Appellate Group

Whether you are seeking to reverse an adverse judgment, or to defend a favorable judgment, Fishman Haygood’s appellate lawyers understand that the most important ruling in your case will be the last one.

We handle appeals for both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation across many subject matters, in review of administrative proceedings, and, as part of our pro bono commitment, in immigration and post-conviction proceedings. The appellate practice at Fishman Haygood is not limited to representation before the appellate courts, but also includes advising clients and their trial counsel on litigation issues to ensure proper preservation of appellate issues at the trial court.

Our lawyers have an active appellate practice in both the state and federal appeals courts, and are constantly monitoring ongoing developments in appellate jurisprudence, including through the Take the Fifth blog, through which Tad Bartlett coordinates the near-daily publication of summaries and statistics from all decisions from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Fishman Haygood’s attorneys include many former judicial clerks from the Federal Courts of Appeals, with attorneys who have clerked for Hon. John Minor Wisdom, Hon. Jerry Smith, Hon. John Duhé, Hon. James Dennis, and Hon. Edith Clement; as well as attorneys who were judicial clerks on a number of other courts, bringing that experience to the appellate team. In addition to extensive practice at the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the attorneys at Fishman Haygood have practiced at the U.S. Supreme Court and at the U.S. Second, Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals; as well as at the Louisiana Supreme Court and all Louisiana intermediate appellate courts.

Because every appellate need is unique, Fishman Haygood’s attorneys welcome the opportunity to engage in this representation in a variety of fee contexts, including hourly, various flat-fee arrangements, and contingency-fee arrangements. Some of our recent representative appeals on the federal and/or state court levels include the following:

FEDERAL COURT:

• Landon Young, et al v. Chemguard, Inc. et al (9th Cir. 2022): Prevailed in the Ninth Circuit against an appeal by Chemguard, Inc.; Tyco Fire Products, L.P.; Perimeter Solutions, LP; L.N. Curtis and Sons, Inc.; and Matlick Enterprises, Inc. (collectively, “Chemguard”) from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona regarding the right of a products liability plaintiff to proceed with his lawsuit in state court.
• K&F Restaurant Holdings, Ltd. et al. v. Rouse et al., 798 Fed. Appx. 808 (5th Cir. 2020): Successfully defended appeal of a Middle District of Louisiana opinion dismissing with prejudice K&F’s claim for violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act.
• In re Crocker, 941 F.3d 206 (5th Cir. 2019): Successfully defended an appeal by Navient Solutions, LLC and Navient Credit Finance Corp. from a Southern District of Texas ruling that held that Plaintiff Crocker’s student loans were dischargeable in bankruptcy, in the first Circuit Court opinion to rule on the issue.
• Broyles v. Commonwealth Advisors, Inc., 936 F.3d 324 (5th Cir. 2019): Successfully overturned the Middle District of Louisiana’s grant of a motion to dismiss, establishing that an investor in mutual funds has standing to sue the financial advisor who managed the funds.
• Matter of Henry, 944 F.3d 587 (5th Cir. 2019): Successfully defended an appeal by Wells Fargo Bank from a Southern District of Texas ruling that bankruptcy courts have discretion to refuse to enforce arbitration clauses regarding claims of violations of the discharge injunction.
• Ticknor v. Rouse’s Enterprises, L.L.C., 592 Fed. Appx. 276 (5th Cir. 2014): Successfully defended a 23(f) appeal of the Eastern District of Louisiana decision, obtaining affirmance of a ruling denying class certification in a FACTA class action.
• UBS Financial Services, Inc. et al v. Carilion Clinic, 706 F.3d 319 (4th Cir. 2013): Prevailed in the Fourth Circuit against an appeal by investment banks UBS Financial Services, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. from the Eastern District of Virginia regarding the arbitrability of claims that Carilion Clinic brought against the banks in FINRA arbitration.
• UBS Financial Services Inc. et al v West Virginia University Hospitals Inc., 660 F.3d 643 (2nd Cir. 2011): Successfully defended an appeal by UBS Financial Services, Inc. from the Southern District of New York to enjoin West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. from pursuing claims against the financial services company in FINRA arbitration.

STATE COURT:

• Morgan City Land and Fur Co. v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., L.L.C., 325 So. 3d 1051 (La. 10/12/2021), affirming in part Morgan City Land and Fur Co. v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., L.L.C., 319 So. 3d 437 (La. App. 4 Cir. 4/21/2021): Successfully reversing district court summary judgment that pipeline companies did not have a duty to maintain canal widths.
• Vintage Assets, Inc. v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., L.L.C., 20-0065, 20-0066 (La. App. 4 Cir. 3/19/2020) (unpub.): On competing writ applications, successfully had trial court summary judgment affirmed in part that held that pipeline companies had a duty to maintain canal widths where servitude agreements required pipeline canals not exceed a certain width, and successfully had trial court summary judgment ruling reversed in part on holding that this duty to maintain canal widths also applied to servitude agreements that did not state a specific canal width.
• Thibeaux v. GoAuto Insurance Company, 269 So.3d 843 (La. App. 3 Cir. 3/2/19): Successfully overturned the 15th Judicial District Court’s grant of summary judgment on the issue of whether a named excluded operator provision was enforceable where the vehicle was driven without the insured’s permission.
• Louisiana Oil and Gas Ass’n, Inc. v. Caldwell, 2016 WL 687144 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2/18/2016): Successfully defended appeal of judgment granting regional flood protection authority’s requested declaratory relief regarding its authority to retain outside counsel to represent it in claims arising from coastal land-loss issues.