Latest 3 Cases: Whitlock v. Lowe (Bankruptcy), United States v. Darrell (Criminal Law), W & T Offshore, Inc. v. Bernhardt (Energy, Oil & Gas Law)

Taking Stock: A Review of Justice Stevens’s Last Book and an Appreciation of His Extraordinary Service on the Supreme Court

RODGER CITRON

Rodger D. Citron, the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship and a Professor of Law at Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, comments on the late Justice John Paul Stevens’s last book, The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years. Citron laments that, in his view, the memoir is too long yet does not say enough, but he lauds the justice for his outstanding service on the Supreme Court.

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Whitlock v. Lowe

Docket: 18-50335

Opinion Date: December 23, 2019

Judge: Oldham

Areas of Law: Bankruptcy

In this adversary proceeding, the Fifth Circuit held that appellant received fraudulently transferred funds and had an obligation to return the transferred funds to debtor, the transferor, for the benefit of his creditors. The court explained that appellant could satisfy that obligation by transferring the funds back to him prior to his bankruptcy filing, and nothing required her to hold onto the funds until after he filed for bankruptcy. Furthermore, if appellant had satisfied her obligation, there was nothing left for the trustee to recover. Accordingly, the court vacated the district court's judgment holding otherwise and remanded for further proceedings.

United States v. Darrell

Docket: 19-60087

Opinion Date: December 23, 2019

Judge: Higginbotham

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Viewing this case under the totality of the circumstances, the court held that reasonable suspicion supported the brief investigatory stop of defendant. In this case, defendant was fleeing from a high-crime area, officers reasonably feared that defendant might draw a weapon or warn the target of their arrest warrant if he were permitted to withdraw from view, and the fact that defendant was not seen committing any criminal activity did not detract from the reasonableness of the officers' suspicion.

W & T Offshore, Inc. v. Bernhardt

Docket: 18-30876

Opinion Date: December 23, 2019

Judge: Jennifer Walker Elrod

Areas of Law: Energy, Oil & Gas Law

At issue in this oil and gas royalty case were orders to pay issued by the Department of the Interior to W&T in order to resolve volumetric gas delivery imbalances. The district court granted partial summary judgment on each of the parties' motions. The Fifth Circuit held that the Department of the Interior permissibly required resolution of delivery imbalances via cash payment, but that it improperly promulgated a substantive rule without subjecting it to notice and comment. The court also held that the Department of the Interior should have credited all W&T’s deliveries under the doctrine of equitable recoupment. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's partial grant of summary judgment in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.