5th Circuit Court

Global Warming Suits Claim Greenhouse Gases Are a Public Nuisance

Environmentalists are citing the law of public nuisance in lawsuits that claim greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming. Fox News cites three lawsuits “pushing this agenda” and says one of them could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Two federal appeals courts ruled last year that the suits could…

Mar 31, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

5th Circuit Footnote Hits a Federal Chief Judge for 6-Year Delay

A footnote in a federal appeals court decision takes aim at the chief judge in the Southern District of Mississippi for taking six years to enter a judgment in a civil case. Chief U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate told the Clarion Ledger that his failure to enter a judgment in…

Mar 26, 2010 2:02 PM CDT

2 Attorneys Among 40 Defendants in $20M Texas Mortgage Fraud Case

Updated: Add at least two more lawyers to the ever-lengthening list of real estate attorneys criminally charged over their alleged participation in mortgage fraud schemes. Among 40 defendants charged by a federal grand jury indictment (PDF) announced this week in a Texas case are Daniel Ayers and Anthony Flores, reports…

Mar 17, 2010 5:24 PM CDT

ACLU Sues School District that Canceled Prom Over Lesbian Student’s Date Request

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against a Mississippi high school that canceled its prom after a lesbian student told school officials she wanted to take her girlfriend as her date and wear a tuxedo. Senior Constance McMillen asked officials at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss.,…

Mar 11, 2010 7:18 PM CST

Federal Judge Impeached by House in Unanimous Vote

The House of Representatives voted 412-0 today to approve the first of four articles of impeachment against New Orleans District Judge Thomas Porteous. The article found the judge was engaging in misconduct by not disclosing his relationship with a lawyer before him in a hospital case, the Times-Picayune reported. House…

Mar 11, 2010 6:11 PM CST

Cop Pleads in Katrina Shootings Probe; ‘Like a Script from Hollywood’

A retired New Orleans police officer pleaded guilty today to conspiring to obstruct justice concerning a cover-up of the shooting deaths of two unarmed civilians on the city’s Danziger Bridge in 2005, in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Lt. Michael Lohman’s plea is the first in an ongoing federal…

Feb 25, 2010 12:16 AM CST

Top Texas Court Sued Over Case Delay: We Want a Decision, Says Lawyer

After waiting more than four years for a ruling in an interlocutory appeal before the Texas Supreme Court, the plaintiffs in a class action case have made a federal case out of the delay. They have sued the court’s nine justices individually in in the U.S. District Court for the…

Feb 17, 2010 7:44 PM CST

5th Circuit Stays Judge’s Order That Insurer Must Pay Stanford’s Lawyers

Staying a federal district court’s order that a renowned insurance company must pay for R. Allen Stanford’s defense in a criminal case, a federal appeals court today scheduled oral arguments on the issue later this month. Last week, a federal judge in Houston ruled that Lloyd’s of London had a…

Feb 5, 2010 12:58 AM CST

As 2 Insurance Execs Admit Bribes, PI Lawyer Says He Can’t Be Retried

Two executives of the Hartford insurance company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Houston in a conspiracy case concerning the millions of dollars worth of kickbacks they allegedly received from a local personal injury lawyer in exchange for their help in obtaining hefty settlements on behalf of silicosis clients.…

Feb 3, 2010 2:05 AM CST

Lawyer Featured in Katrina Stories Arrested for Alleged E-Mail Threat

A suspended lawyer who got widespread publicity for refusing to abandon his home during Hurricane Katrina is back in the news, this time for an alleged e-mail threat to a federal bankruptcy court. Ashton O’Dwyer was arrested Friday evening, according to the Associated Press and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He…

Feb 1, 2010 2:05 PM CST

Judge Says Lloyd’s Must Defend Allen Stanford in Alleged $7B Scheme, Under D&O Policies

Accused of operating a $7 billion Ponzi scheme under the guise of running his Texas-based investment company, billionaire R. Allen Stanford has been fighting to force renowned insurer Lloyd’s of London to defend him and other executives on related criminal charges. Today, in a ruling by a federal judge in…

Jan 27, 2010 1:59 AM CST

Billionaire Stanford & His Lawyers Held in Contempt Over Legal Fees Suit

Granting a motion filed by insurer Lloyd’s of London, a federal judge in Dallas today found billionaire and accused swindler R. Allen Stanford and his counsel in contempt. They violated a court order, found U.S District Judge David Godbey, by attempting to collect reimbursement for Stanford’s defense costs under a…

Dec 16, 2009 10:51 PM CST

2 Judges & 1 Lawyer Win Bribery Appeals After 5th Circuit Raises New Issue

Despite an apparent pleading error by the appellants’ counsel, a federal appeals court today reversed the federal program bribery convictions of two Mississippi judges and a trial lawyer. This is likely to shorten their prison sentences, although some other convictions against the three were not vacated. And they could potentially…

Dec 11, 2009 11:23 PM CST

Billionaire Gets Discovery in Bid to Force SEC to Pay His Legal Fees

A federal judge has agreed that billionaire Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, can proceed with discovery in his effort to force the feds to pay his defense fees in a failed insider-trading prosecution. A spokesman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment on…

Dec 7, 2009 11:25 PM CST

Katrina Ruling Could Open Floodgates to Suits, But Will It Survive?

A ruling blaming the federal government for flooding in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina could lead to a flood of lawsuits and affect funding for a coastal restoration project. Last week a federal judge ruled the Army Corps of Engineers was negligent in maintaining a navigation channel, leading to the…

Nov 23, 2009 2:51 PM CST