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US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Coleman v. BP Exploration & Production, Inc. Docket: 20-40811 Opinion Date: November 29, 2021 Judge: Don R. Willett Areas of Law: Labor & Employment Law, Personal Injury The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants in an action brought by plaintiff, an oil-platform worker, after he injured his back while building scaffolding. Plaintiff filed suit against the companies managing both the day-to-day construction and the overall construction project. The court concluded, however, that a reasonable jury could not find that either company was liable for the worker's injury because neither was his direct employer. In this case, the Hickman factors weigh in favor of holding that plaintiff was Grand Isle and BP's independent contractor. Furthermore, the court agreed with the district court that the operational-control exception did not apply as to either BP or Grand Isle. Read Opinion
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Early Voting for Dec.11 Election Begins this Weekend in Lafourche Parish
www.houmatimes.com/news/early-voting-for-dec-11-election-begins-this-weekend-in-lafourche-parish/ New York Party Shuttle, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board Docket: 20-61072 Opinion Date: November 22, 2021 Judge: Edith Brown Clement Areas of Law: Labor & Employment Law After the Board concluded that NYPS committed an unfair labor practice and ordered NYPS to reinstate an employee and make him whole, NYPS appealed the Board’s liability finding but failed to file an opening brief. The Fifth Circuit entered a default judgment and the Board held a compliance proceeding to determine damages. At the proceeding, an ALJ awarded some $91,000 in backpay to the employee. The Fifth Circuit concluded that the district court's findings support the Board's conclusion that petitioners constitute a single employer. In this case, substantial evidence supports the Board's finding that there is common ownership and financial control among petitioners; substantial evidence supports the Board's finding of an interrelation of operations between all five petitioners; the record supports the Board's finding that a common cast of characters, who operate on a "readily fungible" team, manage the companies; and substantial evidence once supports the Board's findings that there is centralized control over critical policy matters. The court rejected petitioners' contention that the underlying 2013 merits order is void ab initio because of the Supreme Court's holding in NLRB v. Noel Canning, 573 U.S. 513, 519 (2014). The court affirmed the Board's order to pay the employee backpay except for the portion of that order awarding backpay for the period of October 2014 to 2018. As to that part of the order, the court reversed and remanded. Finally, the court rejected petitioners' evidentiary arguments. Read Opinion US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Admar International, Inc. v. Eastrock, LLC Docket: 21-30098 Opinion Date: November 19, 2021 Judge: James C. Ho Areas of Law: Civil Procedure Merely running a website that is accessible in all 50 states, but that does not specifically target the forum state, is not enough to create the "minimum contacts" necessary to establish personal jurisdiction in the forum state under International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316 (1945). The defendant must take the additional step of targeting the forum state in a manner that reflects "purposeful availment" of the opportunity to do business in that state. Plaintiffs filed suit alleging that Eastrock committed copyright and trade dress infringement by displaying copies of their products on its website. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the complaint based on lack of personal jurisdiction, concluding that there is no evidence to support the conclusion that Eastrock's website specifically targets Louisiana. Read Opinion Complete election results: Terrebonne Parish
www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/complete-election-results-terrebonne-parish/289-404ba47c-3d02-411a-93df-ce3197937dd0 United States v. Garza-De La Cruz Docket: 21-50394 Opinion Date: November 10, 2021 Judge: Per Curiam Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit granted the government's motion for summary affirmance, denied the government's alternative motion for an extension of time to file a brief, and affirmed the district court's judgment. Defendant pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and was sentenced to 50 months in prison based on the ten-year maximum because of his prior felony conviction. Defendant argues that the enhancement of his sentence based on the prior felony is unconstitutional because it is based on facts neither alleged in his indictment nor proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. However, defendant concedes that this issue is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 239-47 (1998). Read Opinion Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Blocks Biden's Vaccine Mandate
www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/21/21-60845.0.pdf "Because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court." Louisiana Leads Multi-State Lawsuit Against Biden’s COVID Executive Order
www.houmatimes.com/news/louisiana-leads-multi-state-lawsuit-against-bidens-covid-executive-order/ US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Stevens v. St. Tammany Parish Government Docket: 20-30644 Opinion Date: November 3, 2021 Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Real Estate & Property Law In the first suit between the parties, the state trial court entered judgment against plaintiffs in August 2018. Plaintiffs then filed this second suit in federal court, asserting the same state law claims in addition to claims under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the state law claims as precluded by res judicata; dismissal of the CWA claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim; and denial of plaintiffs' motion for injunctive relief. In this case, the non-CWA claims existed at the time of the state court judgment, and are the same as those asserted in the state court litigation. Furthermore, plaintiffs have forfeited any argument that the district court erred in dismissing the CWA allegations in the original, first, and second amended complaints. The court also affirmed the district court's denial of plaintiffs' subsequent Rule 59(e) motion for reconsideration, which included a request for leave to file a third amended complaint. Read Opinion US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Gezu v. Charter Communications Docket: 21-10198 Opinion Date: November 2, 2021 Judge: Cory T. Wilson Areas of Law: Arbitration & Mediation, Labor & Employment Law Gezu worked for Charter, 2017-2019. In October 2017, Charter sent an email to all active, non-union employees announcing a new employment-based legal dispute resolution program. The email instructed employees about their right to opt out. The arbitration agreement, which was available in full on Charter’s intranet, required arbitration of all disputes, claims, and controversies that could be asserted in court or before an administrative agency. During his employment, Gezu allegedly suffered discrimination based on his race and national origin and Charter did not take any action to address the discrimination despite being made aware of it. Charter terminated Gezu in May 2019, based on what Gezu alleges were pretextual reasons. Gezu, acting pro se, asserted claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. 1981. The Fifth Circuit affirmed an order granting Charter’s motion to compel arbitration and to dismiss. There was a valid modification to Gezu’s employment contract, consisting of notice and acceptance. Read Opinion |
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