United States Fifth Circuit - February 2009 Opinion Summaries

US v. Brown

Elections
In a Voting Rights Act action alleging the dilution of white Democrat voting power in a county primary, judgment for Plaintiff is affirmed, where the...

US v. Ward

Criminal Law & Procedure
Defendant escaped prisoner's firearms possession conviction is affirmed where a fugitive does not have a Fourth Amendment right of privacy in his...

Oreck Direct LLC v. Dyson Inc.

False Advertising
In a suit between vacuum cleaner companies alleging false advertising under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. section 1125(a)(1)(B) (2006),...

Lytle v. Bexar Cty.

Civil Rights, Constitutional Law
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging a wrongful police shooting, denial of Defendant's qualified immunity is affirmed, where the parties...

Torch Liquidating Trust v. Stockstill

Corp. Governance, Corporation & Enterprise Law
In a breach of fiduciary duty action, the dismissal of Plaintiff's complaint is affirmed, where the complaint failed to allege injury to the...

New England Ins. Co. v. Barnett

Civil Procedure
In an appeal from an order staying Plaintiff insurer's declaratory judgment action due to a parallel state proceeding, the order is vacated, where...

US v. Franklin

Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
Defendants' drug and firearm convictions are affirmed, where: 1) the extensive evidence was sufficient to support the drug conspiracy count; and 2)...

Castro v. US

Civil Rights, Government Law, Immigration Law, Injury & Tort Law
In an action for wrongful deportation of Plaintiff's child, dismissal of the action for lack of jurisdiction is reversed, where the "discretionary...

Gray Law LLP v. Transcon. Ins. Co.

Attorney's Fees, Contracts, Workers' Compensation
In a suit to recover attorney's fees from a workers' compensation provider after a successful suit against a tortfeasor, denial of the plaintiff's...

Agere Systems Inc. v. Samsung Elec. Co. Ltd.

Contracts, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration, Intellectual Property, Patent
Denial of a motion to compel arbitration in a dispute over a patent licensing agreement is reversed and remanded where there was a legitimate argument...