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

Donald McKinley and Christopher Villasana sued the Texas Attorney General seeking a declaratory judgment that Texas Penal Code 38.12(d)(2)(A) and 38.12(d)(2)(C) (collectively, "Barratry Statute"), violated the Texas and United States Constitutions. At issue was whether the district court erred when it failed to dismiss the state law claims on Eleventh Amendment grounds; whether the district court should have dismissed both McKinley's and Villasana's claims for lack of standing; and whether the Barratry Statute violated the United State's Constitution's First Amendment guarantee to free speech. The court dismissed the state law claims and held that the Eleventh Amendment barred suit where Greg Abbott was sued in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of Texas for violations of the Texas Constitution. The court also held that, because Villasana was a resident of Harris County and had not alleged that he practiced outside of the counties affected by the injunction, his claims were dismissed as moot. The court held, however, that McKinley had standing where his actions might violate the Barratry Statute and he had also established the necessary causal link and redressability. Because the Barratry Statute regulated speech that was lawful and not misleading, the court used the three-prong inquiry set forth in Central Hudson and held that the Barratry Statute did not violate the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech.

Plaintiffs filed a class action suit against defendant seeking to sue on behalf of themselves and all other individuals who were exposed to the petroleum coke dust released from defendant's refinery. At issue was whether the district court's order certifying a class was an abuse of discretion. The court held that the district court abused its discretion in determining that common issues predominated and in certifying the class where the district court had not seriously considered the administration of the trial when it failed to adequately analyze and balance the common issues against the individual issues.