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

This case arose from the death of Jason Ray Brown in the Wichita County Jail while he was a pretrial detainee. Plaintiffs appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Wichita County and Dr. Daniel Bolin, the physician in charge of the jail, on plaintiffs' federal civil rights claims. The court held that the district court properly analyzed this case as an episodic acts case. The court also held that the district court did not err in granting summary judgment for Dr. Bolin and Wichita County on the issue of qualified immunity. The record contained no evidence of failure of the system of medical care at the Wichita County Jail that would indicate that the the county or the doctor were deliberately indifferent in maintaining that policy. View "Brown, et al v. Wichita County" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed a complaint, and several amended complaints, against the Louisiana Department of Corrections, asserting that threats and harassment had occurred periodically since July 2006; that he had suffered an excessive use of force in July 2006 and on November 11, 2009; that he had suffered a denial of medical care, a due process denial resulting from an extended stay in lockdown; and state law assault and battery. Because the court found that pre-filing administrative exhaustion was required pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. 1997e(a), the court reversed the district court's denial of defendants' motion for summary judgment and remanded for entry of judgment dismissing the complaint. View "Gonzalez v. Seal, et al" on Justia Law

Plaintiff contended that the district court's interpretation of the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. 2701, was erroneous. Plaintiff alleged that the statute applied and protected all text and data stored on her personal cell phone which defendants accessed without plaintiff's permission. The Act prohibited accessing without authorization a facility through which an electronic communications service was provided and thereby obtain access to electronic communication while it was in electronic storage. The court affirmed the judgment and held that the text messages and photos stored on plaintiff's cell phone were not in "electronic storage" as defined by the Act and were thus outside the scope of the statute. The court also held that the district court did not err in denying plaintiff's motion to recuse the district court judge. View "Garcia v. City of Laredo, Texas, et al" on Justia Law

ASARCO filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the bankruptcy court. Lehman was retained as ASARCO's financial advisor and investment banker during the bankruptcy proceedings. Lehman subsequently commenced its own bankruptcy proceedings. Barclays then acquired Lehman's investment banking and financial advisory businesses. At issue on appeal was the fee dispute between ASARCO and Barclays. The court held that the bankruptcy court erred in awarding the $975,000 fee enhancement to Barclays. Although the court found no reversible error, the court remanded to the district court with instructions to remand to the bankruptcy court for it to consider whether a Success Fee was appropriate in light of the court's conclusion that the fee enhancement award was made in error. View "ASARCO, L.L.C., et al v. Barclays Capital, Inc." on Justia Law

This case arose from a finding that a lawful permanent resident of the United States' conviction of burglary of a vehicle under New Mexico's burglary statute rendered him removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) for committing a crime of violence. The court concluded that the burglary under the New Mexico statute did constitute a crime of violence where it entailed a significant likelihood that force would be used against another's property. Because the court did not have jurisdiction over petitioner's remaining claims, the court dismissed them. Accordingly, the court denied in part and dismissed in part. View "Escudero-Arciniega v. Holder, Jr." on Justia Law

Defendants contested a summary judgment holding that the Mississippi Caller ID Anti-Spoofing Act (ASA), Miss. Code Ann. 77-3-805, violated the Commerce Clause. Plaintiffs provide nationwide third-party spoofing services to individuals and entities. In light of the carefully-drafted language in section 227(e)(1) of the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 (TCIA), 47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1), and legislative history, and in spite of the presumption against preemption that attached to a state's exercise of its police power, there was an inherent federal objective in the TCIA to protect non-harmful spoofing. The ASA's proscription of non-harmful spoofing frustrated this federal objective and was, therefore, conflict preempted. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "Teltech Systems, Inc., et al v. Bryant, et al" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, employed as a technician by Aerotek, appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Miller and Aerotek on her negligent hiring claim under Mississippi law. Plaintiff alleged that she was forcibly raped by an employee of Aerotek. The court held that Mississippi law did not impose a duty on employers to conduct criminal background checks, at least within the factual circumstances of this case; non-compliance with internal corporate hiring policies was probative of, but not dispositive of, evidence of negligence under Mississippi law; and there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Miller and Aerotek should have known of the employee's violent propensity. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Keen v. Robertson, et al" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine and subsequently appealed his 132-month sentence. The court affirmed the sentence and held that the district court did not commit procedural error by considering his prior arrest record; the district court's consideration of the facts underlying defendant's prior arrests was not procedural error; and defendant did not overcome the presumption of reasonableness that applied to his within-Guidelines sentence. View "United States v. Harris" on Justia Law

Defendants Rodriquez and Izquierdo appealed their convictions and sentences for drug offenses. The court held that Rodriquez's warrantless arrest was amply supported by probable cause; the search of Rodriquez's cell phone was permissible in light of United States v. Finley; and Izquierdo's argument that the Government failed to introduce any evidence as to the reliability of the dog used to sniff the truck at issue was waived. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Rodriguez, et al" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed the district court's dismissal of his motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255, collaterally attacking his convictions and sentences for money-laundering. At issue was whether the district court erred in denying defendant's claim that his money-laundering convictions should be vacated in light of United States v. Santos. The court declined to vacate defendant's money-laundering convictions and sentence on the basis of Santos, concluding that the jury's finding that defendant laundered money under a broad definition of "proceeds" did not warrant the vacatur of defendant's money-laundering convictions. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's dismissal of his section 2255 motion. View "United States v. Lineberry" on Justia Law