the evidence is not sufficient for a reasonable jury to determine that the hospital had actual knowledge of plaintiff's need for an on-site interpreter. In this case, plaintiff made no attempt to argue in this appeal or in district court that his nominal-damage claims, if any exist, are not subject to the same intentional-discrimination standard. Furthermore, plaintiff expressly abandoned his claims for injunctive relief and has not pressed his claim for a declaratory judgment on appeal. View "Francois v. Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, Inc." on Justia Law

In 2015, PRIDE, a non-profit that employs individuals with disabilities, hired Johnson, an African-American. Johnson endured repeated race-based harassment by his fellow PRIDE employee Palomares. Johnson’s colleague corroborated that Palomares used racially offensive language and generally treated non-Hispanic employees worse than their Hispanic counterparts. Beyond his mistreatment by Palomares, several other workplace incidents occurred that Johnson viewed as harassing. Johnson made multiple complaints regarding Palomares’s harassing behavior and was told, “you’ve just got to be tough and keep going.” Ultimately, Johnson angrily confronted Palomares at PRIDE’s worksite. Johnson was written up and told to “follow instructions and remain respectful.” Johnson interviewed for a supervisory carpentry position. PRIDE selected a Hispanic individual for the position, who, unlike Johnson, had supervisory experience. Johnson filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. PRIDE’s Human Resources Director, acknowledged that Johnson reported that Palomares had been harassing him but PRIDE ultimately “did not find that any harassment.” Later that month, PRIDE called Johnson to discuss problems with his attendance. Johnson said coming into work was “too stressful,” declared that he was resigning, and walked out.The district court dismissed Johnson’s suit under 42 U.S.C. 1981 alleging discrimination based on race and retaliation when he complained about the discrimination. The Fifth Circuit affirmed in part. Summary judgment for the employer was proper as to most of Johnson’s claims, but the court erred in its ruling on Johnson’s hostile work environment claim. View "Johnson v. PRIDE Industries, Inc." on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of federal habeas relief to petitioner based on the ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioner was convicted of second degree murder stemming from the discharge of his gun during a fight that killed the victim. Petitioner testified that the gun fired accidentally when the victim pulled on the gun and the two men collided. Defendant's testimony was contradicted by an eyewitness supposedly watching the fight from outside her apartment across the street who said she saw the victim backing away from petitioner with his hands raised at the moment the gun fired. Petitioner's trial counsel never attempted to interview the eyewitness or her roommate, who would have testified that the eyewitness was actually inside their apartment at the time of the shooting.The court concluded that counsel's performance was deficient and that the state court's determination to the contrary was an unreasonable application of Strickland v. Washington. In this case, the court cannot say that a fairminded jurist would find counsel's strategic decision not to request a continuance or to even try to interview the witness to be a "conscious and informed decision." Given the importance of the witness's testimony, the court found that no fairminded jurist could conclude that the failure to introduce the roommate's impeachment testimony would not have undermined confidence in the outcome. Therefore, petitioner was prejudiced by counsel's deficient performance. View "Hughes v. Vannoy" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, prisoners at East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF), filed suit challenging their conditions of confinement by filing a class action against MDOC officials. The district court ultimately found no constitutional violations and denied plaintiffs' requested injunction. Plaintiffs appealed three of the conditions they originally challenged: medical care, protection from harm, and solitary confinement.The Fifth Circuit affirmed, rejecting plaintiffs' contention that the district court erred by considering the challenged conditions in isolation instead of in combination. Rather, the district court grouped plaintiffs' allegations into several categories based on different identifiable human needs and considered all allegations related to each category in a distinct section. The court also concluded that plaintiffs' contention that the district court erred by failing to consider whether past violations were likely to recur is foreclosed by Farmer v. Brennan. See 511 U.S. 825. Finally, the court rejected plaintiffs' contention that the district court wrongly disregarded the testimony of their expert witnesses, and concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in this case. View "Dockery v. Cain" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment against plaintiff in her employment discrimination action. Plaintiff filed suit against DHS, alleging claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and 42 U.S.C. 1983. DHS filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). After plaintiff did not file a response, the district court granted DHS's motion.The court concluded that plaintiff's arguments unrelated to the grounds on which her claims were dismissed are waived. The court also concluded that plaintiff cannot proceed with a Rehabilitation Act claim as it is precluded by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA); the district court properly determined that plaintiff's section 1983 claim is preempted by Title VII; and, because plaintiff failed to name the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security as a defendant, the district court had no alternative but to dismiss the case for lack of a proper party defendant. View "Kaswatuka v. Department of Homeland Security" on Justia Law

Texas state prisoner Haverkamp, a biological male at birth who identifies as a transgender woman, sued, alleging violations of the Equal Protection Clause by denying Haverkamp medically necessary sex-reassignment surgery and by failing to provide certain female commissary items and a long-hair pass. Texas’s Correctional Managed Healthcare Committee has a policy concerning the treatment of gender disorders. Based on the state’s advisory, the district court ordered service of Haverkamp’s operative complaint on Dr. Murray, whom the state identified as the proper defendant if Haverkamp were seeking sex-reassignment surgery, and the nine Committee members who had not yet been named as parties. The district court subsequently denied motions to dismiss, concluding that the state was not entitled to sovereign immunity.The Fifth Circuit vacated. Haverkamp’s suit is barred by sovereign immunity because the Committee members are not proper defendants under Ex Parte Young; Haverkamp fails to allege they have the requisite connection to enforcing the policies Haverkamp challenges. In light of the state’s representations to the district court that these defendants are the proper state officials to sue, the court did not dismiss them from the case. View "Haverkamp v. Linthicum" on Justia Law