The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has spared, at least for now, Southwest Airlines from having to send a trio of its attorneys to “religious liberty” training, ruling that a judge who ordered the training as part of civil-contempt proceedings last summer likely far exceeded his authority.

In an eight-page ruling Friday, the New Orleans-based court granted Southwest’s motion for a stay, pending its appeal of Texas federal Judge Brantley Starr’s August 2023 civil contempt order.