In a wrongful death action based on a construction accident, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where plaintiff's remedy was limited to workers' compensation under Louisiana law.
Read Groover v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., No. 08-31051
Appellate Information
Filed October 30, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Engelhardt
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 an action based on injuries sustained by plaintiff on an oil rig owned by one defendant and operated by another defendant, the district court's judgment holding the operator 55% liable for plaintiff's injuries and the owner 45% liable is affirmed in part where: 1) the reciprocal indemnity agreement between defendants obligated the operator to indemnify the owner for plaintiff's injuries; and 2) the district court did not clearly err in determining that the owner was not the superseding cause of the incident. However, the judgment is reversed in part where: 1) the operator's negligence in failing to properly warn employees how to operate certain machinery on the boat should not have been characterized by the district court as time-charterer negligence; and 2) the parties' agreement only entitled the owner to attorney's fees incurred in defending the underlying tort action. (Superseding opinion)
Read Becker v. Tidewater Inc., No. 08-30183
Appellate Information
Filed October 26, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Benavides
In an interlocutory appeal from the district court's partial refusal to compel arbitration of a personal injury action, the order is affirmed where: 1) it was not contradictory for plaintiff to receive workers' compensation under a standard that allows recovery solely because her employment created the "zone of special danger" which led to her injuries, yet claim, in the context of arbitration, that the allegations the district court deemed non-arbitrable did not have a "significant relationship" to her employment contract; 2) simply living in employer-provided housing does not mean an injury occurring in that housing necessarily arises "out of and in the course of employment"; and 3) there was evidence that defendant did not consider the barracks in which the injury occurred to be a "workplace".
Read Jones v. Halliburton Co., No. 08-20380
Appellate Information
Filed September 15, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Barksdale
In an action seeking insurance coverage relating to a personal injury lawsuit against plaintiff, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where the issue under the policy of whether a third-party manufacturer of gaming equipment was "solely negligent" could not be resolved until the underlying lawsuit was complete.
Read Barden Mississippi Gaming LLC v. Great Northern Ins. Co., No. 08-60521
Appellate Information
Filed July 17, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Garza
In an action claiming that Plaintiff accounting firms lost business to Defendant when Defendant's partner practiced without a Texas accounting license, the dismissal of the action is affirmed, where the alleged injury to Plaintiff was too speculative.
Read Little v. KPMG LLP, No. 08-50100
Appellate Information
Filed July 10, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Jolly
In a tort action for contamination of Plaintiffs' land through oil and gas exploration, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed, where the action was barred by prescription because Plaintiffs had failed to take action regarding the contamination for many years, although they knew it was occurring.
Read Kling Realty Co. v. Chevron USA Inc., No. 08-30043
Appellate Information
Filed July 10, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Southwick
In a False Claims Act (FCA) action alleging that Defendant made false statements to secure research grants from the federal government, judgment for Plaintiffs is affirmed where the FCA requires proof only that the defendant's false statements "could have" influenced the government's payment decision or had the "potential" to influence the government's decision.
Read US v. Lithium Power Techs. Inc., No. 08-20194
Appellate Information
Filed July 9, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Stewart
In a negligence action against a hospital for allegedly improper treatment of a stroke, summary judgment for Defendants is affirmed where Plaintiffs failed to present reliable evidence that it was more likely than not that the patient would have been among those who materially benefit from the administration of a certain drug rather than those who receive the therapy and do not benefit.
Read Young v. Memorial Hermann Hosp. Sys., No. 06-20709
Appellate Information
Filed June 29, 2009
Judges
Per Curiam
In an ERISA action to recover accidental death insurance relating to an airplane crash, summary judgment for Defendant-Insurer is affirmed, where the plan administrator did not abuse its discretion in finding that the crash was caused by the pilot's intoxication.
Read Dutka v. AIG Life Ins. Co., No. 08-20515
Appellate Information
Filed June 25, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Higginbotham
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