2024 Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: John Gabriel Trevino, a 32-year-old man, engaged in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old child. He was charged with production of child pornography, enticement of a minor, and possession of child pornography. Trevino…

Justia Opinion Summary: Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC, an American mattress manufacturer, executed financing deals in 2016 and 2020 with various lenders. Following financial struggles exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Serta filed for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Uhlenbrock was convicted by a jury for violating 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2)(B) by posting nude images and videos of his ex-girlfriend, YT, on Reddit, along with explicit stories written in her name. Some of the images…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lorenzo Vazquez-Alba, a Mexican citizen, lawfully entered the United States in 1986 and became a legal permanent resident in 1987. In 2008, he was arrested in Dallas, Texas, for using a juvenile as a paid prostitute and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Elroy Wilkerson was convicted by a jury of producing and possessing child pornography for secretly taking photographs and videos of a 14-year-old girl in various stages of undress. The evidence included images and videos…

Justia Opinion Summary: Leon Stinson pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in bank fraud and was ordered to pay over $3.6 million in restitution. The Government sought to garnish assets, including retirement accounts solely in the name of Leon’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Steven Andrew Clem, the former owner of a defunct homebuilding company, appealed a judgment regarding the nondischargeability of a debt incurred from a failed home construction project. An arbitration panel had found…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jessie Grace was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of probation or parole. The Louisiana Fifth Circuit affirmed his conviction. Over the next 18 years,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Johnell Lavell Barber was convicted of felony possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) after he opened fire on two passing vehicles, injuring Eric Escalara and his ten-year-old daughter. Police arrested Barber…

Justia Opinion Summary: Gabino Ramos Hernandez was involved in a traffic stop on July 20, 2016, where he was stopped by Laurel Police Department Officer David Driskell for failing to stop at a stop sign. Hernandez's brother, who appeared…

Justia Opinion Summary: An entity that owns and holds a loan agreement, including its note and the beneficiary interest in the security instrument, sought to foreclose on a property after borrowers failed to make required payments on the note.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, a group of sex-trafficking victims, were trafficked through advertisements posted on Backpage.com, an online advertisement forum. They sued Salesforce, a company that provided cloud-based software tools and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Vicente David Cuenca-Arroyo, a native and citizen of Mexico, was brought to the United States as a child without being admitted or paroled. He has a minor son, B.A., who is a U.S. citizen and primarily resides with his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dagoberto Luna, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States in 1997 without valid entry documents. In 2003, the Government mailed Luna a Notice to Appear (NTA) for a removal hearing, which did not specify…

Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Ray Lerma escaped from Dismas Charities, a residential reentry center, by jumping the facility’s exterior fence. He voluntarily returned the same day. Lerma was charged with one count of escape from custody under…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Susan Neese and Dr. James Hurly, both doctors in Amarillo, Texas, filed a pre-enforcement challenge against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the Notification of Interpretation and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sarah Lindsley filed a discrimination lawsuit against her employer, Omni Hotels Management Corporation, alleging sex-based pay discrimination under the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Johnathan Avery pleaded guilty to coercing or enticing an individual to travel to engage in prostitution, violating 18 U.S.C. § 2422(a). Avery signed an acceptance of responsibility statement as part of his plea. His…

Justia Opinion Summary: A truck driver, Jarrod Newsome, was delivering chemicals to International Paper Company’s factory when he was overcome by a "rotten smell" and lost consciousness. He sued International Paper for negligence and gross…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Army Corps of Engineers partnered with the City of Dallas on the Dallas Floodway Extension (DFE) project, which began in 1999. Plaintiffs Timpy Ondrusek and Barbara Ann Ondrusek Wolfe own property that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Adrian Dantrell Wesley was convicted of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. At sentencing, he received a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(12) for maintaining premises for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Enriqueta Diaz, a former county judge and resident of Maverick County, opposed the issuance of certificates of obligation for water and sewer improvements by the Maverick County Commissioners Court. She collected…

Justia Opinion Summary: Keith Todd Ashley, a licensed financial advisor, was charged and convicted on 17 counts of violating federal law, including mail and wire fraud, Hobbs Act robbery, and bank theft. He operated a Ponzi scheme and allegedly…

Justia Opinion Summary: Derek Hall, a Senior Account Executive at UiPath Incorporated, alleged retaliation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) after being placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and subsequently…

Justia Opinion Summary: Alejandro Martinez was walking home when Officer Cantu stopped him for walking on the wrong side of the street, in violation of the Texas Transportation Code. Martinez initially complied but then walked away. Cantu took…

Justia Opinion Summary: Spring Siders, a Christian evangelist, sought to share her religious message outside a public amphitheater in Brandon, Mississippi. The City of Brandon had enacted an ordinance restricting protests and demonstrations…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sekhar Rao was involved in a scheme to defraud TRICARE, a federal health benefit plan, by ordering medically unnecessary toxicology and DNA cancer screening tests. These tests were billed to TRICARE through a shell…

Justia Opinion Summary: Hamzah Ali, a legal immigrant from Yemen and Dubai, retained Azhar Chaudhary as his attorney in February 2017 and paid him $810,000 over three months. Chaudhary claimed this was a nonrefundable retainer, while Ali…

Justia Opinion Summary: Andre Louis Keller drove to a permanent immigration checkpoint where a Customs & Border Protection (CBP) canine alerted to his vehicle. Upon searching, agents found an alien unlawfully present in the United States…

Justia Opinion Summary: Betty Butler pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. This charge stemmed from a DEA search warrant executed at her home, where agents found a firearm and a small amount of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Enrique Morales was sentenced to 188 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal money-transmitting business and conspiracy to launder funds. His presentence report calculated a total…

Justia Opinion Summary: Joseph Anthony Borino, as part of a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony (wire fraud) on July 8, 2021. He was sentenced to one year and one day of imprisonment on November 1, 2022. On March 30, 2023,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In June 2022, Juan Jose Vega-Santos was charged with illegal reentry into the United States following removal, under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)–(b). He pleaded guilty without a plea agreement. The district court sentenced him to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State of Texas placed a concertina wire fence along part of the border with Mexico in the Eagle Pass area to deter illegal crossings. The United States Border Patrol agents cut the wire multiple times, claiming it…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves six plaintiffs who are users of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service that uses immutable smart contracts to anonymize transactions. Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kenny Savoie, a former employee of Pritchard Energy Advisors, LLC (PGA), filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Thomas Pritchard, his former boss, in the United States District Court for the Western District of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Capstone Logistics, LLC, a company providing labor to other businesses, began supplying auditors to Associated Wholesale Grocers in 2019. The auditors, including Joyce Henson, were responsible for checking groceries and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs, Clarence Cocroft and Tru Source Medical Cannabis, L.L.C., challenged Mississippi's restrictions on advertising medical marijuana, arguing that the First Amendment protects their right to advertise because…

Justia Opinion Summary: Parvez Qureshi was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and four counts of distribution of controlled substances. Qureshi, a physician, had partnered with Rubeena Ayesha, an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Edgar Hermosillo Minor pled guilty to four drug charges in 2022, including importing and possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl with intent to distribute. His presentence report calculated a base offense level of 34,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jon Willis, an employee of Shamrock Management, L.L.C., was injured while working on an offshore oil platform operated by Fieldwood Energy, L.L.C. The injury occurred when a tag line slipped off a grocery box being…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, the Mississippi legislature passed S.B. 2162, which abolished the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA) and created the Jackson Metropolitan Area Airport Authority (Authority). The new Authority would be…

Justia Opinion Summary: Centaur, L.L.C. entered into a Master Services Contract (MSC) with United Bulk Terminals Davant, L.L.C. (UBT) in 2015 to build a concrete containment wall at UBT's dock facility. River Ventures, L.L.C. provided vessel…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a First Amendment challenge to a policy in Caldwell County, Texas, which categorically excludes the press and the public from observing criminal pretrial proceedings known as magistrations. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In October 2022, Jose Guadalupe Hernandez Velasquez was found unlawfully present in the United States for the fifth time. Previously, in 2019, he had signed a written stipulation waiving his rights and agreeing to his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Devin Chaney pleaded guilty to two counts from an eleven-count indictment: Hobbs Act Robbery and Armed Bank Robbery. As part of his plea agreement, Chaney waived his right to appeal except for a sentence above the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Taiwo Ayorinde sued his former employer, Team Industrial Services Incorporated, alleging various employment discrimination claims. Ayorinde was initially employed by Team from 2016 to 2018 and rehired in 2022. During his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a challenge to Texas House Bill 20 (H.B. 20) by NetChoice, L.L.C. and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA). The plaintiffs argue that H.B. 20, which regulates content moderation by…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cedric Allen Ricks was convicted of capital murder in Texas state court for killing his girlfriend and her eight-year-old son and was sentenced to death. After his direct appeal and state habeas petition were denied,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Benjamin Benfer and his wife were pulled over by Officer Barry Calvert for allegedly running a red light and because their vehicle matched the description of a stolen car. A confrontation ensued, during which Calvert…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Hinds County, Mississippi, under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), alleging unconstitutional conditions in the County’s detention…

Justia Opinion Summary: Luis Alberto Sustaita-Cordova, a Mexican national, appealed a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision that dismissed his appeal from an Immigration Judge’s (IJ) order denying his applications for cancellation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of healthcare and air-ambulance providers challenged certain agency rules regarding the No Surprises Act, which aims to protect patients from unexpected medical bills. The key issues involved the calculation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Marcus McVae was stopped by Texas State Trooper Jesse Perez for a traffic violation. McVae provided a false identity and fled on foot when the officer attempted to detain him. Despite being tased, McVae continued to…

Justia Opinion Summary: A union representing over 9,000 pilots employed by an airline alleged that the airline violated the Railway Labor Act (RLA) by intimidating and disciplining pilots who affiliated with the union. The union claimed that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Memorial Hermann Accountable Care Organization (MHACO), a nonprofit corporation formed under Texas law in 2012, participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) as an accountable care organization (ACO). ACOs…

Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer, David Stanley, was suspended and transferred by the Lafayette Police Department (LPD) following an investigation into his Facebook posts. Stanley took sick leave for about a year and appealed his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a challenge to a Mississippi statute that allows absentee ballots to be received up to five days after the federal Election Day. The plaintiffs, including the Republican National Committee and the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Alex Francois, a Haitian national, left Haiti in 1979 to reunite with his U.S. citizen father. He has lived in New York City, raised six U.S. citizen children, and suffers from severe mental illnesses, including…

Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2023, X Corp. filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, Inc., Eric Hananoki, and Angelo Carusone, alleging interference with X Corp.'s contracts, business disparagement, and interference with prospective…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ultra Deep Picasso Pte. Limited (Ultra Deep) is a contractor specializing in undersea vessel operations for marine construction. Dynamic Industries Saudi Arabia Ltd. (Dynamic) subcontracted Ultra Deep for a project…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants marketed fraudulent franchise opportunities to foreign nationals seeking to invest in the United States to obtain residency visas. The complaint included claims under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Justin Henry was observed by New Orleans Police Department officers entering a stolen vehicle in a shopping center parking lot. When approached by police, Henry fled on foot, discarding a firearm in the process. Henry, a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2020, First United Pentecostal Church in DeQuincy, Louisiana, sustained significant damage from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. The church was insured by Church Mutual Insurance Company (CM), which covered several…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dajuan Martin was arrested after being seen riding a stolen scooter in New Orleans. During the police pursuit, he discarded a Glock 26, 9mm semi-automatic handgun, which was later recovered with a magazine containing 16…

Justia Opinion Summary: In response to challenges faced during the 2020 election, the Texas Legislature enacted S.B. 1 in 2021, which restricts paid "vote harvesting services." This law aims to protect the privacy of mail-in voters by…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the early morning hours, Officer James Marshall observed Rodney Rucker sitting in a running car outside a hotel known for criminal activity. Marshall approached Rucker, who refused to identify himself or exit the…

Justia Opinion Summary: A federal agent stationed in Dubai, Leatrice De Bruhl-Daniels, developed a romantic relationship with a Syrian national, Nadal Diya, who was under investigation for suspected ties to terrorism. Despite warnings from her…