2024 First Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Andy G. Morales-Veléz, who appealed two rulings related to his guilty plea for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Morales argued that his 120-month sentence was both…

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of former employees of Luxury Hotels International of Puerto Rico, operating as Ritz-Carlton Hotel Spa & Casino, sued the company for alleged violations of federal and Puerto Rico law in connection with their…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiff, John Deaton, was arrested and charged with assault, battery, and disorderly conduct following an altercation at a youth football game. Although the charges were later dismissed, Deaton filed state and…

Justia Opinion Summary: A family from Guatemala sought asylum in the United States after receiving death threats from a local gang. The family, led by Ana Luisa Donis-Hernandez de Cabrera, had fled their home country after an extortion attempt…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Maximiliano Fígaro-Benjamín, a co-conspirator in a multi-defendant drug conspiracy case. Fígaro-Benjamín was part of a crew that transported cocaine between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas on a vessel named…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Hassan Abbas, who was convicted on several counts of wire fraud and money laundering. Abbas was found guilty of participating in an email-based fraud scheme that targeted citizens of Massachusetts. He…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Joel Dudley, who was appealing the 2023 revocation of his supervised release and his sentence of two terms of two years of incarceration, to be served consecutively, followed by supervised release for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Reynaldo Rosa-Borges, who was sentenced to 72 months for unlawful firearm possession and 36 months for violating the terms of his supervised release from a previous conviction. The firearm and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant, Antonio Santonastaso, was convicted of making a false statement to federal investigators and attempted witness tampering. The charges stemmed from a 2018 investigation by the Federal Aviation…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lashaun Casey was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty by a jury of carjacking and murdering an undercover police officer. Casey sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his trial attorney failed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute over the construction of an offshore wind project aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The project, proposed by Vineyard Wind 1, LLC, was expected to provide energy sufficient to power…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the summer of 2020, amid pandemic mask mandates and nationwide racial justice protests, Whole Foods Market, Inc. began disciplining employees who wore facemasks to work supporting the Black Lives Matter movement,…

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of Nantucket residents, organized as Nantucket Residents Against Turbines, challenged the approval of the Vineyard Wind project by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The project involves the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiff, Brendan Hoover, was struck in the head by a descending elevator gate while working at a Hyatt Hotel. He filed a lawsuit against Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Otis Elevator Company, alleging negligence due…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Carlos Rubén Boyrie-Laboy, a Puerto Rico Police officer, who was convicted under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1951, 371, and 641 for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit robbery and theft of government…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Jennifer Root Bannon, who sued six law enforcement officers and the City of Boston on behalf of her brother's estate. Her brother, Juston Root, was fatally shot by the officers after a series of events…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Ricardo Perez-Delgado, who was sentenced to forty years in prison for his role in a violent robbery that resulted in the death of a businessman. The sentence was significantly higher than the guideline…

Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Richard Mahoney, a U.S. Navy veteran, appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit after the Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR) denied his 2018 petition to upgrade his 1989 other…

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant, Heclouis Nieves-Díaz, was on supervised release for a federal drug conviction when he was convicted of possession of ammunition as a convicted felon, illegal possession of a machine gun, and possession…

Justia Opinion Summary: Edgar Centariczki, the defendant, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl in 2021. He was sentenced to time served (two days) and three years of supervised release. His case…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Universitas Education, LLC initiated a lawsuit against Jack E. Robinson, III, alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Robinson defended himself until his death in November…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Caitlin Corrigan, a graduate student at Boston University (BU), who sued the university under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for implementing a mandatory COVID-19 testing program. Corrigan…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Francis M. Reynolds, who was convicted of three counts of obstruction of a United States Securities and Exchange Commission proceeding and one count of securities fraud. The District Court sentenced him…

Justia Opinion Summary: Frederic P. Zotos, an attorney residing in Cohasset, Massachusetts, filed a qui tam complaint against the Town of Hingham and several of its officials. Zotos alleged that the town and its officials posted speed limit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves John Michael Rathbun, who was convicted for creating a homemade firebomb and placing it near a Jewish living facility in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. The bomb was discovered and Rathbun was identified as…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case involving an Egyptian petitioner, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reviewed the denial of the petitioner's claim for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case at hand, the defendant, Christopher Condron, was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States by obtaining payment for false claims. He had been involved in submitting applications to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, a married couple, both visually impaired, sued Colony Insurance Company to recover for the injuries they suffered when the wife fell down a restaurant's stairs. The couple had previously sued the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the plaintiff-appellant, David Efron, filed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claim and various Puerto Rico law…

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant, Brian Orlandella, was convicted by a jury of sexual exploitation of a minor and transfer of obscene material to a minor. The charges arose from Orlandella's interactions with a minor via the Kik messenger…

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant, Roy Sastrom, was serving a term of supervised release, a condition of which was modified by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The court directed Sastrom, upon his release…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the defendant, Danybelkis Vasquez-Rodrigue, appealed her jury conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess over 400 grams of fentanyl. Vasquez-Rodrigue argued that the district court erred in denying…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a defendant, Kevin MacVicar, who pled guilty to a single count of possession of child pornography and was sentenced by the district court to a seven-year term, which was below the guidelines sentencing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case concerns a review petition filed by Mariela Gricelda Chun Mendez and her minor son, natives and citizens of Guatemala. They sought review of the final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit examined a case where the defendant, Derek Gerrish, challenged the constitutionality of a search of his vehicle during his pretrial release on several state…

Justia Opinion Summary: A Puerto Rican company, Caribe Chem, filed a lawsuit against a Florida company, Southern Agricultural Insecticides, and two Puerto Rican entities. The case was initially non-removable to federal court due to lack of…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal, heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, centered on the constitutionality of Massachusetts' Law 80, which retroactively provided immunity to higher education institutions for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Ángel M. Ayala-Vázquez was indicted and convicted on multiple drug-related charges, including conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and aiding and abetting the possession of with intent to distribute…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit examined an appeal against a district court's refusal to issue a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of a Rhode Island law banning certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Joseph A. Jakuttis, a former officer and detective in the Dracut Police Department, who also served as a Task Force Officer for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration's Cross Borders Initiative.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, Mac Hudson and Charles Hughes were tried for charges relating to a shooting incident which resulted in the death of one person and injury of another. After being convicted, their verdict was reversed by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves an appeal from plaintiffs Sara Halsey and Susan Kiralis-Vernon against Fedcap Rehabilitation Services, Inc. The plaintiffs were participants in a state program, Additional Support for People in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sara Esteban-Garcia, a native and citizen of Guatemala and an indigenous woman of Mam descent, petitioned for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) which affirmed an immigration judge's order…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involved a dispute between two Brazilian nationals, Heitor Ferreira da Costa and Jessica Camila Albefaro de Lima, who were previously married and had a child together. Following their divorce in Brazil, de Lima…

Justia Opinion Summary: Juan Sierra-Jiménez was a felon who pled guilty to possessing a firearm. While on supervised release for a prior federal firearm offense, Sierra was arrested and found with a Glock 22 pistol, which had been modified to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant, Michael Rand, was indicted and pleaded guilty to one count of distributing a controlled substance. His sentence was time served followed by 36 months of supervised release. Shortly thereafter, Rand…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the defendant, Randall Crater, was convicted of wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Grace Katana appealed his conviction for conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery in violation of the Hobbs Act. He argued that the indictment accused him of conspiring to rob Joseph…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, an insurance company, Berkley National Insurance Company, sued two of its insureds, Granite Telecommunications, LLC and Atlantic-Newport Realty…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the dispute involved Aeroballoon USA, Inc., and its owner Douglas Hase (collectively, Aeroballoon/Hase), and Jiajing (Beijing) Tourism…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, plaintiff Shawn McBreairty claimed that a local school-board policy violated his First Amendment rights by restricting what he could say at the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case concerns parents of a child who suffered severe and permanent injuries at birth due to alleged negligence of the medical staff at Hospital Damas. The parents sued Fundación Damas, Inc., alleging that it operated…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the plaintiff, an African-American male, brought an employment discrimination lawsuit against his former employer, Genzyme Therapeutic Products, LP, and one of its executives. The plaintiff alleged racial…

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of individuals filed a lawsuit against Genzyme Corporation, a drug manufacturer, for injuries allegedly caused by the company's mishandling of a prescription drug shortage between 2009 and 2012. The lawsuit was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Plaintiff, Barbara M. Parmenter, had subscribed to a long-term care insurance policy offered by her employer, Tufts University, and underwritten by The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case revolves around the dismissal of a case due to the plaintiff's counsel's unexcused absence from the final pretrial conference. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit raised the question of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the plaintiffs, Susan Johnson and Jocelyne Welch, brought an action against the City of Biddeford, Chief of Police Roger P. Beapure, and Officer Edward Dexter of the Biddeford Police Department, alleging a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sought to recover approximately $3.3 million from Raimund Gastauer, a German citizen residing in Germany, alleging that Gastauer received the money…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Rhode Island Truck Center, LLC v. Daimler Trucks North America, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit was asked to determine whether a Rhode Island truck dealer could challenge a ruling by a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, five groups of current and former public employees in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the "Commonwealth") appealed an order by the court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involved an appellant, Jonathan Martins, who filed a lawsuit against Vermont Mutual Insurance Company. Martins' vehicle was involved in an accident with a vehicle insured by Vermont Mutual. He claimed that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: A pregnant inmate, Lidia Lech, filed a lawsuit against several healthcare providers and staff at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center (WCC), alleging that they ignored her serious medical…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute about the interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act ("NVRA"), specifically Section 8(i)(1). The plaintiff, Public Interest Legal Foundation, Inc. ("PILF"), requested a copy of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Clare Mundell worked as a licensed clinical psychologist for Acadia Hospital in Maine. She discovered that her male colleagues were paid significantly more than her for comparable work. Mundell brought a sex…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Nicholas Triantos, who sued various parties, including the law firm that represented Deutsche Bank in the foreclosure sale of his home, and the three partners of the firm. The district court dismissed…

Justia Opinion Summary: James De La Cruz was indicted for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 400 grams or more of fentanyl. He pleaded guilty to both counts and was subsequently…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the plaintiff, Virginia Cora Ward, the administratrix of the estate of Edmund Edward Ward, appealed against the verdict in favor of Dr. Ernst J. Schaefer. Edmund Edward Ward, who suffered from a rare…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ricardo Jose Pineda-Maldonado, a native and citizen of El Salvador, sought review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that denied his application for asylum and claims for withholding of removal and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the government of Mexico against several U.S. gun manufacturers and a gun distributor. The lawsuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a district court's decision concerning a wage dispute between an employee and his former employer. The employee, Paulo Trindade, claimed that his former…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit considered an appeal from a ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico concerning the restructuring of debts of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the defendant, Luis Ángel Colón-Cordero, was convicted of violating the terms of his supervised release and charged with new criminal conduct,…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves a medical malpractice suit against Hospital San Cristobal (HSC), Dr. Iris Vélez García, and Dr. Zacarías A. Mateo Minaya by the children of Ramona Rodríguez Rivera, who passed away while in the care of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, defendant Samuel Arce-Ayala, a leader of a drug trafficking organization, pled guilty to federal charges related to drug trafficking and firearm possession. He believed, based on his plea agreement and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on a case involving a commercial real estate transaction in Puerto Rico that failed to close. The sellers of the property, located in Valle Arriba Heights,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Paulo Trindade, a former employee of Grove Services, Inc., sued his previous employer for breach of contract and violations of the Massachusetts Wage Act, claiming he had been underpaid on his sales commission…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit considered a case where Lawrence General Hospital (LGH) sued Continental Casualty Company for denying coverage for losses LGH alleges it suffered during the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, defendant Jason Colcord, appealed his sentence for knowingly accessing and viewing over 900 child pornography images. Colcord pled guilty to this charge and was subsequently sentenced to 145 months…

Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Paul Sansone, the defendant-appellant, was convicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 46 months of imprisonment, the upper end of the sentencing guideline range. Sansone challenged…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case involving an attorney father, Scott D. Pitta, and the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Pitta's…