Henry Berrocal filed an interlocutory appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, seeking to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). Berrocal had previously moved for a preliminary injunction to stop Wells Fargo Bank from selling or transferring rights to a specific property. The district court denied this motion without holding an evidentiary hearing, relying instead on judicial notice of a prior foreclosure sale that occurred in April 2025 and a publicly recorded Substitute Trustee's Deed. Additionally, the district court denied Berrocal's request for sanctions and recusal of the judge. Berrocal challenged these rulings, arguing the district court erred by not holding a hearing and that the appeal was non-frivolous.
The Fifth Circuit addressed three distinct issues. First, regarding sanctions and recusal, the court held that denials of these motions are not appealable interlocutory orders under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1). Citing Valero Refining, Inc. v. M/T Lauberhorn and Nobby Lobby, Inc. v. City of Dallas, the court dismissed these portions of the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Second, the court examined the denial of the preliminary injunction. Berrocal argued the district court erred by not holding an evidentiary hearing. The court rejected this, ruling that the district court properly exercised its authority under Federal Rule of Evidence 201(d) to take judicial notice of adjudicative facts. Specifically, the court noted the district court correctly relied on records from a related case showing the property was sold in a foreclosure sale in April 2025 and on the recorded Substitute Trustee's Deed. Citing Kinnett Dairies, Inc. v. Farrow and Funk v. Stryker Corp., the court affirmed that public records and prior adjudications can be noticed without a hearing. Finally, the court determined that because the uncontroverted evidence showed the property had been sold three months prior to the motion, Berrocal could not have been granted the relief he sought. Consequently, the court found Berrocal failed to demonstrate a nonfrivolous issue for appeal, dismissing the appeal as frivolous under 5th Cir. R. 42.2 and denying the IFP motion as moot.
The appeal is dismissed in its entirety. The district court's denial of the preliminary injunction, sanctions, and recusal motion stands. The decision reinforces that parties cannot appeal interlocutory orders denying sanctions or recusal, and it clarifies that district courts may rely on judicial notice of public records and prior adjudications to deny preliminary injunctions when the requested relief is factually impossible to grant.
Podcast (federal-narrative-summaries): Play in new window | Download