⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Fifth Circuit hears an overtime-pay dispute brought by eleven former insurance agency managers. They worked for Texas Farm Bureau and related insurers, were paid commissions and bonuses, and were treated as independent contractors rather than employees. The managers say they regularly worked more than forty hours a week. A federal trial court ruled that they were employees covered by the overtime rules, but a jury found that none had proved working overtime. The trial judge then refused to overturn the verdict or order a new trial. The managers now seek a new trial, saying improperly admitted witnesses and evidence about their high incomes undermined their case. Farm Bureau will defend the verdict and, alternatively, dispute whether the managers were entitled to overtime in the first place. Avi Moshenberg will represent Christopher Ferguson and the other managers. He will argue that the trial was unfair and that the absence of time records should not defeat their claims.

Ferguson v. Texas Farm Bureau (No. 25-50660) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued October 6, 2026.