Lynn Nettleton Hughes — judge journal: record, career & affiliations — IJR

Lynn Nettleton Hughes — judge journal: record, career & affiliations — IJR

Decision record

Full record (20) →

WUXI TAIHU TRACTOR COMPANY, LTD. v. York Group, Inc.
District Court, S.D. Texas · 2011-02-07 · cited 3×
This case involves an enforcement action by York Group, an American casket company, against Wuxi Taihu Tractor Company, a Chinese casket company, following a 2007 Texas state court judgment that enjoined Tractor from copying York's casket designs and selling them in the U.S. Tractor removed the enforcement suit to federal court and later petitioned the state court for a bill of review to challenge the judgment, which York also removed; Tractor sought remand while York moved to dismiss the petition. The court denied remand and granted summary judgment to York, dismissing the bill of review. It reasoned that removal converted the state judgment into one of the federal court, which has authority to review it; res judicata barred relitigation because Tractor had appeared in the original suit but failed to raise defenses; and Tractor could not show the judgment resulted from court error or York's fraud rather than its own deliberate inaction in not retaining counsel or defending the case.
procedurebusiness & regulatoryfederal power
Office of Thrift Supervision v. Felt
District Court, S.D. Texas · 2010-10-24
The case involved the Office of Thrift Supervision's motion to renew a nearly 20-year-old judgment lien of about $4.2 million against David J. Felt, entered in 1990 and held in trust for private investors who had purchased stock from him. The court decided that the lien could not be renewed under the Federal Debt Collection Procedure Act because the judgment was not a qualifying "debt" as defined by the statute. The core reasoning was that the obligation was owed to the individual investors rather than the United States and arose from a contract between Felt and those investors to which the government was not a party, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 3002(3)(B).
procedurebusiness & regulatory
Kujanek v. Houston Poly Bag I, Ltd.
District Court, S.D. Texas · 2010-08-31 · cited 2×
This ERISA case involved former employee Kenneth Kujanek's claims against his ex-employer Houston Poly Bag and plan administrator Pension Benefit Administrators for wrongful denial of a 2007 profit-sharing contribution, breach of fiduciary duty by delaying access to his vested benefits for 18 months after resignation (resulting in over $180,000 in losses), and failure to timely provide plan documents upon written request. The court granted summary judgment to Kujanek on the fiduciary breach and document disclosure claims against Houston Poly Bag, awarding monetary relief, statutory penalties, costs, and attorney fees, while dismissing the contribution claim with prejudice. The core reasoning was that the plan entitled Kujanek to a rollover distribution as soon as administratively feasible after the plan year-end, but the employer's one-year waiting rule and delays violated ERISA fiduciary duties; documents were not furnished promptly despite requests, triggering penalties under ERISA section 502(c).
labor & employmentbusiness & regulatory
IHG HEALTHCARE v. Sebelius
District Court, S.D. Texas · 2010-06-13 · cited 6×
Canal Indemnity Co. v. Williams Logging & Tree Services, Inc.
District Court, S.D. Texas · 2010-04-21 · cited 2×
Hartfield v. Quarterman
District Court, S.D. Texas · 2009-02-25 · cited 5×