5th Circuit Court

Allegedly Fired for Being Too Fat, 680-Pound Man Fights Back, Finds Ally in EEOC

Ronald Kratz II wasn’t having any problem performing his desk job at a company that manufactures military vehicles and had been getting good evaluations of his work. But BAE Systems fired the 680-pound man anyway, he says, due to his weight. Kratz fought back, finding an ally in the Equal…

Sep 29, 2011 12:13 AM CDT

5th Circuit Oral Arguments Turn Contentious When Chief Judge Tells Colleague to Shut Up

How long should one judge monopolize oral arguments? Seven minutes is too long for Chief Judge Edith Jones of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. During en banc oral arguments on Sept. 21, Jones was so perturbed by a colleague’s lengthy questioning that she told him to…

Sep 26, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Federal Judge OKs Teen’s Suit Over School’s Refusal to Let Her Wear Tuxedo in Senior Photo

A federal judge in Mississippi has given the green light to a lawsuit filed by a lesbian teenager over her high school yearbook senior photo. U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan last week denied a motion to dismiss Ceara Sturgis’ claim that the Copiah County School District discriminated against her by…

Sep 22, 2011 3:05 PM CDT

Jury Awards Zip in $3M Case Brought By Ex-NBA Star and Attorney Asked to Give Up Seats at Bar

A former basketball star and an attorney, both black, sought $3 million in damages over allegedly discriminatory practices at a popular Atlanta tavern, contending that they were forced to give up their seats for white women for an improper purpose. But a federal jury in Atlanta wasn’t convinced, deliberating only…

Sep 16, 2011 10:50 PM CDT

5th Circuit OKs $353K and Legal Fees Award to Recruiter Paid Zero for Introducing 10 Lawyers to Firm

A federal appeals court has affirmed a magistrate judge’s decision awarding $353,000 to a legal recruiter paid zero for allegedly introducing a 10-lawyer group to Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith. CB Legal Search also is to have its litigation costs covered by the law firm, the Am Law Daily reports.…

Sep 16, 2011 10:25 PM CDT

Feds Blame BP Shortcuts for Gulf Oil Spill in New Report Released Today

Reaching conclusions similar to those of earlier investigators, in the most comprehensive report to date on the cause of disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill that began on April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon blew up in a fiery explosion, a joint task force today blames BP and two…

Sep 14, 2011 9:00 PM CDT

Judge’s Holiday-Weekend Civility Class is Cancelled, But Attorney Manners Remain a Contentious Topic

A Delaware Superior Court judge’s plan to hold a holiday-weekend civility course on Sept. 4 for warring counsel in asbestos litigation was canceled by President Judge James T. Vaughn Jr., who reassigned the case to himself, according to the Wilmington News Journal. However, the issue of appropriate attorney manners clearly…

Sep 9, 2011 12:16 AM CDT

Rehearing Nixes Sanctions in Unusual Ethics Case Over Claim of Intemperate Remarks By Federal Judge

Three lawyers and a client will not be sanctioned for claiming that a federal judge hearing a trade secrets case made intemperate remarks. Initially sanctioned by U.S. District Judge John McBryde, who sits in Ft. Worth, the four were given another trial by a different judge after the 5th U.S.…

Sep 1, 2011 11:00 PM CDT

After Fierce Federal Judge’s Invitation to ‘Kindergarten Party,’ 2 Lawyers Settle Case

Updated: A federal judge known for not mincing words swiftly achieved the desired effect by inviting two apparently squabbling attorneys to a “kindergarten party” in his Austin, Texas, courtroom. Following the much-publicized invitation by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, the two lawyers, Jonathan Woods and Travis Barton, not only settled…

Sep 1, 2011 9:42 PM CDT

Law Firm Sues Harvard Law Grad Ex-Intern Over Article About Her Capital Murder Defense Work There

When a Harvard Law School student worked at Louisiana Capital Assistance Center as a summer intern in 2003, she presumably expected to practice law. But now she is pursuing a career as a writer instead, and has made one of the nonprofit law firm’s clients a focus of a “creative…

Aug 29, 2011 11:44 PM CDT

Federal Judge Invites Lawyers to Court ‘Kindergarten Party’ Focusing on Remedial Discovery Skills

Updated: A federal judge in Austin, Texas, has served notice on local lawyers that they would be well-advised to try harder to get along. In a Friday court order, he issues a mandatory invitation to two apparently squabbling members of the bar to attend what is described as a “kindergarten…

Aug 29, 2011 11:13 PM CDT

Another Attorney Charged in RICO Case, Accused of Paying Texas Judge for Rulings

An Austin attorney has been federally indicted concerning his alleged role in a Texas court corruption scheme in which a former state district judge and two other lawyers have already taken pleas. Marc Garrett Rosenthal, 49, is accused in a 13-count indictment unsealed yesterday of paying ex-Judge Abel Corral Limas…

Aug 23, 2011 5:51 PM CDT

‘Casket Cartel’ Asks 5th Circuit to OK Statute Barring Benedictine Monks’ Cottage Coffin Industry

A group of Benedictine monks’ victory in a case over their cottage coffin-making industry was short-lived. After a federal judge last month struck down a Louisiana state law requiring those who sell caskets to be licensed funeral directors, the so-called casket cartel has asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Aug 17, 2011 8:08 PM CDT

US Seeks to Deport Wife, Son of Man It Agreed to Protect

A decade ago, Edmond Demiraj, an Albanian citizen who was in this country illegally, made a deal with the federal government: Testify against an Albanian mobster charged with human smuggling, and he and his family would be protected. But the mobster was allowed to post bail and fled the country…

Aug 9, 2011 11:13 PM CDT

School District May Be Liable for 4th Grade Student’s Sexual Assault, Court Rules

A school district may be liable for failing to protect a fourth-grade student from a sexual assault by a man who checked her out of school without authorization, a federal appeals court has held. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an Aug. 5 ruling (PDF), said…

Aug 9, 2011 9:59 PM CDT