Latest 4 Cases: United States v. Eustice (Criminal Law), IberiaBank Corp. v. Illinois Union Insurance Co. (Insurance Law), Singleton v. Elephant ...

Can the Republicans Cancel the Elections, Even Though Trump Can’t?

NEIL H. BUCHANAN

UF Levin College of Law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan considers whether (and how) President Trump or his supporters in Congress could cancel the 2020 elections, citing public safety as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Buchanan points out that because states control the procedures for the election, Trump would need Republican governors of certain blue states to shut down their state’s elections—something Buchanan stops short of saying is likely or unlikely.

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The Lessons the Coronavirus Crisis Can Teach Us About the Religious Liberty that Serves the Public Good (aka the Framers’ Religious Liberty)

MARCI A. HAMILTON

Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the country’s leading church-state scholars, describes some of the lessons the novel coronavirus pandemic can teach us about religious liberty. Hamilton points out that COVID-19 is nondenominational and nonpartisan, yet we are already seeing some groups claim to be exempt from the public-health prohibitions on large gatherings, on the basis of their religious beliefs.

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United States v. Eustice

Docket: 18-11519

Opinion Date: March 18, 2020

Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendant's 84 month sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty, without a plea agreement, to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute an unspecified amount of methamphetamine. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in calculating the quantity of meth attributable to defendant; the district court did not err by applying a two-level sentencing enhancement for maintaining a drug premises under USSG 2D1.1(b)(12); and the district court properly assigned two criminal history points.

IberiaBank Corp. v. Illinois Union Insurance Co.

Docket: 19-30190

Opinion Date: March 18, 2020

Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson

Areas of Law: Insurance Law

IberiaBank filed suit against the insurers for breach of contract after the insurers denied IberiaBank's claim for coverage in the underlying DOJ Settlement. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of the insurers' motion to dismiss, holding that the government is not IberiaBank's "client" and did not become IberiaBank's "client" as a result of the Direct Endorsement Program. Therefore, IberiaBank's DOJ Settlement claim was not covered by the policies and the district court properly granted the insurers' motions to dismiss. The court need not consider Travelers' alternative argument.

Singleton v. Elephant Insurance Co.

Docket: 19-50470

Opinion Date: March 18, 2020

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Insurance Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a complaint brought by two policyholders against their insurance company, claiming that it should pay for the taxes and fees associated with replacing their totaled vehicles, thus making them whole. The court interpreted the relevant policy language under Texas law and held that each of the policyholders was entitled to the fair market value of his pre-loss vehicle. The court also held that the fair market value does not include the taxes and fees payable to purchase a replacement vehicle.

Denton County Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. NLRB

Docket: 18-60474

Opinion Date: March 18, 2020

Judge: Jennifer Walker Elrod

Areas of Law: Labor & Employment Law

CoServe challenged the Board's ruling that it engaged in unfair labor practices and the Board's issuance of an affirmative bargaining agreement and public-notice-reading order. The Fifth Circuit denied CoServ's petition for review in part and granted in part the Board's cross-application for enforcement. The court held that CoServ abandoned its challenge against the Board's findings of unfair labor practices; under the governing four-factor test, substantial evidence supports the Board's finding that CoServ's unfair labor practices tainted the second decertification petition; as to the affirmative bargaining order, the Board failed to justify the bargaining order under Fifth Circuit case law; under case law, a bargaining order was not justified; and the Board's public-notice-reading order was not justified under the facts of this case.