2017 First Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: Alejandro-Rosado was convicted of receiving a firearm as a person under indictment and was sentenced to 36 months' imprisonment plus three years of supervised release. While he was serving supervised release, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Dr. Volkman was convicted of drug-related charges for illegally prescribing pain medication leading to the deaths of at least 14 individuals. Eil, a journalist writing a book on Volkman's case, attended portions…

Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers were searching a mall for a motorcyclist who had violated traffic laws when they were spotted by Rivera-Cruz, who ran, yelling "police!" into a walkie-talkie. The officers recovered a loaded revolver with…

Justia Opinion Summary: After approximately 11 years of working his way up the Costco employment ladder, Garcia was fired following an investigation which revealed an inventory discrepancy in the Meat Department that he managed. Garcia sued,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Gitau, a Kenyan citizen, married a U.S. citizen, Johnson, and became a lawful permanent resident on a conditional basis. Under 8 U.S.C. 1186a(c)(1)(A) and (B), she and Johnson could remove the conditional nature of her…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed for want of jurisdiction Petitioners’ petition for judicial review of the denial of their applications for voluntary departure to Guatemala and Mexico, holding that this court lacked…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment ruling that Defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment in the motel room where he was at the time of a police search of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. 1983 and tort claims, the First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants following Plaintiffs’ failure to oppose the motion with…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction, rendered after a jury trial, for knowingly possessing with intent to distribute heroin and crack cocaine and of aiding and abetting the same. Defendant appealed, arguing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the reduced sentence Defendant received after a limited remand for resentencing and remanded with instructions for the district court to address Defendant’s pending 18 U.S.C. 2255 motion to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions for two counts of aiding and abetting bank robbery and two counts of conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Defendant’s convictions stemmed from two separate robberies,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Appellant’s federal convictions and resulting sentence for five counts of bank robbery. The court held that, contrary to the arguments raised by Appellant on appeal, the district court did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court denying Appellant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea for conspiracy to distribute 3,4-Methyleneioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) - known commonly as “bath salts” - and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court accepting Defendant’s unconditional plea of guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering and sentencing Defendant to 135 months of imprisonment. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court accepting Defendant’s plea of guilty to wire fraud charges and sentencing Defendant to forty-one months’ imprisonment. This sentence meant that Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation challenging its decision to terminate his employment for lack of subject…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in this action filed by the Town of Westport against Monsanto Company, Solutia, Inc., and Pharmacia Corporation alleging that Phamacia was liable…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed Appellant’s appeal of his conviction for attempted illegal reentry into the United States following removal subsequent to a conviction for an aggravated felony and sentence to thirty-three…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Thomas G. Gallagher, Inc.’s petition for review challenging a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission that affirmed a fine levied against Gallagher, a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Quincy, Massachusetts, the former employer of Plaintiff, on Plaintiff’s federal and pendent state claims of employment…

Justia Opinion Summary: The federal government’s sovereign immunity, as exemplified by the discretionary function exception, pretermitted Appellant’s effort to recover damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for the loss of twenty-five…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment affirming the bankruptcy court’s ruling that the largely debt-financed purchase of a family-owned leather manufacturer was not a fraudulent conveyance and was not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment entered by the trial court convicting Defendant of attempting to possess 500 grams or more of cocaine with intent to distribute. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for Defendants in this action filed by Plaintiff claiming that Defendants discriminated against her based on her gender and sexual…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ suit challenging the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) termination of tier disability benefits for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration in connection with this case brought by Plaintiff alleging various wage-and-hour claims. Defendant’s motion to compel…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration of the district court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing all of their claims against various insurance companies and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant’s motion for extension of time to file notice of appeal pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 8002(d)(1)(B) for failing to show excusable neglect. Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case was once again before the First Circuit after the court certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) some state-law questions arising from this diversity-based declaratory-judgment action…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed an order of the bankruptcy court denying Appellant Chapter 7 discharge on the grounds that she made material, knowing, and fraudulent false oaths in the course of her bankruptcy proceedings.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment sentencing Defendant to a 120-month statutory maximum term of imprisonment in connection with his guilty plea to a single count of being a felon in possession of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of Defendants’ motion to strike many of the facts set forth in Plaintiff’s statement of facts in support of his summary judgment motion, as well as the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal of a suit brought to enforce section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), 16 U.S.C. 824a-3 the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Allco Renewable…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Plaintiff’s motion to amend on the ground that the First Circuit’s earlier decision was law of the case. Plaintiff, acting on behalf of her daughter, brought…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court revoking Appellant’s supervised release and imposing a statutorily authorized, but above-guidelines, three-year term of imprisonment. On appeal, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant’s sentence imposed in connection with his conviction for five counts of using facilities of interstate commerce in connection with the hiring of a person to commit a murder in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit declined to extend the reach of a maritime lien claim to encompass a pre-established purchase cost of items rented by a charterer pursuant to a temporary rental and service contract and affirmed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment sentencing Appellant to a 168-month term of immurement in connection with his conviction for conspiring to possess five or more kilograms of cocaine with intent to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the denial of Plaintiff’s motion to vacate and order dismissing his lawsuit against Defendants in which Plaintiff alleged a variety of state law violations in connection with a foreclosure…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit agreed with the judgment of the district court that the facts in this case alleging unlawful monopolization could not subject San Juan Cable LLC, doing business as “OneLink,” to liability under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) rejecting Petitioner’s claim for withholding of removal. In her application for relief, Petitioner, a native and citizen of Honduras, alleged…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the order of the district court granting Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a Network Investigative Technique (NIT) warrant obtained from a magistrate judge in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this civil rights action brought of a Town of Hull police officer, the First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Plaintiff’s 42 U.S.C. 1983 claim, affirmed the district court’s holding that Plaintiff’s Mass. Gen. Laws…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Appellant’s conviction of one count of conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1962, a provision of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, holding that a portion of the jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant’s motion for a new trial in his criminal case pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 33. Appellant was convicted of antitrust conspiracy. The First…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Insurance Brokers West, Inc.’s (IBW) complaint alleging breach of contract against Liquid Outcome, LLC, f/k/a Astonish Results, LLC (Astonish) for failure to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to reduce his sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) and remanded for reconsideration. Defendant pled guilty to one count of a six-count…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions stemming from his participation in a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy but vacated his life sentence and remanded for further proceedings. The court held (1)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of Bill Cosby’s motion to dismiss this defamation case brought by an actress who earlier accused Cosby of raping her. Kathrine McKee accused Bill Cosby in a 2014…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court approving a sale of Frank Gangi’s assets and the assets of entities owned by him. The sale was recommended by the receiver, Carl Jenkins, who was appointed by…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s sentence of 108 months’ incarceration, holding that there was no abuse of discretion. Defendant pled guilty to maritime drug and conspiracy offenses. The district court sentenced…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Hospital San Cristobal’s petition for review of an order of the National Labor Relations Board (Board) declaring that the Hospital had committed several unfair labor practices in violation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Appellant’s motion to vacate his consecutive sentence, holding that Appellant’s appeal from the district court’s ruling was foreclosed by the First Circuit’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant challenged his 560-month sentence, entered pursuant to a guilty plea, for brandishing and discharging firearms during a crime of violence. On appeal, Defendant argued (1) the government breached the plea…

Justia Opinion Summary: While police officers conducted an unlawful search by testing a key in the lock of the unit in which he was staying, the district court properly denied Defendant’s motion to suppress because, in searching the apartment,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress drugs, a digital scale, and a firearm obtained following a traffic stop of the vehicle in which Defendant was a passenger. In his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Kenneth Currier in this action brought by Mark Reenstierna alleging defamation and other torts. Reenstierna, a real estate appraiser, was brought…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals, the First Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision to (1) dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims under Massachusetts law for libel and intentional interference with prospective contractual…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s sentence of nine years’ imprisonment imposed in connection with his conviction for violating 18 U.S.C. 371 and 666(a) by conspiring to bribe and paying a bribe to a judge on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s 151-month prison sentence imposed after he pled guilty to drug crimes. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred in sentencing him as a career offender based on his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court accepting Appellant’s guilty plea and his resulting sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced Appellant to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Appellant’s convictions of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit both. The convictions arose from Appellant’s writing of false opinion letters so that his two co-conspirators…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed portions of this interlocutory appeal for want of appellate jurisdiction and otherwise affirmed the district court’s ruling that Defendant was not entitled to qualified immunity at the summary…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Appellant’s convictions of five counts of wire fraud, five counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions, two counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of bank fraud. The court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), holding that the FTCA’s discretionary function exception applied and,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district judge’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s eight-count complaint. Plaintiff filed his complaint in state court against the servicers, holders, and assignees of his mortgage loan. Relevant to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendant on Plaintiff’s complaint brought under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, 148B for employee misclassification. A Georgia state court concluded…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court denying Appellant’s motion brought under 28 U.S.C. 2255 regarding his underlying criminal case on the ground that the motion must be dismissed. Pursuant to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Appellant’s sentence of ten years’ imprisonment imposed after Appellant pleaded guilty to one count of accessing child pornography with the intent to view it. On appeal, Defendant asked the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the order of the district court vacating a sentence originally imposed upon Defendant. After sentencing Defendant to a fifty-seven-month term of immurement for violating 18 U.S. 2421(a), the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed a judgment entered by the district court against Hylas Yachts, LLC and in favor of Plaintiffs in the amount of $663,774 plus interest and costs in this case alleging numerous defects in a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s imposition of supervised release conditions upon Defendant after the court vacated his original sentence under Jonson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015). On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the district court’s order denying Appellant’s motion to intervene in an adversary proceeding arising within the Commonwealth’s debt adjustment case under Title III of the Puerto Rico…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the summary judgment granted to Defendants as to all of Plaintiffs’ claims. Plaintiff, a Massachusetts property owner, brought this lawsuit against three police…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions for violating 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and (a)(3) for possessing fifty rounds of thirty-eight-caliber ammo while being a convicted felon and for transporting a SCCY Model CXP…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of several drug and gun offenses and sentencing him to 188 months in prison. The court held that the district court (1) did not err in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions on one count relating to a robbery and three counts relating to a subsequent drug conspiracy. The court also affirmed Defendant’s sentence of 250 months of imprisonment…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254, thus affirming Defendant’s convictions, entered after a jury trial, of first-degree murder,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court order dismissing claims brought by Ironshore Specialty Insurance Company, the entity that paid the clean-up costs after a large military vessel…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted the certification requested by Petitioner that Petitioner’s successive motion to vacate his federal sentence under 28 U.S.C. 2255 contains a new rule of constitutional law, made retroactive to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Here the federal government attempted to use the Hobbs Act to police the activities of members of a labor union. Defendants, two union members, were convicted of, inter alia, extortion under the Hobbs Act. The government…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s orders denying Defendant’s motion to suppress wiretap evidence and denying Defendant’s two requests for evidentiary hearings in connection with the motion to suppress.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions of first degree murder. Defendant took a collateral challenge to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), arguing that he received ineffective assistance of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit sidestepped the government’s challenge to its jurisdiction in this immigration case and held that, even if it did have jurisdiction to consider Petitioner’s appeal challenging the Board of Immigration…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment convicting Defendant, after a jury trial, of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone. On appeal, the court held…

Justia Opinion Summary: On July 5, 2014, the First Circuit issued an opinion affirming the district court’s decision to grant Petitioner’s motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255. One week later, Respondent informed the court that Petitioner had died…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court in connection with Defendant’s convictions of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud. On appeal, Defendant challenged…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm. The court held that defendant's prior conviction for robbery under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. 3701(a)(1)(iv) fell…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Vogel loaned Catala, $8,500 during a trip to Las Vegas. When Catala did not repay the loan, Vogel sued him in a Rhode Island state court. In 2012, a state judge entered a judgment for $8,500, plus interest and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed defendant's 27 month sentence, which included three years of supervised release with a six-month 6:00 PM curfew enforced by electronic monitoring. The court held that the curfew was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers’ warrantless entry into the home of Plaintiffs and their subsequent arrest of one of the plaintiffs violated clearly established law. Plaintiffs, Charles and Lesa Morse, sued Defendants, police…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s sentence imposed for his conviction of attempting to enter the United States after previously having been removed from the United States due to an aggravated felony. Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action seeking to, among other things, quiet title to certain property, the district court did not err in granting judgment on the pleadings in favor of Defendants. After he was informed that his loan secured…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s lawsuit challenging the revocation of his attorney’s license, holding that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred his suit. After the Rhode Island…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and one count of conspiracy to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and the denial of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s finding, in this securities fraud class action against Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. and former and current Sarepta executives, that Plaintiffs, several shareholders, failed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because there was not reasonable…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of visa fraud, possession of firearms by a non-immigrant alien, bank fraud, and making materially false statements to a government agency. While he was being held in pretrial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress certain evidence, including a loaded firearm found when law enforcement searched Defendant’s home. Defendant pleaded guilty to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit upheld the finding of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that Petitioner was eligible for removal because third-degree larceny under Connecticut law is an aggravated felony. Removal proceedings were…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of one count of carjacking by shooting and killing the victim and sentencing him to 365 months of imprisonment. Defendant pled guilty to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ronald Brenner sought to amend his late wife’s putative class action complaint in order to name himself as lead plaintiff. Jacqueline Brenner filed the complaint against Williams-Sonoma, Inc., alleging that the company’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s sentence of sixty months in prison and the restitution schedule set by the district court. After Defendant pled guilty to tax fraud, the district court sentenced Defendant to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of extortion under color of official right. Defendant was the former chief of police of the town of Lee, Massachusetts. The conviction…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the method and manner in which synthetic cathinone alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), a drug not listed in the relevant tables incorporated in the sentencing guidelines, is converted…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s sentence in this criminal case. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pled guilty to possession of a firearm. The parties stipulated that the government would recommend a sentence…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions, rendered after a jury trial, and sentences for conspiring to defraud the United States, stealing government property, and making material false statements in an…

Justia Opinion Summary: A creditor appealed a bankruptcy court’s decision to deny a creditor’s motion to appoint a trustee for the bankruptcy estate to replace the debtor in possession of that estate. The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court did not err by admitting a letter Defendant wrote under Fed. R. Crim. P. 410, which prohibits the use of certain plea-bargain-related statements against a Defendant in later proceedings. The letter,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court for Defendant’s conviction of distribution of five grams or more of cocaine base. On appeal, Defendant challenged the classification of his prior…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions, following a jury trial, of one count of aiding and abetting the interstate transportation of three victims for purposes of prostitution. The court held (1) the court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the district court’s conclusion that Plaintiff was likely to succeed on the merits of his contention that a provision of the Maine Civil Rights Act facially violates the First Amendment’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a revocation hearing, Defendant, who violated the conditions of his supervised release, was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Defendant was originally…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence that was seized from Defendant’s apartment pursuant to a warrant. While law enforcement agents were seeking the warrant,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s determination that, under Puerto Rico law, Caribbean Seaside Heights Properties, Inc.’s suit for breach of contract against Erikon LLC, its former investment partner, was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit summarily affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claims that HSBC could not foreclose on their property under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, 14 and that the mortgage encumbering their property…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed by the district court for Defendant’s convictions for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and illegal possession of a machine gun. The district court sentenced…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court erred in refusing to vacate its dismissal of a pension fund’s lawsuit against an employer’s alleged alter egos. In the lawsuit, the fund sought $1.2 million in unpaid withdrawal liability that was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the ten-year prison sentence imposed by the district court for Defendant’s conviction of violating 18 U.S.C. 2113(a), the federal bank robbery statute. On appeal, Defendant challenged the…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of attempted Hobbs Act extortion and attempting to collect an extension of credit by extortionate means. Defendant appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court and remanded this case involving the ownership of the Touro Synagogue building and associated land and rimonim used in the worship in the Touro Synagogue.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Attorney General has the discretion to cancel the removal of a non-permanent resident alien if the alien, among other things, has ten years of continuous physical presence in the United States. At issue here was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s revocation sentence, holding that the district court did err in fashioning the sentence. While on supervised release following his term of imprisonment for a 2002 federal drug…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint against Nordstrom, Inc. alleging that Nordstrom had improperly obtained money from her and other Massachusetts consumers and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims against Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc. alleging that the “comparison prices” on Kohl’s price tags were entirely fictional and selected to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to concurrent prison terms of 108 months for his convictions for conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action brought by two individuals (Relators) under the False Claims Act (FCA) and various state analogues, the First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s dismissal of the complaint.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) denial of his untimely motion to reopen removal proceedings based on changed conditions. Petitioner, a Mexican…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ third amended complaint in this federal-sector employment discrimination case in which Plaintiffs invoked “extravagant” theories of liability.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the decision of Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) determining that the Massachusetts crime of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (ABDW) is categorically a crime involving mural…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s determination that Defendant’s prior convictions in Massachusetts state court for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (ABDW) were not convictions for a “violent…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for Defendant on Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim. Plaintiff, a South Carolina resident, brought this diversity suit against…

Justia Opinion Summary: Although the First Circuit identified in this case an unsettled question about the scope of a waiver-of-appeal provision, the court assumed, without deciding, that the waiver was inapplicable in this instance. After…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder in a Massachusetts court. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Appellant’s conviction and sentence and declined to grant collateral relief. Appellant later…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed this diversity action against Fundacion Damas, Inc. and Banco Popular de Puerto Rico alleging (1) Fundacion was the owner and operator of Hospital Damas, (2) Fundacion committed medical malpractice under…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this business dispute, Plaintiff K’s Merchandise Mart, Inc. challenged orders by the district judge granting summary judgment for Defendants William Weinstein and Frank Morton and requiring Plaintiff to pay Defendants…

Justia Opinion Summary: The arbitrator did not manifestly disregard the law and did not exceed his powers in concluding that the dispute in this case could not be arbitrated as a matter of law. Plaintiff Mountain Valley Property, Inc. (MVP)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Disappointed by the limited fruits of its multimillion-dollar investment with Abbott Laboratories (Abbott), John Hancock Life Insurance Company (Hancock) sued, seeking to recover damages under its contract with Abbott…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a pedestrian who was injured in a car accident, sued the vehicle’s driver and the driver’s insurance company, alleging negligence. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Defendants, finding that Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this complaint by a former employee alleging violations of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) there was no error in the district court’s jury instructions. Plaintiff filed a complaint against his former employer…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit held that, regardless of whether or to what extent USSG 2L1.1(b)(7)(D) incorporates a causation requirement, the district court did not err in applying the enhancement in this case. Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs' claims challenging the development of an offshore wind farm near Block Island, Rhode Island. The court held that Rhode Island's three-year personal injury statute…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court did not err in granting the government’s motion for J.C.D. to be tried as an adult for an armed carjacking J.C.D. allegedly committed when he was seventeen years old. J.C.D. was charged with one count…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a machine gun. While he was on supervised release Defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant was sentenced to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned defects in the execution of two life insurance annuity polices that the decedent purchased through National Western Life Insurance Co. Plaintiffs, the decedent’s wife and children, sued National…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff pleaded guilty to two firearms-related misdemeanors. When Plaintiff subsequently attempted to renew his Class A License to Carry, the Chief of Police of the Town of Northborough, Massachusetts denied…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were prevented from building a new home by the Cohasset Conservation Commission. Plaintiffs brought this action against Defendant, a Florida landscape design firm that was hired by the attorney representing…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of, among other federal crimes, violating 18 U.S.C. 922(g), which prohibits certain persons from possessing or transporting firearms if that defendant has at least three prior convictions for an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Penobscot Nation filed suit against the state of Maine and certain state officials claiming rights to a sixty-mile stretch of the Penobscot River, known commonly as the Main Stem. The district court made two rulings…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction for possessing a firearm entered after a second jury trial but vacated his sentence, holding that the district court erred in determining that Defendant was subject to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: A final determination of liability but not damages in arbitration can satisfy the final requirement of Article V(1)(e) of the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards when…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed on Defendant after Defendant pleaded guilty to criminal charges based on her conduct during the court of a large-scale fraudulent financial scheme, which she led for five…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this excessive force case, the First Circuit sustained the district court’s post-verdict denial of qualified immunity to Defendant, a police officer on crowd-control duty who grabbed Plaintiff from behind by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgments convicting and sentencing Tony Bedini and Iskender Kapllani (together, Defendants) for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. On appeal, Defendants argued, inter alia, that they…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against the Secretary of Defense alleging discrimination on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2000e-17 based on his unsuccessful application for two teaching positions at an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s sentence of sixty months’ imprisonment. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner’s petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) decision affirming the Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of her application for withholding of removal. Petitioner, a…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeals arose from a dispute over whether application of the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law (MESTL), 2014 Mass. Legit. Serv. ch. 505 (West), to interstate rail carriers that employ workers in Massachusetts is…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of violating Maine’s assault statute. The court of appeals vacated Defendant’s conviction and remanded for further proceedings. On remand, the district court dismissed the indictment. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit remanded this case for further proceedings, holding that the district court abused its discretion in failing to rule on the merits of Appellant’s ineffective assistance claim prior to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, holding that the district court did not err, much less commit plain error, in accepting Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendants Abraham Walker-Couvertier (Walker) and Dean Lugo-Diaz (Lugo) were found guilty of numerous drug-related crimes. The trial court sentenced Walker to concurrent 192-month terms of immurement…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose out of the state prosecution of Vladek Filler for five counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of assault. After two trials and two appeals Filler was convicted only of one misdemeanor assault…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Autoridad de Energia Electrica de Puerto Rico (PREPA) executed six contracts for the delivery of fuel oil. Vitol, Inc. was a party or assignee to the six contracts, each of which included a choice of law and forum…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a straight guilty plea to possession of a machine gun. The district court sentenced Defendant to thirty-three months’ imprisonment in accordance with the government’s recommendation. Defendant appealed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant in this design defect and failure to warn action. Bernardino Santos-Rodriguez was riding in a boat when a corroded rod end that was part of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff defaulted after Defendant loaned Plaintiff money to buy a car. Defendant repossessed the vehicle and sent Plaintiff two notices in connection with its efforts to sell the car and collect any deficiency owed on…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute more than 1,000 grams of marijuana, among other charges. Defendant moved to suppress evidence taken from a warrantless search…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a Nigerian citizen by birth, pleaded guilty to making a material false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the United States government. Because of his conviction, Petitioner was permanently…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this design-defect product-liability case, the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the case for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute and to comply with scheduling orders. Plaintiff brought this…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the convictions of brothers Stanley Gonsalves and Joshua Gonsalves, who were convicted on multiple counts arising from their operation of an oxycodone-trafficking ring. The court held (1) the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought this action under the Administrative Procedure Act seeking review of two biological opinions (BiOps) issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)…

Justia Opinion Summary: A corrections officer used the name of Joel Diaz-Nieves to shield his identity when participating in a controlled buy of fake cocaine. Joel lived with his parents and brother when FBI agents executed an arrest warrant at…

Justia Opinion Summary: Debtors filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and a motion seeking bankruptcy court approval of an asset purchase agreement (APA), whereby they agreed to seek substantially all of their assets…

Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute between two businesses led to Plaintiff filing suit in federal court alleging various claims under Massachusetts law, two of which remained at issue on appeal. Those two claims were for breach of implied…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit declined enforcement of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) order requiring 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East (the Union) and Good Samaritan Medical Center to reinstate Camille Legley…

Justia Opinion Summary: Annalia Montany, a student in the University of New England’s (UNE) occupational therapy master’s degree program, injured her back when Scott McNeil, an instructor playing the role of a mock patient, feigned a fall while…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this immigration case, the First Circuit vacated the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upholding the decision of the Immigration Judge (IJ) denying Petitioner’s applications for asylum, withholding of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s rejection of Appellant’s claims that she, among other things, suffered discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its Massachusetts…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s sentence for the crime of possession of stolen government property with intent to convert. The district court imposed an above-the-range sentence of thirty months’ imprisonment. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute at least fifteen kilograms but less than fifteen kilograms of cocaine. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Guatemala, petitioned for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying his requests for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty, without a plea agreement, to several federal firearms offenses. Defendant already had a long criminal record, including Massachusetts convictions for unarmed robbery, assault with a dangerous…

Justia Opinion Summary: Alvin Houston and Shawna Calhoun pleaded guilty to transporting Minor A from Maine to Massachusetts and back to Maine over an eight-day period with the intent that Minor A engage in prostitution. In these consolidated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute alpha-PHP and obstruction of justice, reserving the right to appeal the denial of four of his five motions to suppress. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for carjacking in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2119. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Defendant’s actions were sufficient to allow a rational jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction for conspiracy to commit access-device fraud. Before trial, Defendant and his co-defendant filed motions to suppress evidence and statements that had been obtained in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction for conspiracy to commit access-device fraud. Before trial, Defendant and his co-defendant filed motions to suppress evidence and statements that had been obtained in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: First Circuit rejects civil rights claims relating to retention of property in car towed for an evidentiary search. Chelmsford police located Denault’s 2000 Nissan parked in Testa’s Lowell driveway. Denault, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: First Circuit rejects Double Jeopardy challenge to second indictment for cocaine smuggling. On August 15, 2013, Díaz was indicted in the Southern District of Florida for his role in planning and organizing a maritime…

Justia Opinion Summary: Municipal ordinances banning coal combustion residuals from landfills were preempted by Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board’s approval of the disposal. AES Puerto Rico, a coal-fired power plant owner, claimed that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the sentence imposed for his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. After Appellant pleaded guilty to the offense, the district court sentenced him to ten years, the statutory maximum.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from the revocation of his supervised release and the imposition of a term of imprisonment of twenty-four-months. During Defendant’s period of supervised release for his conviction of conspiracy to…

Justia Opinion Summary: A plaintiff may not bring claims for damages under 42 U.S.C. 1981 against state actors, including defendants sued in their official capacities as government officials. The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit answered two questions of first impression regarding the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) by holding (1) in a case where a federal district court is confronted with a motion to compel arbitration under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: While they were investigating a suspected drug-trafficking operation, federal DEA agents made a warrantless entry into an apartment that, as it turned out, served as a stash house for a second, more substantial,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit held that the five-day grace period outlined in 20 C.F.R. 422.210(c) does not apply to final decisions on remand where the individual does not file any written exceptions to the administrative law…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of this putative class action alleging violations under sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The district court concluded that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered guilty pleas to possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. The district court sentenced Appellant to a total incarcerative…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment to Defendant in this action for breach of contract. Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant alleging that in causing a $200,000 loan to be taken out against a life…

Justia Opinion Summary: When the five defendants in this case failed to pass the required exams to obtain their medical licenses, they gained certification by obtaining falsified scores. All five defendants were indicted for conspiracy to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a straight guilty plea to possession of firearms by a convicted felon and possession of machine guns for possessing two seized firearms. The sentencing court considered the second firearm as an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that aliens who are subject to reinstated orders of removal may not apply for asylum, even though they may be entitled to withholding of removal. In reaching this…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of her former employer, AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical LP, on Plaintiff’s claims that AstraZeneca violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant challenged the seventy-month prison sentence he received after pleading guilty in federal district court, pursuant to a plea agreement, to aiding and abetting a convicted felon in the possession of a firearm.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to three charges related to his act of possessing guns and drugs while he was on supervised release. The federal district court denied Appellant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea that he filed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a straight plea to illegal possession of a machine gun. The district judge sentenced Appellant to forty-eight months’ imprisonment followed by thirty-six months’ supervised release. On appeal, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed the district court’s imposition of a two-year sentence imposed following the revocation of a term of supervised release. Specifically, Appellant argued that the district court erred in (1) stating that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the City of Portland on Plaintiff’s claim that the City unconstitutionally denied him the opportunity to apply for a permit for his taxi to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Federal subject-matter jurisdiction over this dispute involving claims of defamation and other causes of action was premised on a diversity of citizenship. Hearts With Haiti Inc. and Michael Geilenfeld sued Paul…

Justia Opinion Summary: Gerardo Salvati died from injuries he sustained while doing maintenance work. Gerardo’s wife, Lucia (hereinafter referred to as Salvati) filed a lawsuit seeking damages for wrongful death and loss of consortium. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pan Am Railways, Inc. brought charges of dishonesty and insubordination and threats of dismissal against Jason Raye, an injured employee who had filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense (Count 1) and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances (Count 5). The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Debtor after Debtor defaulted on a loan. Plaintiff secured a default judgment in the amount of $137,030.78. Without making payment on the judgment, Debtor later filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a written plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. The plea agreement…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Appellant pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute between fifteen and fifty kilograms of cocaine. Consistent with the parties’ joint recommendation, the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Arabian Support & Services Co. (ASASCO), a Saudi Arabian business, sought compensation for assisting Textron Systems Corporation in its pursuit of a weapons deal in Saudi Arabia. ASASCO claimed that Textron backed away…

Justia Opinion Summary: Hubbard Systems, Inc. (HSI) was in the business of developing, marketing, and selling a debt collection software program titled “Collection Partner.” In 1992, Gregory Turner entered into a rent-to-own agreement with HSI…

Justia Opinion Summary: Patrick Camerano died after suffering a fall while on a “respite/nursing stay” at a facility operated by East Boston Neighborhood Health center (EBNHC). Plaintiff, Patrick’s son, sent a letter styled as a “claim” to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. The district court imposed a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base. The district court imposed a total prison sentence of forty-six months, at the lower end of the United States…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) requires mandatory sentences for recidivist criminals with three or more convictions for crimes committed on different occasions that qualify as predicate offenses. Defendant pled…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lisa Tam Chung, a Texas high school senior, purchased a vacation package through StudentCity.com for a trip to Cancun, Mexico, adding an optional snorkeling excursion. The snorkeling trip ended with the vessel taking on…

Justia Opinion Summary: Regulations promulgated by the National Marine Fisheries Service require that commercial fishermen must, on occasion, be accompanied on their vessels by at-sea monitors to ensure accountability with respect to catch…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendants, her former employer and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, alleging that Defendants violated her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), discriminated against…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) (the Tribe) decided to pursue gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) on its trust lands in Dukes County, Massachusetts (the Settlement Lands). The…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and other charges related to his membership in a crime syndicate. Defendant appealed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 280 grams of cocaine base and aiding and abetting in the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was employed by Appellees as a social worker when she suffered a work-related injury. Appellant sued Appellees, alleging that they failed to accommodate her disability in violation of the American with…

Justia Opinion Summary: Zafgen Inc.’s investors (Investors) brought a securities fraud class action suit against Zafgen and its Chief Executive Officer (collectively, Defendants) following a significant drop in the share price of the company.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to being a felon in possession of ammunition. The district court found that Defendant’s prior convictions for resisting arrest and assault and battery of a police officer…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and two other named plaintiffs filed a putative class action suit against defendants in a Massachusetts state court. Defendants successfully sought removal of the suit to a federal district court. The district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought actions for civil liability under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act against four defendants. As to three defendants - Ashvinkumar Patel, Simal Patel, and Bijal, Inc. - the district court dismissed…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, removal proceedings were initiated against Petitioner. An immigration judge (IJ), however, deemed Petitioner to be a U.S. citizen. In 2016, Petitioner was convicted of a drug felony, and a second IJ ordered…

Justia Opinion Summary: This was the First Circuit’s second set of appeals involving the automatic stay provision of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). Here, the parties disputed whether four claims…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pumpernickel Express, Inc. carried automotive parts from warehouses in Mansfield, Massachusetts to Toyota dealerships in the region. Pumpernickel’s drivers were represented by a Union. Lily Transportation Corporation…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than twenty-eight grams of cocaine base. Appellant was sentenced to 132 months of imprisonment. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to a single count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentencing court, ruling on the basis of circumstantial evidence, attributed constructive possession of six Molotov cocktails to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs took out a loan to buy a property in Massachusetts. Plaintiffs executed a mortgage naming the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) as the mortgagee and executed a promissory note to Chevy…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within a protected location. The district court sentenced Appellant to a 235-month…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, the Rhode Island Supreme Court found that title to the Regatta Club in Newport and the parcel of land on which it was constructed belonged to a group of condominium associations. Thereafter, the operator of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. In 2015, the district court determined that Defendant had violated the conditions of his supervised release,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were a group of current and former federal employees working in non-foreign areas located outside the contiguous United States. In addition to their normal salaries, federal employees working in these areas…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought a lawsuit against their insurance carrier (Defendant), claiming that Defendant had incorrectly denied coverage. The case proceeded to a jury trial. The jury’s unanimous verdict was for Defendant.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant divorced his wife in order to transfer assets fraudulently and avoid some tax liability. The district court set aside the separation agreement as a fraudulent transfer and proceeded to redivide and reallocate…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought this case pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), seeking reimbursement for certain expenses connected with the treatment of her teenage son. The plan administrator, Blue Cross…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff worked at a Maine law firm for more than twenty-five years and, for many years, was an equity partner. In 2012, Plaintiff filed a long term disability (LTD) claim with Defendant Standard Insurance Company, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to drug conspiracy and arson charges. Prior to sentencing, Defendant moved to withdraw his plea, arguing that he did not have the opportunity to personally review certain discovery materials. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of bank and wire fraud and unlawful monetary transaction. The trial court imposed a below-Guidelines term of 150 months. The court also entered an order of forfeiture in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of drug trafficking. The trial judge sentenced Defendant to 360 months’ imprisonment. Defendant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that the evidence was insufficient…

Justia Opinion Summary: The three defendants in these consolidated appeals pleaded guilty to superseding informations charging them with, as relevant to this appeal, conspiring to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine. The First…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a proposed project. The certificate was subject to filing of proof that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pled guilty to aiding and abetting others in obstructing commerce and the movement of articles and commodities in such commerce by robbery (count one) and aiding and abetting…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The district court sentenced Defendant to ninety-three months’ imprisonment and ordered him to…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether the delivery drivers for a Maine dairy company fell within the scope of an exemption from Maine’s overtime law. Specifically at issue was an exemption to the overtime law that covers…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of money laundering. The district court sentenced Defendant to forty-two months of imprisonment. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court did…

Justia Opinion Summary: Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary (collectively, Amphastar) and Sandoz Inc. were competitors in the U.S. market for generic enoxaparin, an anticoagulant. Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. served…

Justia Opinion Summary: A court-appointed receiver (the Receiver), acting on behalf of a class of defrauded persons (the underlying plaintiffs), attempted to collect judgments previously rendered against several corporations and their…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a multiple-count indictment, Defendant was charged with conspiring with twenty-nine others to distribute drugs in several Boston area neighborhoods. In pretrial proceedings, Defendant filed a motion to suppress…

Justia Opinion Summary: On her last day of work with Mova Pharmaceutical Corporation, Nilda Rodriguez-Lopez (Rodriguez) began experiencing symptoms. Rodriguez was diagnosed with several physical and mental conditions and filed a claim for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to six counts of a ten-count indictment, including conspiracy to commit export violations, conspiracy to smuggle goods, and four counts of unlawfully exporting U.S. goods to Iran through the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Brittany Irish and her mother Kimberly Irish brought this 42 U.S.C. 1983 action against ten Maine State Police officers after Brittany’s former boyfriend broke into her parents’ home, fatally shot her boyfriend, shot and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Israa Hassan, a United States citizen, filed an I-130 petition seeking permanent resident status for her noncitizen husband, Kamal Ali. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denied the petition based on its…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, and money laundering. Defendant appealed, alleging trial error. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted on two counts of making false statements to federal authorities regarding his possible participation in the Boston Marathon bombing. Defendant appealed, challenging, in part, the district court’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Defendant was sentenced to 210 months imprisonment. Defendant appealed, challenging…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of both conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and healthcare fraud. The convictions arose from Defendant’s role in an extensive scheme to defraud Medicare by billing the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of illegal insider trading. The conviction arose from Defendant’s act of receiving material, nonpublic information about a local bank from a fellow member of the Oakley Country…

Justia Opinion Summary: After James Walsh’s (Plaintiff) employment with Zurich American Insurance Company (Defendant) was terminated, he filed a complaint against Defendant, alleging breach of contract, willful violation of New Hampshire’s wage…

Justia Opinion Summary: In May 1990, Petitioner, a lawful permanent resident, committed a felony under California law. At that time, the immigration laws allowed the Attorney General of the United States, if so inclined, to grant Petitioner a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute heroin. The district court sentenced Defendant to a term of imprisonment of sixty-six months. Defendant appealed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After she was charged with removability, Petitioner, a native and citizen of Guatemala, filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. An immigration judge…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced Defendant to an upwardly variant sentence of seventy-two months’ imprisonment followed by a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the federal government. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment with prejudice based on…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to rob a postal worker, assault on a federal employee, and related offenses. The sentencing judge sentenced Defendant to 235 months in prison, plus ten years.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant’s plea agreement recommended a total offense level under the U.S. Sentencing guidelines of seventeen. Defendant objected to the recommended…

Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute arose out of contract for the shipment of used tires from Puerto Rico to Vietnam. Because it arrived late to Vietnam, the shipment accrued port storage charges, demurrage charges, and related administrative…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Defendant waived any argument regarding the district court’s denial of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy, willful violation of the Investment Advisers Act, wire fraud, and corruptly impeding the administration of internal revenue laws. Defendant was sentenced to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of conspiring to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute and aiding and abetting others to posses cocaine with the intent to distribute. Defendant appealed, arguing that he was entitled to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to seventy-eight months’ imprisonment and ten years of supervised release. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned a dispute between employees represented by a Union and their successor employer. The parties agreed to arbitrate this dispute regarding change in the terms of pension provision in a collective…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Defendants resulting from the failure of material Defendants had supplied to Plaintiff. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged breach of contract, breach of implied and express warranties, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a police officer acting under color of state law, took Plaintiff into protective custody, handcuffed him, transported him to a police station, and jailed him after attempting to evaluate whether Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, while serving a four-year probation sentence for a robbery, Llanos-Falero conspired to rob Banco Santander de Puerto Rico. His associate drew police away with a bogus 911 call while Llanos-Falero drove two…

Justia Opinion Summary: Nieves and two other men traveling on a Puerto Rico highway pulled alongside a car stopped at a traffic light. Nieves exited the vehicle, carrying "a long pointed tip object" to the driver's side of the car. He ordered…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1991, six men were shot, execution-style, in an illegal gambling club in Boston's Chinatown district; one (Lee) survived. Lee testified that Tran arrived at the club with one of the victims after they had been…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Pfizer, settled claims that it had violated the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729, and entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Months later,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Swaby, a citizen of Jamaica, entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 1996 and adjusted to lawful permanent resident status in 2010. In 2013, Swaby pled nolo contendere in Rhode Island to three counts of manufacturing,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced Appellant to thirty-six months’ imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of five counts of drug trafficking and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Appellant was sentenced to a term of sixty-three to seventy-eight…

Justia Opinion Summary: O.M. was a student of the Falmouth School Department. O.M.’s mother, Ms. M. argued that her daughter’s individualized education program (IEP) specified that Falmouth would instruct O.M. using a Specialized Program…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana. After a disposition hearing, the district court sentenced Appellant to a fifty-month term of immurement.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to import one or more kilograms of heroin into the United States and to launder the proceeds of that activity. Defendant was sentenced to 262 months in prison. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Puerto Rico’s Insurance Commissioner (Defendant), claiming that Defendant eliminated her job as a director within the Office of the Insurance Commissioner on account of her political…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of five counts of wire fraud, five counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions, two counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of bank fraud. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to two counts of carjacking. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and four counts of illegal possession…

Justia Opinion Summary: Southeast Hospitals Group was formed through a merger of three hospitals, one of which had a union workforce. The union’s collective bargaining agreement granted union members a hiring preference when filling union…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants sought arbitration with BBVA Securities of Puerto Rico, Inc. and one of its securities brokers, asserting several claims under both federal and Puerto Rico law. An arbitration panel issued an award denying…

Justia Opinion Summary: After two trials, Appellant was found guilty of various federal drug and firearms-related crimes for his participation in six “Operation Guard Shack” drug deals orchestrated by the FBI. Each trial was presided over by a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants - Rivera-Ruperto, Salinas-Acevedo, and Santiago-Cardero - were found guilty of various federal drug and firearms-related crimes. Each was sentenced to multiple years of imprisonment. For Rivera-Ruperto, this…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Vendura was hired by TRW Inc. and became a participant in the TRW Salaried Pension Plan. In 2002, Northrop Grumman Corp. acquired TRW and renamed the company (herein referred to as NGSMC). After NGSMC attempted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured while receiving treatment at a federally funded healthcare facility. Plaintiff later filed an administrative claim with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) using a Standard Form 95 (SF…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was New Hampshire Senate Bill 319 (the Act), which was signed into law in 2014. The Act permits a reproductive health care facility to demarcate a zone under certain conditions and forbids members…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), enacted in 2016 to address Puerto Rico’s financial crisis, provides for a temporary stay of debt-related litigation against the Puerto Rico…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to one count of committing a Hobbs Act robbery. The court sentenced Appellant to a prison term of 120 months. Appellant appealed, arguing that his sentence was procedurally unreasonable - because…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and three specific-offense counts of distribution of that controlled substance. Appellant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: After the share price of a corporation’s common stock dropped, investors filed suit against the corporation and its former CEO, alleging securities fraud. The lead plaintiff, on behalf of himself and a putative class of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prior to the sentencing hearing, the government submitted a motion requesting that the district court apply the sentencing enhancement for trafficking in…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned a dispute relating to contracts for the construction of a municipal transportation terminal on land owned by a municipality (Municipality). Municipality awarded the construction project to OSSAM…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native of China, was charged with being removable. Petitioner filed applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The Immigration Judge (IJ)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to robbery of a controlled substance from a pharmacy by use of a dangerous weapon. After conducting a sentencing hearing, the district court sentenced Defendant to 120 months’ imprisonment.…