Background
Bret Bodin, Brad Newell, Darian Morgan, Michael Rosas, Mid-City Mike Rentals, L.L.C., and Airbnb, Incorporated appealed from a case against the City of New Orleans in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
After the Fifth Circuit’s earlier disposition of the appeal, the plaintiffs sought rehearing en banc. Under the court’s internal procedures, the panel treated that request as also seeking panel rehearing.
The Court’s Holding
The panel denied rehearing. The court also denied rehearing en banc after one of its members requested a poll and a majority of the active judges did not vote to rehear the case.
The vote was 8–9. Chief Judge Elrod and Judges Jones, Smith, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, and Oldham favored rehearing; Judges Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Wilson, Douglas, and Ramirez opposed it. The order did not revisit or explain the merits of the panel’s earlier decision.
Key Takeaways
- The Fifth Circuit denied both panel rehearing and rehearing en banc.
- The en banc request failed by a one-vote margin, 8–9.
- The order addressed rehearing only and announced no new merits holding.
Why It Matters
The denial leaves the Fifth Circuit’s prior disposition in place. The closely divided poll shows substantial disagreement within the court over whether the full court should reconsider the case, but the order itself provides no substantive reasoning and does not alter the earlier ruling.