Bien v. Union Pacific Railroad Company — 5th Cir. (Sep 2, 2026)
The Fifth Circuit considers whether James Bien's disability-discrimination suit against Union Pacific was dismissed too soon as untimely. Bien was removed from conductor work after failing color-vision testing in 2013, then passed another test in 2015. He says a related class action paused his filing deadline because he remained in its revised class; Union Pacific disagrees and also says his EEOC charge did not cover the 2015 events. Donald E. Uloth will represent Bien. He will ask the court to revive the suit.
Bien v. Union Pacific Railroad Company (No. 26-40061) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued September 2, 2026.
Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/OralArgRecordings/26/26-40061_9-2-2026.mp3
Argument record — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/oral-argument-recordings/results?docket=26-40061
Argument calendar — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/court-calendars/sitting?d=2026-09-02
Opinion search — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/results?docket=26-40061&group=flat
District-court order — U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-txed-4_25-cv-00074/pdf/USCOURTS-txed-4_25-cv-00074-0.pdf
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure — U.S. Courts:https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf
American Pipe v. Utah — U.S. Reports, Library of Congress:https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep414/usrep414538/usrep414538.pdf
Zaragoza v. Union Pacific — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/23/23-50194-CV0.pdf
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:39Rule 12(b)(6) and class-action tolling