Recently in Civil Rights Law Category

In an action alleging that defendant-city's denial of a permit for plaintiff to construct a low-income housing project was motivated by racial animus and that it had a discriminatory impact on racial minorities, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) there was no evidence that the resolutions passed by the city council constituted departures from the city's normal policy and procedure; 2) the city's interpretation of its own ordinance was not unreasonable; and 3) plaintiffs failed to raise a fact question as to whether the city's actions caused a significant discriminatory effect.

Read Artisan/Am. Corp. v. City of Alvin, No. 09-20174

Appellate Information

Filed November 13, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Higginbotham

In a First Amendment action by a state university professor alleging that defendants deprived plaintiff of his ability to teach because he criticized the university, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where: 1) no clearly established law dictated that a university official sued in her individual capacity could not impose discipline on plaintiff; and 2) plaintiff failed to identify a cognizable property right for due process purposes.  However, the order is reversed in part where plaintiff's claim against university administrators in their official capacities could yield prospective injunctive relief.

Read Depree v. Saunders, No. 08-60978

Appellate Information

Filed November 12, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Jones

In a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) action against the U.S. alleging that federal agents used excessive force against plaintiff, judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) because agents' actions were privileged under Texas law, those actions did not constitute an assault for which the U.S. would be liable under the FTCA; and 2) the district court's finding that the agents' alleged negligence was not the proximate cause of plaintiff's injuries was not clearly erroneous.

Read Villafranca v. US, No. 08-10920

Appellate Information

Filed October 28, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge King

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action arising out of plaintiff's daughter's death while she was being driven to jail, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where defendant-officers' use of a four-point restraint did not itself amount to a constitutional violation.

Read Hill v. Carroll Cty., No. 08-60516

Appellate Information

Filed October 28, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Jones

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging excessive force by police, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where plaintiff failed to produce evidence demonstrating that defendant-city's training policy procedures were inadequate. The ruling reversed in part where plaintiff's error of naming defendant-officer in his individual capacity was an actual mistake, and plaintiff, by attempting to amend the complaint, was not merely attempting a strategic change.

Read Sanders-Burns v. Plano, No. 08-40459

Appellate Information

Filed August 7, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Stewart

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action alleging excessive force by the police, judgment as a matter of law in favor of defendant-county is affirmed where a reasonable jury could not find that the county's alleged policy was the moving force behind the officer's actions.

Read James v. Harris County, No. 07-20725

Appellate Information

Filed August 4, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Jolly

In an action under the Texas Religious Freedom and Restoration Act challenging an ordinance preventing the keeping and slaughter of four-legged animals within defendant-city's borders on the ground that it burdened the Santeria religion, judgment for defendant is reversed where the city had no evidence that plaintiff's animal sacrifices undermined any of its interests.

Read Merced v. Kasson, No. 08-10358

Appellate Information

Filed July 31, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Elrod

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that defendant city violated the First Amendment by denying plaintiff a construction contract, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where not all construction contract disputes involving government entities or agents are matters of public concern.

Read Oscar Renda Contracting Inc. v. Lubbock, No. 08-10481

Appellate Information

Filed July 21, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Higginbotham

In an Americans with Disabilities Act action alleging that Defendant city officials failed to make parts of the city wheelchair accessible, the dismissal of the complaint is reversed, where it was the city's burden to prove the accrual and expiration of any limitations period.

Read Frame v. Arlington, No. 08-10630

Appellate Information

Filed July 7, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Jolly