2019 First Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

United States v. Heindenstrom  
Date: December 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2187

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court in connection with Defendant's plea of guilty to a single count charging him with drug distribution in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), holding that…

Flaherty v. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.  
Date: December 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1759

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's order dismissing Plaintiff's disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims on summary judgment, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion…

United States v. Gonzalez-Arias  
Date: December 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1085

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of drug trafficking charges, including conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and Defendant's sentence of 136 months in prison, holding that no…

Aponte-Bermudez v. Colon  
Date: December 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1266

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case alleging negligent design, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of Defendants on the ground that Plaintiff failed to establish the applicable standard of care, a breach of…

United States v. Brown  
Date: December 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1620

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions and dismissed without prejudice Defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on her allegations of…

United States v. Coffin  
Date: December 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1795

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of 240 months' imprisonment imposed in connection with his guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of accessing child pornography with…

United States v. Jimenez  
Date: December 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1890

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence imposed in connection with his guilty plea and conviction on charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally…

Jalbert v. U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission  
Date: December 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2043

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a…

United States v. Merritt  
Date: December 19, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2208, 18-2257

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying the motions to suppress filed by Defendants Cuwan Merritt and Michael Artis, the district court's ruling admitting co-conspirator statements under…

United States v. Takesian  
Date: December 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1140

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of four counts of filing false tax returns and one count of attempting to obstruct the internal-revenue laws and the sentence imposed in connection with the conviction,…

Vazquez-Garced v. Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico  
Date: December 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2154

Justia Opinion Summary: In this interlocutory appeal involving the judgment of the district court sustaining Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico's newly enacted bar on "reprogramming" the First Circuit affirmed the judgment…

United States v. Cruz-Mercedes  
Date: December 18, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1082

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress his booking fingerprints as the fruit of what he argued was an unlawful arrest, holding that because the fingerprints…

Penate v. Hanchett
Date: December 18, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1187
Diaz-Alarcon v. Flandez-Marcel  
Date: December 16, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1150

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Father's petition brought under The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction…

United States v. Rodriguez  
Date: December 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1647

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed in connection with Defendant's conviction of conspiring to possess and distribute heroin and fentanyl, holding that the district court did not err in adopting the…

Penate v. Hanchett  
Date: December 13, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1187

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the magistrate judge concluding that Defendant, a state drug lab supervisor, was not entitled to qualified immunity from a claim brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and vacated the…

US v. Tanco-Baez, US v. Cepeda-Martinez, US v. Rosario-Serrano
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Numbers: 16-1322, 16-1563, 16-1323
Capron v. Massachusetts Attorney General
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2140
US v. Kilmartin
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1513
O'Brien v. Town of Bellingham
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1704
US v. Moran
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1876
Jordan v. Town of Waldoboro
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2062
United States v. Valentini  
Date: December 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1503

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion and one count of aiding and abetting the same, holding that there was ample and…

United States v. Mantha  
Date: December 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1951

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the district court's sentence imposed in connection with Defendant's conviction for sexual exploitation of a child, access with intent to view child pornography, and possession of child…

US v. Santana-Aviles
Date: December 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2104
Lin v. Barr  
Date: December 10, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1216

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied the petition filed by Petitioner, a native and citizen of China, seeking review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying as untimely Petitioner's motion to reopen her earlier…

US v. Kanodia
Date: December 6, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1137, 17-1590
United States v. Kilmartin  
Date: December 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1513

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case convicting Defendant of multiple offenses stemming from his criminal scheme of purportedly sending clients cyanide so they could commit suicide the First Circuit reversed Defendant's conviction as to count…

American Trucking Ass'n v. Alviti  
Date: December 5, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1316

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing for want of jurisdiction under the Tax Injunction Act (TIA) this lawsuit asking that the district court enjoin the collection of certain Rhode…

US v. Kanodia
Date: December 2, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1137, 17-1590
Capron v. Massachusetts Attorney General  
Date: December 2, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2140

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting the Attorney General's motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' complaint alleging that the "Au Pair Program" at issue in this case impliedly preempts…

Kupperstein v. Schall, Kupperstein v. Executive Office of Health
Date: December 2, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2248, 18-2249
United States v. Moran  
Date: November 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1876

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion for reconsideration of the denial of his motion to suppress certain evidence, holding that the district court erred in determining…

Jordan v. Town of Waldoboro  
Date: November 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2062

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed in part the magistrate judge's grant of summary judgment for Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's civil rights action, holding that the magistrate judge erred by granted summary judgment on…

Suzuki v. Abiomed, Inc.  
Date: November 27, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1233

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant and dismissing Plaintiff's claims that Defendant terminated his employment to deprive him of a significant…

Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund  
Date: November 22, 2019
Docket Numbers: 16-1376, 19-1002

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning the potential liability of two private equity funds for pension fund withdrawal owed by a company owned by the two funds when the company went bankrupt, the First Circuit reversed the judgment of…

Doe v. Brown University  
Date: November 22, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1954

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Brown University on Jane Doe's claims alleging several contract and tort claims arising from the university's sanctions…

United States v. Kanodia  
Date: November 22, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1137, 17-1590

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions for insider-trading securities fraud and related conspiracy offenses, holding that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the convictions and that the district court…

O'Brien v. Town of Bellingham  
Date: November 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1704

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's civil rights suit alleging excessive force claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and…

Arabian Support & Services Co. v. Textron Systems Corp.  
Date: November 20, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1377

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Textron Systems Corporation (Textron) and dismissing Arabian Support & Services Company's (ASASCO) complaint alleging…

Doe v. Trustees of Boston College  
Date: November 20, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1871

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court granting a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Trustees of Boston College (BC) from imposing a suspension of one year on John Doe, a student, who was found…

River Farm Realty Trust v. Farm Family Casualty Insurance Co.  
Date: November 19, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1188

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for Insurer and dismissing Insured's complaint alleging breach of contract and violations of Massachusetts General Laws chapters 93A…

De Prins v. Michaeles  
Date: November 15, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2191, 19-1095

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) an unresolved question under both state common law and state statutes concerning whether a judgment creditor of the settlor's estate may reach…

Kupperstein v. Schall  
Date: November 15, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2248, 18-2249

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing these appeals brought by Appellant seeking to keep money owed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts based on the fugitive disentitlement doctrine,…

DeGiacomo v. Sacred Heart University, Inc.
Date: November 13, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1334
DeGiacomo v. Sacred Heart University, Inc.  
Date: November 12, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1334

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the bankruptcy court granting summary judgment in favor of Sacred Heart University and allowing the university to retain tuition payments made by Steven and Lori Palladino for…

United States v. Cascella  
Date: November 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1353

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction on seven counts related to possession and distribution of methamphetamine and two counts related to possession of a firearm, holding that none of Defendant's claims on…

Darr v. Plaintiffs' Interim Executive
Date: November 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2001
United States v. Miranda-Diaz  
Date: November 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1761

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed in connection with Defendant's conviction of one count of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, holding that the sentence was both procedurally and substantively…

United States v. Roman  
Date: November 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1914

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained from his residence, holding that the fruits of the search of the residence were properly suppressed.…

United States v. Tanco-Baez  
Date: November 4, 2019
Docket Numbers: 16-1322, 16-1563, 16-1323

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the convictions of Juan Taco-Baez (Tanco), Jose Cepeda-martinez (Cepeda), and Peter Rosario-Serrano (Rosario) with the exception of of Cepeda's conviction on one of the counts, affirmed Baez's…

United States v. Rabb  
Date: October 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1678

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence he received after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute furanyl fentanyl and cocaine base and for the distribution of furanyl fentanyl, holding that the…

Enamorado-Rodriguez v. Barr  
Date: October 30, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1084

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying asylum and withholding of removal as to Petitioner's family membership persecution claim for relief, denied the relief Petitioner…

Darr v. Plaintiffs' Interim Executive Committee  
Date: October 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2001

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court adopting bankruptcy court orders arising out of the bankruptcies of TelexFree, LLC, TelexFree, Inc., and Telexfree Financial, Inc. (collectively, TelexFree),…

In Re: Burbank, II v.
Date: October 28, 2019
Docket Number: 19-8010
US v. Wright
Date: October 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1039
Merlini v. Canada
Date: October 23, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2211
Dorisca v. Marchilli  
Date: October 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1862

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Petitioner's petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus alleging a violation of his right to confrontation and a violation of due process, holding that…

United States v. Carpenter  
Date: October 18, 2019
Docket Number: 14-1641

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the forfeiture order entered by the district court in the amount of over $14 million, the sum Defendant obtained from some of his clients through a fraudulent scheme for which he was convicted…

US v. Chisholm
Date: October 18, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1952
United States v. Velazquez-Aponte  
Date: October 11, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1965, 17-1966

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions of eleven offenses arising from a three-day carjacking spree, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the proceedings below. Defendant was convicted of four…

Perez-Kudzma v. United States  
Date: October 9, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2128

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the decision of the district court dismissing for failure to state a claim this suit challenging the federal government's decision not to waive indefinitely the cabotage provision of the Jones…

United States v. Chisholm  
Date: October 8, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1952

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting and sentencing Defendant of a variety of offenses, including conspiring to possess heroin with intent to distribute and possessing and distributing…

Summers v. City of Fitchburg  
Date: October 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1725

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for Defendant's and dismissing Plaintiffs' claim that the City of Fitchburg's refusal to exempt four sober houses Plaintiffs operated for…

Reisman v. Associated Faculties of the University of Maine  
Date: October 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2201

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint seeking to invalidate a Maine statute that governs collective bargaining between the state's…

United States v. Burghardt  
Date: October 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1767

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction for one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence of fifteen years' imprisonment, holding that the district court did not commit plain error…

United States v. Vazquez-Soto  
Date: October 1, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1879

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of two counts of making false statements and one count of theft of government property, holding that sufficient evidence supported…

Samayoa Cabrera v. Barr  
Date: October 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1923

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied in part and dismissed in part Petitioner's petition for review from a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) rejecting his request for deferral of removal pursuant to the Convention…

Zeigler v. Rater  
Date: October 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2150

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of Defendant in this defamation case, holding that no reasonable jury could find that Defendant, a psychiatrist, abused the conditional…

Gracia-Gracia v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: September 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1463

Justia Opinion Summary: In this PROMESA action the First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the decision of the the lower court denying Plaintiffs' petition for relief from an automatic stay of collection actions against the…

United States v. Cortes-Maldonado  
Date: September 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1768

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the Defendant's sentence imposed in connection with his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his…

Autonomous Municipality of Ponce v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: September 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2194

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the Title III court refusing to lift the automatic stay in PROMESA to allow the Municipality of Ponce to secure specific performance by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of public…

United States v. Cezaire  
Date: September 23, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1721

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant for disclosure of social security numbers and aggravated identity theft, holding that the district court did not commit clear or obvious…

United States v. Leoner-Aguirre  
Date: September 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1333

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of RICO conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. 1962(d) and sentencing him to 228 months' imprisonment and three years of supervised release, holding that the district court correctly…

United States v. Garske  
Date: September 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1873

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court dismissing the indictment against Defendants after a first trial ended in a mistrial, holding that the district court erred in concluding that Defendants were…

United States v. Rodriguez-Torres  
Date: September 18, 2019
Docket Numbers: 16-1507, 17-1660, 16-1984, 16-1596, 16-1527

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendants' convictions for conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), conspiracy to possess and distribute narcotics, use and carry of a firearm in…

In Re: Mehanna v.
Date: September 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1211
Breiding v. Eversource Energy  
Date: September 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1995

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment dismissing Plaintiffs' claims that Defendants' conduct violated section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 2, and various state antitrust and consumer protection…

Ferreira v. Barr  
Date: September 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2211

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for judicial review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing Petitioner's appeal of the immigration court's order of removal and its denial of his…

Stauffer v. Internal Revenue Service  
Date: September 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2105

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the complaint filed by Hoff Stauffer on behalf of the estate of Carlton Stauffer, his father, against the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) alleging…

Loja-Paguay v. Barr  
Date: September 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2172

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision affirming an immigration judge's (IJ) denial of his claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection…

Idy v. Barr
Date: September 13, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1062
Lavery v. Restoration Hardware
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1885, 18-2027
Goncalves Pontes v. Barr  
Date: September 6, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1053

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for judicial review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ordering Petitioner removed to his homeland of Cape Verde and denying his motions to terminate…

Hamann v. Carpenter  
Date: September 5, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1075

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed in part and affirmed in part the decision of the district court dismissing with prejudice Plaintiff's claims of alleging that he was denied the fruits of a profitable exclusive-seller agreement…

United States v. Davila-Reyes  
Date: September 3, 2019
Docket Numbers: 16-2089, 16-2143

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Appellants' convictions for drug trafficking under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), 46 U.S.C. 70501-70508, holding that the protective principle of international law permitted the…

Lavery v. Restoration Hardware Long Term Disability Benefits Plan  
Date: September 3, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1885, 18-2027

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that the denial of Plaintiff's disability benefits claim violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.,…

Perez-Tino v. Barr  
Date: August 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1860

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying Petitioner's motion to reopen as untimely, holding that the grounds that the BIA gave for rejecting Petitioner's arguments were not…

US v. Wright
Date: August 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1039
Mount v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security  
Date: August 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1762

Justia Opinion Summary: In this federal whistleblower case, the First Circuit granted Petitioner's petition for review of the determination of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) dismissing Petitioner's Individual Right of Action appeal…

United States v. Wright  
Date: August 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1039

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's conviction of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS but affirmed his remaining convictions, holding that the court erred in instructing the jury on the conspiracy to provide…

Miranda-Bojorquez v. Barr  
Date: August 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1202

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for judicial review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the immigration judge's (IJ) denial of Petitioner's application for refugee status,…

Doucette v. Georgetown Public Schools  
Date: August 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1160

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action brought by parents of a severely disabled student against the school district alleging federal and statement claims the First Circuit vacated the district court's entry of judgment for the school district…

Rodriguez-Cardi v. MMM Holdings, Inc.  
Date: August 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1415

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff's Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) claim regarding the termination of Plaintiff's…

Parent/Prof'l Advocacy League v. City of Springfield
Date: August 26, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1778, 18-1976, 18-1813, 18-1867
United States v. Moss  
Date: August 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1793

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress approximately twenty pounds of methamphetamine that a postal inspector delivered in two United States Postal Service…

Cowels v. Federal Bureau of Investigation  
Date: August 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1801

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Appellants' suit for declaratory and injunctive relief in federal court against the FBI seeking an order directing the FBI to upload a DNA profile to the national DNA database…

Nieves-Borges v. El Conquistador Partnership, L.P.  
Date: August 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1008

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the district court's dismissal of Appellant's sexual harassment claims based on a hostile work environment, holding that the district court erred in concluding that alleged incidents of…

Bearbones, Inc. v. Peerless Indemnity Insurance Co.  
Date: August 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1139

Justia Opinion Summary: In this insurance dispute, the First Circuit remanded the case for additional factfinding, holding that where the record was conflicted as to whether there was complete diversity of citizenship when the action was…

Parker v. Landry  
Date: August 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1998

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint against three Maine prison officials and denying Plaintiff's motion for leave to amend, holding that the district court did…

Dumont v. Reily Foods Co.
Date: August 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2055
US v. Guzman-Vazquez
Date: August 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1153
Conille v. AFSCME, Council 93  
Date: August 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1252

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court finding that Local 402 never requested to appeal its deactivation to the International Executive Board (IEB) and that it failed to prove that it was…

Breda v. Cellco Partnership  
Date: August 14, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2196, 18-1010

Justia Opinion Summary: In this lawsuit alleging that Verizon Wireless violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. 227, the First Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Verizon's motion to compel arbitration but…

US v. Laureano-Salgado, US v. Ramirez-Rivera
Date: August 13, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1052, 17-1053
US v. Rueda
Date: August 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1962
Ramirez-Perez v. Barr  
Date: August 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2114

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) order affirming the immigration judge's (IJ) denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the…

Parent/Professional Advocacy League v. City of Springfield  
Date: August 8, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1778, 18-1976, 18-1813, 18-1867

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying class certification in this suit alleging violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12131-12134, and the court's…

Dumont v. Reily Foods Co.  
Date: August 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2055

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing this putative class action alleging a violation of Massachusetts' consumer protection laws for failure to meet the heightened pleading standard of…

US v. Lanza-Vazquez, US v. Astacio-Espino, US v. Rivera-Carrasquillo
Date: August 7, 2019
Docket Numbers: 14-1582, 17-1729, 17-1317, 14-1715, 14-1631
Haidak v. University of Massachusetts-Amherst  
Date: August 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1248

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Plaintiff's complaint in part and otherwise vacated the judgment, holding that the University of Massachusetts at Amherst violated Plaintiff's federal…

United States v. Nygren  
Date: August 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1548

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of ninety-five-month incarcerate terms on each of sixty-three bank fraud counts and sixty-month incarcerate terms on the two remaining counts of which Defendant was…

United States v. Lanza-Vazquez  
Date: August 2, 2019
Docket Numbers: 14-1582, 14-1631, 14-1715, 17-1317, 17-1729

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendants' convictions of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act; aiding and abetting violent crimes in aid of racketeering, namely murder or attempted…

United States v. Laureano-Salgado  
Date: August 2, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1052, 17-1053

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendants' convictions of violating the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) statute, a statute banning the use or carry of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and other…

Dialysis Access Center, LLC v. RMS Lifeline, Inc.  
Date: August 1, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2014

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the arbitrator's decision in favor of RMS Lifeline, Inc. in this dispute between RMS and Dialysis Access Center (DAC) and the district court's refusal to vacate that decision, holding that the…

United States v. Gaudet  
Date: August 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1396

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual…

Steward Holy Family Hospital, Inc. v. Massachusetts Nurses Ass'n  
Date: August 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2263

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the decision of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of the Steward Holy Family Hospital and vacating an award entered by an arbitrator regarding a dispute between the Hospital…

Assured Guaranty Corporation v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1165, 18-1166
United States v. Abreu-Garcia  
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1595

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence in connection with Defendant's guilty plea to reentering the United States illegally as a removed alien, holding that his mid-range sentence of forty months' imprisonment…

United States v. Hernandez-Mieses  
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1661

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the district court's partial denial of Defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized from Defendant's home on the day of his arrest on drug and money laundering…

United States v. Rueda  
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1962

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant in connection to her plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access-device fraud, holding that the district court did not err…

Thompson v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.  
Date: July 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1559

Justia Opinion Summary: In this foreclosure case, a panel of the First Circuit withdrew its earlier opinion in this case, vacated the judgment below, and certified a question to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), reasoning that if…

Romano v. US
Date: July 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1780
Johnson v. Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts  
Date: July 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2098

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants, the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts and the Town's chief of police, and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint…

Pena v. Honeywell International, Inc.
Date: July 24, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1164
Nantume v. Barr  
Date: July 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1911

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit upheld the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) refusing to reopen Petitioner's removal proceedings, holding that the BIA properly determined that the conditions Petitioner faced in her…

Lazo v. Sodexo, Inc.  
Date: July 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2009

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of Defendant, a food services and facilities company, in three individual cases brought by employees of the company, holding that…

Pena v. Honeywell International, Inc.
Date: July 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1164
Gonzalez-Rivera v. Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc.  
Date: July 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1991

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's entry of judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiff's complaint alleging medical malpractice and negligence against a hospital and several other healthcare providers,…

Dahal v. Barr  
Date: July 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1790

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted in part and denied in part Petitioner's petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming an immigration judge's (IJ) denial of Petitioner's application for…

G. v. Fay School  
Date: July 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1602

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of the Fay School, Inc. and Fay's Head of School as to Appellants' complaint alleging unlawful retaliation for demands for an accommodation for a…

United States v. Montalvo-Febus  
Date: July 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1901

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of eighty-four months of imprisonment for attempted possession of child pornography, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively…

UBS Financial Services Inc. v. XL Specialty Insurance Co.
Date: July 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1148
Rodriguez-Villar v. Barr  
Date: July 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1861

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted Petitioner's petition for judicial review from the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the decision of the immigration judge (IJ) denying Petitioner's applications for…

United States v. Hassan-Saleh-Mohamad  
Date: July 9, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1883

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's within-guidelines sentence of eighty-seven months' imprisonment and fifteen years' supervised release for possession of child pornography, holding that the district court did not…

Twum v. Barr  
Date: July 9, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1992

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted Petitioner's petition asking the Court to review an order from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying her motion to reopen removal proceedings, holding that the Court lacked jurisdiction…

UBS Financial Services Inc. v. XL Specialty Insurance Co.  
Date: July 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1148

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Insurers in this action brought by Appellants claiming that Insurers' refusal to cover certain legal disputes…

Sterngold Dental, LLC v. HDI Global Insurance Co.  
Date: July 2, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2084

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's action alleging that Defendant, an insurance company, had breached its duty to defend and indemnify Plaintiff against a third-party's…

Cabas v. Barr  
Date: July 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1630

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying Petitioner's motion to reopen his removal proceedings, holding that Petitioner showed at least a reasonable chance that he will…

US v. Cain
Date: July 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1721
US v. Rodriguez-Gonzalez
Date: June 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1089
Metzler Asset Management GMBH v. Kingsley  
Date: June 27, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1369, 18-1472

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing this federal securities class action under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA), 15 U.S.C. 78a-4, for failing adequately to plead…

Shurtleff v. City of Boston  
Date: June 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1898

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Harold Shurtleff's request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the City of Boston from denying him a permit to temporarily raise a "Christian…

Eves v. LePage
Date: June 26, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1492
Faiella v. Federal National Mortgage Association  
Date: June 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1063

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) in this case regarding the allegedly invalidity of a foreclosure, holding that…

Ambac Assurance Corporation v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Date: June 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1214
Penate v. Kaczmarek  
Date: June 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2261

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the magistrate judge rejecting Anne Kaczmarek's motion to dismiss this 42 U.S.C. 1983 action on grounds of absolute immunity, holding that Kaczmarek, a former Massachusetts…

Ambac Assurance Corp. v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: June 24, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1214

Justia Opinion Summary: In this Title III adversary proceeding the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Ambac Assurance Corporation's constitutional and statutory challenges to measures the Commonwealth of Puerto…

AcBel Polytech, Inc. v. Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc.  
Date: June 20, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1088, 18-1121

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case involving an electronic component, a voltage regulator known as the KA7805, the First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the district court's judgment dismissing Plaintiff's claims against…

Maine Pooled Disability Trust v. Hamilton  
Date: June 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1223

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that transfers of assets by individuals age sixty-five or older into "pooled special needs trusts" are among those transfers that the Medicaid…

Eves v. LePage  
Date: June 19, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1492

Justia Opinion Summary: After a divided panel of the First Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Mark Eves's equitable claims against Paul LePage and dismissed his 42 U.S.C. 1983 damages claims on the basis of qualified immunity,…

Giguere v. Port Resources Inc.  
Date: June 19, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2073, 18-2163

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action to recover what were alleged to be unpaid overtime wages the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court finding that Employer's sleep-time policy was unlawful and awarding back wages and…

Rivas-Duran v. Barr  
Date: June 17, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1782

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Appellant's petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) vacating the decision of the immigration judge (IJ) granting Appellant's application for asylum and…

Merlini v. Canada
Date: June 17, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2211
United States v. Mendez-Baez  
Date: June 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1732

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court in connection with Defendant's conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, holding that the sentence was neither…

Zurich American Insurance Co. v. Electricity Maine, LLC  
Date: June 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1968

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for Insured on Insurer's complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that it had no duty to defend Insured against an underlying class…

Rios-Campbell v. U.S. Department of Commerce  
Date: June 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1420

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court granting Defendants' motion for summary judgment after treating the motion as a motion to dismiss pursuant too Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), holding that the…

Rodriguez-Palacios v. Barr  
Date: June 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1430

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed in part and denied in part Petitioner's petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which upheld the immigration judge's (IJ) denial of Petitioner's applications…

Lapointe v. Silko Motor Sales, Inc.  
Date: June 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1848

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court in this diversity tort claim, holding that the district court did not err in finding that Defendant could not be found liable because Plaintiff was hurt by…

Perez v. Barr  
Date: June 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2026

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction Petitioner's petition for review of the denial of his application for cancellation of removal, holding that Petitioner's arguments failed to make out any colorable…

United States v. Reyes-Gomez  
Date: June 11, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1757

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court in connection with Defendant's guilty plea to conspiracy to import a controlled substance and unlawful entry into the United States, holding that the…

NACM-New England, Inc. v. National Ass'n of Credit Management, Inc.  
Date: June 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1960

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the district court granting injunctive and declaratory relief to NACM-New England, Inc., which does business under the name Business Credit…

Ezell v. Lexington Insurance Co.  
Date: June 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2064

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Appellants' claims in this putative class action against Lexington Insurance Company and other insurers alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and violation of…

Merlini v. Canada  
Date: June 10, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2211

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint against Canada for lack of jurisdiction after concluding that Canada was immune from the suit under the Foreign Sovereign…

Blomquist v. Horned Dorset Primavera, Inc.
Date: June 5, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1856
United States v. Tkhilaishvili  
Date: June 5, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1027, 18-1098

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of conviction on an embezzlement count brought against David Tkhilaishvili and otherwise affirmed the judgments of conviction against the three defendants, David and Jambulat…

United States v. Rodriguez-Reyes  
Date: June 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1217

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the imposition of an upwardly variant sentence of thirty-six months' imprisonment following a guilty plea by Defendant to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that the…

United States v. Powell  
Date: May 31, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1683

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction based on his guilty plea for production of child pornography, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea.…

Blomquist v. Horned Dorset Primavera, Inc.  
Date: May 31, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1856

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court denying Appellants' motions for judgment as a matter of law or, alternatively, for a new trial after the district court entered judgment against Appellants on…

Fabian-Soriano v. Barr  
Date: May 31, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2052

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed Petitioner's petition for judicial review of a Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) decision adopting and affirming an immigration judge's (IJ) denial of Petitioner's request for withholding of…

United States v. Galindo-Serrano  
Date: May 30, 2019
Docket Number: 16-2505

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions for various federal carjacking and firearm offenses and the 600-month prison sentence imposed by the district court, holding that Defendant's challenges to the court's…

U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Jones  
Date: May 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1719

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting judgment to U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. in the amount of $226,458.28 on U.S. Bank's complaint against Julia Jones alleging breach of contract and breach of…

Comite Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian, Inc. v. Cruz  
Date: May 29, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1723

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court for San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz and the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico on the Comite Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian, Inc.'s (the Comite)…

Assured Guaranty Corporation v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Date: May 29, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1165, 18-1166
Biochemics, Inc. v. Axis Reinsurance Co.  
Date: May 23, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2059

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to AXIS Reinsurance Company (AXIS) on Plaintiffs' complaint seeking to enforce a directors and officers insurance policy with AXIS, holding that…

United States v. Flete-Garcia  
Date: May 23, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1067, 18-1116

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and motions related to his sentencing, holding that the record withstood Defendant's multiple claims of…

O'Riordan v. Barr  
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1990

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of an administrative order of removal, holding that Petitioner's arguments challenges to the removal order were unavailing. Petitioner was an Irish citizen who…

Rojas-Medina v. US
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1150
C.D. v. Natick Public School District  
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1794

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court upholding a decision of the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) ruling that the Natick Public School District had complied with the "free…

Underwood v. Barrett  
Date: May 17, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1725

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the district court's denial of prison officials' motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff's lawsuit alleging the use of excessive force in violation of the Eighth Amendment, holding that the…

Rojas-Medina v. United States  
Date: May 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1150

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of Petitioner's petition for postconviction relief, holding that trial counsel's failure to consult with Petitioner about an appeal deprived Petitioner of an…

Zenon v. Guzman  
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1119

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the federal district court denying Appellant's request for a declaratory judgment asserting that a protective order that remained in effect in his now-closed state criminal case…

Crossetti v. Cargill, Inc.  
Date: May 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1622

Justia Opinion Summary: In this removed diversity suit, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss for insufficient timely service of process, holding that Defendant did not evade…

Roman v. Mitchell  
Date: May 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1979

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Appellant's habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. 2254, holding that the district court did not err in determining that the Massachusetts Supreme…

Luceus v. State  
Date: May 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1377

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Defendants, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training and the State, on Plaintiff's complaint alleging discrimination in violation of…

McGuire v. Estate of Robert Cunningham  
Date: May 6, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1106

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over who was the first-to-file relator in a case brought under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq., the First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court ruling that the…

United States v. Davis  
Date: May 6, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2100

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court in connection with Appellant's plea of guilty to sex trafficking crimes pursuant to a plea agreement, holding that Appellant's claims on appeal…

Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health & Human Services  
Date: May 2, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1514

Justia Opinion Summary: In this suit brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seeking to enjoin the enforcement of two federal Interim Final Rules (IFRs), the First Circuit vacated the district court's determination that Massachusetts…

United States v. Charriez-Rolon  
Date: May 1, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1123

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of possessing child pornography and transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, holding that there was sufficient evidence to support the…

Smith v. Aroostook County  
Date: April 30, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1340

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of a preliminary injunction compelling Defendants to provide Plaintiff with medication while she is incarcerated, holding that the district court properly found that…

US v. Tull-Abreu
Date: April 29, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1364
Grajales v. Puerto Rico Ports Authority  
Date: April 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1424

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (the PRPA) on Plaintiffs' suit alleging that the PRPA violated the First Amendmen and Puerto Rico law by…

Pena v. Honeywell International, Inc.  
Date: April 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1164

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Employer on this action brought by Employee under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 1210 et seq., and under various…

Franco-Ardon v. Barr  
Date: April 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1522

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of the denial of his motion to reopen his 2012 order of removal, holding that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) did not err in denying the petition. In his…

Worman v. Healey  
Date: April 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1545

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants in this case involving a constitutional challenge to a Massachusetts law proscribing the sale, transfer, and possession of…

United States v. Anzalone  
Date: April 24, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1454

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motions to suppress evidence and to dismiss his indictment for outrageous government conduct, holding that the district court did not err…

Banco Popular de Puerto Rico v. Reyes-Colon  
Date: April 24, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1971, 17-1972

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the bankruptcy court dismissing an involuntary bankruptcy petition filed by one bank and joined by another against Defendant, a licensed plastic surgeon, holding that dismissal…

Staples v. Gerry  
Date: April 24, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1727

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for two prison officers on an inmate's claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging violations of his federal constitutional rights, holding…

United States v. Tull-Abreu  
Date: April 19, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1364

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, eight counts of health care fraud, six counts of aggravated identity theft, and four counts of furnishing false or…

US v. Vargas-Gonzalez
Date: April 19, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1689
United States v. Morel  
Date: April 19, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1696

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of possessing child pornography, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motions to suppress the evidence. Defendant uploaded…

United States v. Colon-Rosario  
Date: April 19, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2122

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Appellant to a prison term of 240 months after Appellant pleaded guilty to transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual…

United States v. Ortiz-Alvarez  
Date: April 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1452

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of sixty months' imprisonment imposed after Defendant pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a machine gun and to being a felon in possession of three firearms and…

AER Advisors Inc. v. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC  
Date: April 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1884

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' complaint against Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC for failure to state a claim, holding that First Circuit law barred Plaintiffs'…

United States v. Viloria-Sepulveda  
Date: April 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1152

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence to sixty months' imprisonment for illegal possession of a machine gun, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable. The sentence…

United States v. Gonzalez-Barbosa  
Date: April 8, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1688

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of ninety-seven months' imprisonment, holding that the district court did not err in calculating Defendant's criminal history category under the sentencing guidelines and…

US v. Mohamed
Date: April 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1498
United States v. Mercedes Leon  
Date: April 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1600

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court accepting Defendant's straight guilty plea to the charging of illegal reentry of an alien who had previously been removed from the United States, 8 U.S.C.…

Starr Surplus Lines Ins. Co. v. Mountaire Farms Inc.
Date: April 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1818
United States v. Pacheco  
Date: April 5, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1690

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed without prejudice Appellant's appeal arguing that his firearms conviction and sentence violated double jeopardy protections, holding that the record as presented did not permit evaluation of…

US v. Sayer
Date: April 5, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2065
United States v. Blewitt  
Date: April 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1356

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence for bank robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, and a related firearms offense, holding that Appellant's argument that the district court impermissibly considered Appellant's gender…

United States v. Gonzalez-Calderon  
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1519

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court ordering Appellant to pay mandatory restitution in connection with his conviction of crimes arising from a conspiracy to steer telecommunications contracts…

Alvarez-Mauras v. Banco Popular of PR
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1051
Aurelius Capital Master, Ltd. v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1108
Assured Guaranty Corporation v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1165, 18-1166
United States v. Hood  
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1407

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction for transporting child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(1), holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress and…

United States v. Mohamed  
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1498

Justia Opinion Summary: In this sentencing appeal brought by the United States the First Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm and remanded the case for resentencing, holding that Defendant's prior…

Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Co. v. Mountaire Farms Inc.  
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1818

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss this suit brought by the insurer (Insurer) of a chicken products manufacturer seeking damages from the manufacturer's…

United States v. Ortiz-Mercado  
Date: March 29, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1383

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of seventy-one months' incarceration plus three years of supervised release in connection with his conviction for one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon,…

Santana-Diaz v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.  
Date: March 29, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1428

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed district court's grant of judgment in favor of Defendant Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (MetLife) on Plaintiff's suit challenging the denial of long-term disability (LTD) benefits for…

United States v. Santana-Dones  
Date: March 29, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1930, 17-2113, 17-1970, 17-2103

Justia Opinion Summary: In this consolidated appeal, the First Circuit held that the district court did not err in concluding that the court that issued a wiretap warrant could have found the facts in the application to be at least minimally…

United States v. Brissette  
Date: March 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1254

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the decision of the district court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss the indictment against them for failing to satisfy the "obtaining of property" element of Hobbs Act extortion, holding…

Zucker v. Rodriguez  
Date: March 27, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1749

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court dismissing the complaint brought by the plan administrator of R&G Financial Corporation (Administrator) alleging that negligence and breach of fiduciary…

United States v. Cruz-Olavarria  
Date: March 27, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1761, 17-1762

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence for violating conditions of supervised release related to an earlier conviction for possessing a machine gun, holding that Defendant's variant sentence for violating his…

United States v. Corliss  
Date: March 27, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1942

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of ten counts of mail fraud and one count of embezzlement from an organization receiving federal-program benefits, holding that the district court did not err by…

United States v. Rang  
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2019

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, holding that the district court did not err by denying Defendant's motion to suppress…

Aurelius Capital Master, Ltd. v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1108

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case brought by Puerto Rico general obligation bondholders (Bondholders), the First Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the Bondholders' complaint seeking injunctive and declaratory relief claiming…

Assured Guaranty Corp. v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1165, 18-1166

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court dismissing Appellants' amended complaint in an adversary proceeding arising within the debt adjustment proceeding that the Financial Oversight and Management…

United States v. Rodriguez  
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1287

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the holding of the district court that Defendant had twice violated the conditions of his supervised release and sentencing Defendant to an eighteen-month term of immurement, to be followed by…

Fawcett v. Citizens Bank, N.A.  
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1443

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court dismissing this putative class action against a bank after concluding that the bank's "Sustained Overdraft Fees" for overdrawn checking accounts were not…

United States v. Pothier  
Date: March 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1561

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed Defendant's conviction for knowingly possessing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(4)(B), holding that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that…

United States v. Martinez-Mercado  
Date: March 25, 2019
Docket Numbers: 16-2116, 17-2121

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of conspiracy to deprive a person of civil rights and sentence of eighty-seven months in prison, holding that the evidence was sufficient to sustain Defendant's…

Alvarez-Mauras v. Banco Popular of Puerto Rico  
Date: March 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1051

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1962, 1964, the First Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling dismissing Plaintiff's claims against all defendants,…

United States v. Garcia-Zavala  
Date: March 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1350

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Defendant's motion to dismiss and motion to suppress, which Defendant filed before he was convicted of legal reentry after removal from the United States, holding…

US v. Vargas-Santiago
Date: March 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1504
Algonquin Gas Transmission v. Weymouth Conservation Comm.
Date: March 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1686
Pagan-Gonzalez v. Moreno  
Date: March 22, 2019
Docket Number: 16-2214

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated in part the district court's grant of Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint, holding that the warrantless search in this case violated the Fourth Amendment because the…

Ramos-Santiago v. WHM Carib LLC  
Date: March 22, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1507

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's partial entry of summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiff's age discrimination claim and his family's derivative tort claims and the denial of Plaintiff's…

United States v. Berrios-Miranda  
Date: March 22, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1543

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's request to challenge the reliability of his victim's testimony by cross-examining the victim at Defendant's resentencing hearing, holding…

United States v. Rivera-Santiago  
Date: March 22, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1763

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to forty-eight months in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm, holding that Defendant's variant sentence was not procedurally…

LimoLiner, Inc. v. Dattco, Inc.  
Date: March 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1800

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the holding of the magistrate judge that Defendant, a repair company, was not liable under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, holding that Plaintiff, LimoLiner, Inc., did not meet its…

US v. Smith
Date: March 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1109
Migrant Health Center, Inc. v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: March 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1783

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court ruling that the automatic stay provision of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) did not apply to proceedings to determine…

United States v. Santiago-Colon  
Date: March 19, 2019
Docket Number: 15-2088

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction of three counts of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, holding that Defendant’s sentence was both procedurally and substantively…

Villeneuve v. Avon Products, Inc.  
Date: March 19, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1491

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the orders of the district court judge’s rulings dismissing Plaintiff’s sexual orientation discrimination claim and granting summary judgment for Defendant on Plaintiff’s unjust discharge and…

Hoffman-Garcia v. Metrohealth, Inc.  
Date: March 19, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1544

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting judgment as a matter of law to Defendant-employer on Plaintiff’s age discrimination claims and Puerto Rico law claims and granting in part…

Algonquin Gas Transmission v. Weymouth Conservation Commission  
Date: March 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1686

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court ruling that the Town of Weymouth’s local ordinance, as applied to a project in which Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC sought to build a natural gas compressor…

US Bank, N.A. v. HLC Escrow, Inc.
Date: March 18, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1121
Calandro v. Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc.  
Date: March 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1637

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that the actions of Defendant, a claims-management firm, did not constitute unfair claims settlement practices under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 176D,…

United States v. Smith  
Date: March 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1109

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court denying Defendant’s motion to suppress and sentencing Defendant, holding that the evidence was not obtained in violation of Defendant’s Fourth Amendment…

Wanjiku v. Barr  
Date: March 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1675

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition seeking review of an order by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying her motion to reopen removal proceedings based on changed country conditions within Kenya,…

Bekele v. Lyft, Inc.  
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: 16-2109

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting Defendant’s motion to dismiss this putative class action in favor of arbitration of Plaintiff’s claim in his individual capacity after concluding…

Muhoro v. Barr
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1325
United States v. Ackies  
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1478

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction and sentence for two counts of conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base, holding, among other things, that the district…

Tay-Chan v. Barr  
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1973

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition for judicial review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying Petitioner’s untimely filed motion to reopen, holding that the BIA did not abuse its…

United States v. Rodriguez-Rivera  
Date: March 11, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1975

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court dismissing aggravated identity theft counts against three doctors and three employees of a durable medical equipment supplier in Puerto Rico, holding that the…

Miller v. Sunapee Difference, LLC  
Date: March 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1409

Justia Opinion Summary: In this personal injury action, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c) after treating it, under Fed. R. Civ. P.…

United States v. Tanguay  
Date: March 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1271

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant’s motion to suppress incriminating evidence found during a search and seizure by a local police officer after approaching Defendant, who was…

Rinsky v. Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.  
Date: March 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1302

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court entering judgment against Defendant on Plaintiff’s discrimination action and awarding Plaintiff compensatory and punitive damages, holding that the district…

United States v. Rosado-Cancel  
Date: March 5, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2195

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Appellant’s motion to dismiss the indictment against him on double jeopardy and issue preclusion grounds, holding that the Double Jeopardy Clause had no…

Garcia v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor  
Date: March 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1225

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition for review of the decision of the U.S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board (Board) affirming an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) denial of attorney’s fees and costs to…

United States v. Santiago-Colon  
Date: February 28, 2019
Docket Number: 16-2509

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed an vacated the order of the district court granting Defendant’s motion to suppress identification evidence and giving preclusive effect to a Puerto Rico Court of Appeals’ order suppressing the…

United States v. Owens  
Date: February 26, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1945

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction of interstate domestic violence and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and sentence of life imprisonment, holding that there was no…

Ms. S. v. Regional School Unit 72, Ms. S. v. ME Dep't of Education
Date: February 26, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2214, 18-1004
Aja v. Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC
Date: February 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1026
GGNSC Chestnut Hill LLC v. Schrader  
Date: February 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1779

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning arbitration agreements, nursing homes, and wrongful death claims under Massachusetts law, the First Circuit certified questions to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) under its Rule…

United States v. Sayer  
Date: February 22, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2065

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Appellant’s revocation sentence, holding that the district court’s upwardly-variant sentence following revocation was neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable and that the district…

Gray v. Cummings  
Date: February 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1303

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s entry of summary judgment for Defendants in this case, holding that an objectively reasonable police officer in May 2013 could have concluded that a single use of a Taser…

Kelly v. Liberty Insurance Corp.  
Date: February 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1614

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Liberty Mutual Insurance Corporation on Brendan Kelly’s claim that Liberty was bound to provide uninsured motorist coverage for his…

Mendez-Nunez v. Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico  
Date: February 22, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1773, 18-1777

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ complaint against the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (Board) and its members and executive director alleging that the…

Easthampton Congregational Church v. Church Mutual Insurance Co.  
Date: February 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1881

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a Church on its lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that its claim filed pursuant to its property insurance policy with an…

Fortier v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co.  
Date: February 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1752

Justia Opinion Summary: In this Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) suit, the First Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment finding that Plaintiff’s appeal from the expiration of her long-term disability (LTD) benefits was…

Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Pike  
Date: February 19, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-1815, 17-1936

Justia Opinion Summary: In this diversity case, the First Circuit affirmed the district court’s conclusion that Deutsche Bank National Trust Company’s mortgage interest in a property in New Hampshire was subject to a homestead right of Jennifer…

Ms. S. v. Regional School Unit 72  
Date: February 15, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2214, 18-1004

Justia Opinion Summary: In these appeals arising from a complaint filed by Ms. S. with the Maine Department of Education alleging violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., the First Circuit remanded…

Aurelius Investments, LLC v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: February 15, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1671, 18-1787, 18-1746

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit held that members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board (Board Members) created by the 2016 Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) are “Officers of the United…

Heagney v. Wong  
Date: February 11, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2033

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the district court entering judgment for Plaintiff on Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B and defamation claims against the City of Fitchburg and its mayor and…

Patton v. Johnson  
Date: February 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1750

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court determining that Appellant was barred from relitigating his argument that Plaintiffs should be compelled to arbitrate various tort claims, holding that the…

Gilbert v. City of Chicopee  
Date: February 8, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2206

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff’s claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and various state laws, holding that the district court properly dismissed Plaintiff’s claims under Fed. R.…

United States v. Vazquez-Mendez  
Date: February 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1107

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant’s sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release and remanded the matter for resentencing, holding that the judge erred in citing rehabilitation needs and unproven…

Thompson v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.  
Date: February 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1559

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court granting Bank’s motion to dismiss this case alleging that Bank failed to comply with the notice requirements in Plaintiffs’ mortgage before foreclosing on…

Thomas & Betts Corp. v. Alfa Laval Inc.  
Date: February 6, 2019
Docket Numbers: 16-1133, 16-1204, 16-1189, 16-1134

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals, the First Circuit affirmed the judgments of the district court finding that Thomas & Betts was “liable to” New Albertson’s and other parties were “liable to” Thomas & Betts for certain…

United States v. Saldana-Rivera  
Date: February 1, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1262

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity for which Defendant could be charged with sexual assault under the laws of Puerto Rico,…

Painters & Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund v. Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  
Date: January 30, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1146, 18-1147

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals arising out of two “off-label” prescription drug marketing cases aggregated for pretrial proceedings in the district court by order of a multidistrict litigation panel, the First Circuit…

MetalForming, Inc. v. Schechtl Maschinenbau GmbH  
Date: January 30, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1550, 18-1551

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of claims against Schechtl Maschinenbau GmbH, a German company, holding that, contrary to the conclusion of the district court, the exercise of personal…

Altair Global Credit Opportunities Fund v. Employees Retirement System  
Date: January 30, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1836, 18-1868, 18-1858, 18-1841, 18-1837, 18-1855

Justia Opinion Summary: In these appeals involving bonds issued in 2008 by the Employees Retirement System (the System) of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which were purchased by bondholders (the Bondholders), the First…

Medina v. Whitaker
Date: January 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1138
Tyler v. Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts  
Date: January 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1256

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court dismissing Plaintiff’s action on the grounds that the lawsuit was, in essence, an appeal from a state-court judgment, and therefore, the court lacked…

Roy v. Correct Care Solutions, LLC  
Date: January 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1313

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed in part and affirmed in part the district court’s grant of summary judgment to all Defendants on Plaintiff’s claims of discrimination, unlawful retaliation, and violations of the Equal…

Miceli v. JetBlue Airways Corp.  
Date: January 28, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1345

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Employer on Plaintiff’s claims alleging handicap discrimination and retaliation under Massachusetts state law, holding…

Torres v. Bella Vista Hospital, Inc.  
Date: January 25, 2019
Docket Number: 16-2316

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court rejecting Plaintiffs’ motion to set aside an earlier federal district court decision granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiffs’ claims…

United States v. Marrero-Perez  
Date: January 25, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1346

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant’s sentence and remanded this matter for resentencing, holding that no weight should be given in sentencing to arrests listed in the presentence report (PSR) that did not result in…

United States v. Musso  
Date: January 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1260

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the district court’s pretrial dismissal of four charges of violations of the National Firearms Act (NFA), 26 U.S.C. 5801 et seq. brought against Defendant, reinstated those counts, and remanded…

Hogan v. SPAR Group, Inc.  
Date: January 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1286

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court denying SPAR Group, Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration in this case brought by Paradise Hogan against SPAR Business Services, Inc. (SBS) and SPAR, holding…

Agustin v. Whitaker  
Date: January 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1469

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition for review of the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upholding the immigration judge’s (IJ) denial of Petitioner’s application for both withholding of removal…

Burgos-Yantin v. Municipality of Juana Diaz
Date: January 24, 2019
Docket Number: 14-1359
United States v. Martinez-Benitez  
Date: January 24, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1393

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant’s sentence imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to possessing a firearm despite his status as a felon, holding that Defendant’s prior Puerto-Rico law conviction was not a…

Alvarado v. Whitaker  
Date: January 24, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1572

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversing the order of an immigration judge (IJ) granting Petitioner cancellation of removal under the…

Medina v. Whitaker  
Date: January 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1138

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition for review seeking to appeal an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying Petitioner’s motion to reopen his immigration proceedings as untimely, holding that…

Kuznarowis v. Tobey Hospital
Date: January 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1662
United States v. Chin  
Date: January 18, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2048

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the district court’s order granting Appellants’ motion to intervene in an ongoing criminal trial but otherwise denying in substantial part Appellants’ motion to unseal requested information…

US v. Ponzo
Date: January 18, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2153, 17-2188, 17-2154
United States v. Contreras-Delgado  
Date: January 17, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1962

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court sentencing Defendant to forty-six months’ imprisonment in connection with Defendant’s plea of guilty to a charge of possessing a machine gun, holding that the…

United States v. Bravo-Fernandez  
Date: January 17, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1358, 18-1370

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the convictions of Defendants Juan Bravo-Fernandez and Hector Martinez-Maldonado (Martinez) for federal program bribery, holding that the government did not meet its burden of establishing that…

Hernandez-Martinez v. Whitaker
Date: January 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1381
Rivera-Colon v. AT&T Mobility Puerto Rico, Inc.  
Date: January 16, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2036

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court finding that an arbitration agreement between the parties in this case was enforceable, granting AT&T Mobility Puerto Rico, Inc.’s (AT&T) motion to compel…

Garcia-Aguilar v. Sessions  
Date: January 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1086

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition seeking judicial review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying her motion to reopen removal proceedings, holding that the BIA did not commit an…

Scottsdale Insurance Co. v. Byrne  
Date: January 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1526

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court ruling that Scottsdale Insurance Company (Scottsdale) breached its duty to defend the Wellesley Advisory Reality Fund, I, LLC (WARF) in a prior action and…

Guilfoile v. Shields  
Date: January 15, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1610

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated and remanded in part the district court’s dismissal of Appellant’s complaint claiming that he was fired from his job in retaliation for accusing his employer of violating…

Garcia-Tatupu v. Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL
Date: January 14, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2179
United States v. Calderon-Lozano  
Date: January 10, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1977

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court in connection with Defendant’s conviction of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, holding that the sentence was both procedurally and…

Gyamfi v. Whitaker  
Date: January 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1093

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied and dismissed Petitioner’s petition challenging the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (BIA) denial of her motion to reopen and the BIA’s decision not to exercise its sua sponte authority to reopen…

Chavez-Mendez v. Whitaker
Date: January 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1538
United States v. Rios-Rivera  
Date: January 9, 2019
Docket Number: 15-2116

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction and sentence for transporting a minor to a hotel in Puerto Rico with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with her, in violation of the Mann Act, 18 U.S.C.…

United States v. Aybar-Ulloa  
Date: January 9, 2019
Docket Number: 15-2377

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions of two counts of drug trafficking in international waters while aboard a stateless vessel in violation of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), 46 U.S.C.…

Walker v. Medeiros
Date: January 9, 2019
Docket Number: 16-1479
United States v. Ponzo  
Date: January 9, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2153, 17-2188, 17-2154

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant on twelve federal criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, Defendant’s lengthy prison sentence, and…

PREP Tours, Inc. v. American Youth Soccer Organization  
Date: January 8, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1223

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court dismissing Plaintiff’s contract and tort claims for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that the federal court in Puerto Rico lacked personal jurisdiction…

Blue v. Medeiros  
Date: January 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1066

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Petitioner’s petition for habeas corpus relief as time-barred under the one-year statute of limitations set forth in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA),…

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