Frances H. Stacy
How Judge Stacy decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Enforces reasonable employee non-compete covenants under Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 15.50: a one-year restriction bounded to the employer's actual service territory and to work similar to the employee's prior role is reasonable and enforceable, and the employee's brief stint in the prohibited role still constitutes a breach.
“because the restrictions at issue in the 2016 and 2017 Protective Covenant Agreements are not overbroad, and are limited in geographic area, duration, and scope of work, the non-competition provisions at issue are reasonable, and are enforceable under Texas law.”
Procedural preferences
Will not grant summary judgment on an element the movant fails to support with evidence even after finding liability: in Sysco she found breach established but denied SJ on damages where the movant offered no damages evidence and left the forfeiture-as-liquidated-damages question unbriefed.
“Sysco has pointed to no summary judgment evidence of any damages associated with Schmidt's breach ... Sysco is not entitled to summary judgment on the damages aspect of its breach of contract claim.”
Cautions
Applies limitations and threshold defenses strictly: in foreclosure suits she dismisses statutory claims that Texas does not recognize as private causes of action and bars breach claims by a borrower in default; in habeas she enforces the one-year 2255 clock absent diligence and a tolling basis.
“Boulos filed this proceeding over a year too late. He has offered no explanation about this untimely filing. ... the Government's Motion to Dismiss as Time-Barred should be granted.”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Summary judgment N = 3 |
Granted: 1Granted in part: 1Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motions to dismiss N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Habeas petition N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS that Amegy's Motion for Summary Judgment (Document No. 21) be GRANTED, and that Plaintiffs' claims all be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Document No. 24) be GRANTED in PART ... and that the amount recoverable by Plaintiff as a result of Defendant's breach of contract claim be left for further proceedings, including, if needed, a trial.”
“that Defendant's cross Motion for Summary Judgment (Document No. 29) be DENIED”
“the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS that the Government's Motion to Dismiss as Time Barred (Document No. 255) be GRANTED”
“that Lion Boulos' 2255 Motion to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence (Document No. 251) be DENIED, and that this 2255 proceeding be DISMISSED with prejudice as time-barred.”