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

After plaintiff was denied tenure as an assistant professor of Legal Studies at the University of Mississippi, he filed suit against several university officials in their individual capacities, alleging that they violated his substantive due process rights when they evaluated his eligibility for tenure in an arbitrary and capricious manner. A jury subsequently awarded plaintiff over $200,000 in damages for lost wages and past and future pain and suffering.The Fifth Circuit reversed and rendered judgment in favor of defendants, holding that the district court erred when it denied defendants' motions for qualified immunity and concluded that plaintiff had a clearly established property interest. In this case, plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the language in his contract that allegedly guaranteed him a "fair process of tenure review" gave rise to a clearly-established property right. View "Wigginton v. Jones" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the school district in an action brought by plaintiff, alleging claims under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) for discrimination and retaliation.Regardless of whether the "transitory and minor" nature of the impairment was part of plaintiff's prima facie case or an affirmative defense to her claim of "regarded as" disability discrimination, the court held that the school district is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff's "regarded as" disability-based discrimination claim. In this case, there are no facts in dispute regarding the transitory and minor nature of the perceived impairment from plaintiff's lap band surgery. Although the court held that the district court erred in its determination that plaintiffs failed to establish a prima facie case of retaliation because she failed to present sufficient evidence of a causal connection, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the school district on the retaliation claim because plaintiff failed to meet her summary judgment burden of pointing to evidence demonstrating that the legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons proffered by the school district for its actions were pretextual. The school district proffered that plaintiff was removed from coaching basketball because it was the school district's understanding that she did not like coaching basketball and did not want to do so. View "Lyons v. Katy Independent School District" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit withdrew its previous opinion and substituted the following opinion.The court affirmed the district court's grant of defendants' motions for summary judgment in an action brought by plaintiff, alleging that he was wrongfully discharged for having a firearm in his vehicle parked in the employee lot. Plaintiff argued that his discharge was wrongful under Miss. Code. Ann. 45-9-55(1).The court held that the section 45-9-55(2) exception applies because the general public's access to Lot 1B was restricted or limited. Therefore, the statutory exception to the right of an employee to have a firearm in his vehicle applies in this case. The court declined to consider Nissan's remaining arguments. View "McIntyre v. Nissan North America, Inc." on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit withdrew its prior opinion and substituted the following opinion.The court denied in part and granted in part CoServ's petition for review and denied in part and granted in part the Board's cross-application for enforcement. The court held that CoServ's challenge against the Board's findings of unfair labor practices failed; under the governing four-factor test, substantial evidence supports the Board's finding that CoServ's unfair labor practices tainted the second decertification petition; as to the affirmative bargaining order, the Board failed to justify it under Fifth Circuit case law; and, because a bargaining order was not justified, the court vacated the order. The court also vacated the Board's issuance of the public-notice-reading order because it cannot be justified under the facts of this case. View "Denton County Electric Coop v. NLRB" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's adverse grant of summary judgment entered on plaintiff's claims against her employer, the City of Houston, for discrimination and creating a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.The court held that plaintiff failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact regarding the fourth element of her discrimination claim. In this case, plaintiff failed to show that she was similarly situated to other employees who were not members of her protected class and who were treated more favorably. The court held that plaintiff's proffered evidence regarding holdover overtime failed to show that her station-level supervisors treated her less favorably than her white, male comparators. In regard to ride-up overtime, the court held that plaintiff's allegations failed because neither of her coworkers held the same job or responsibilities or shared the same supervisor as her. The court also held that plaintiff failed to show a genuine dispute of material fact regarding her hostile work environment claim because she failed to show that the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment. Furthermore, plaintiff failed to show that her colleagues' actions were severe, physically threatening, or humiliating. View "Jordan v. City of Houston" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants in an action brought by plaintiff, alleging that he was wrongfully discharged for having a firearm in his vehicle parked in the employee lot. The court held that the general public's access to Lot 1B was "restricted or limited," and Miss. Code. Ann. 45-9-55(2), the statutory exception to the right of an employee to have a firearm in his vehicle, applies. The court need not consider defendants' remaining arguments. View "McIntyre v. Nissan North America" on Justia Law

After Gregory Tramaine Miller was crushed to death between the couplers of two rail cars while working as a conductor trainee with the railroad, plaintiffs filed suit under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA).The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the railroad, holding that Miller's failure to establish 3-Step Protection before going between rail cars was the sole cause of his death, that his going between moving rail cars was unforeseeable, and that plaintiffs failed to produce evidence of any negligent acts by the railroad attributable to causing Miller's death. View "Gray v. Alabama Great Southern Railroad Co." on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's finding that Maverick County willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and that the Deputies were entitled to backpay, liquidated damages, and attorneys' fees. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the majority of the class members to participate in the suit; the district court did not commit reversible error by not striking the Deputies' testimony; the district court's finding of willfulness was not erroneous; and the award of attorneys' fees was not an abuse of discretion. The court remanded to the district court to consider an award of attorneys' fees incurred on appeal. View "Cruz v. Maverick County" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's preliminary injunction enforcing a non-competition agreement between defendant and her former employer Realogy. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion and its decision satisfied the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52. In this case, the district court properly concluded that Realogy had a substantial likelihood of success regarding the enforceability of its non-competition agreement with defendant under Texas law. The court lifted the stay previously imposed and remanded this matter, instructing the district court to conduct a trial on the permanent injunction as soon as possible and, when rendering its judgment, to reweigh the equities with respect to the term of the injunction in light of the time that has passed during the pendency of this appeal. View "Realogy Holdings Corp. v. Jongebloed" on Justia Law

The Fifth Circuit held, consistent with the dissent in Faludi v. U.S. Shale Sols., 950 F.3d 269, 271 (5th Cir. 2020), that an employee who is paid a daily rate is not paid on a "salary basis" under 29 C.F.R. 541.602(a).In this case, plaintiff filed suit against his employer, Helix, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), alleging that Helix did not pay him on a "salary basis" because it calculated his pay based on a daily, rather than weekly, rate. Helix countered that plaintiff's daily rate was greater than the weekly salary requirement under Labor Department regulations. Helix argued that, so long as plaintiff worked at least a single day during any particular week, he would receive more than the weekly salary requirement, and was therefore paid on a "salary basis" under Labor Department regulations.The court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Helix and remanded for further proceedings. The court explained that plaintiff was paid on a daily rate—so he was paid "with" (not "without") "regard to the number of days or hours worked," in direct conflict with the plain language of section 541.602(a)(1). Therefore, plaintiff was not paid on a salary basis. View "Hewitt v. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc." on Justia Law