2022 First Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Gottlieb v. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.  
Date: December 30, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1074

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgments of the district court dismissing part of Plaintiff's putative class action for failure to state a claim and entering summary judgment disposing of the remainder of his claims,…

United States v. Rodriguez-Santos  
Date: December 29, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1035

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of aiding and abetting (1) a carjacking resulting in death, (2) kidnapping resulting in death, and (3) the use of a gun during a crime of violence resulting in murder…

United States v. Benito Lara  
Date: December 29, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1063

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error brought…

United States v. Fletcher  
Date: December 28, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1131

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and of possessing cocaine and cocaine base with intent to distribute, holding that there was no…

Robinson v. Garland  
Date: December 28, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1807

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing Petitioner's appeal of an order of removal from the Immigration Judge (IJ), holding that…

United States v. Corleto  
Date: December 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1326

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence collected during the investigation that led to his arrest, holding that the district court did not err in…

United States v. Harrington  
Date: December 28, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1067

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress the fentanyl discovered in his waistband during a pat-frisk conducted after an anonymous tip alerted the police…

Jimenez-Portillo v. Garland  
Date: December 27, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1117

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied a petition for review sought by Petitioners, four individuals who left El Salvador for fear of harm at the hands of a gang, holding that the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) was…

Aubee v. Selene Finance LP  
Date: December 21, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1321

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' breach of contract claim against Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB and otherwise affirmed the district court order dismissing…

Salmon v. Lang
Date: December 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1104
Murray v. McDonald
Date: December 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1931
United States, ex rel. Lovell v. AthenaHealth, Inc.  
Date: December 21, 2022
Docket Numbers: 22-1245, 22-1246

Justia Opinion Summary: In these two different qui tam cases in which the United States executed a settlement agreement with AthenaHealth, Inc. and multiple relators, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying…

O'Brien v. United States  
Date: December 19, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1014

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court substituting the United States as a defendant in the place of the physician that Plaintiff originally sued for wrongful death and vacated the district court's…

Salmon v. Lang  
Date: December 16, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1104

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants - several public school officials, the Town of Chelmsford, and the local school committee - and dismissing…

Murray v. McDonald  
Date: December 16, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1931

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the approval of a class action settlement under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e), holding that the absence of separate settlement counsel for distinct groups of class members made too difficult a…

Brown v. Harrington  
Date: December 16, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1314

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the bankruptcy court dismissing Appellant's voluntary petition for relief under title 11 of the United States Code, holding that the district court did not err in dismissing the…

Doe v. Stonehill College, Inc.  
Date: December 14, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1227

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed in part the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint against Stonehill College for breach of contract, sex discrimination in violation of Title IX, negligence, and…

US v. Vega-Monserrate
Date: December 8, 2022
Docket Number: 18-2241
Vazquez-Ramos v. Triple-S Salud, Inc.  
Date: December 8, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1115

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' federal antitrust claims concerning a standard exclusive dealing arrangement between Triple-S Salud, Inc. and Dr. Rodriguez-Blazquez and…

US v. Ramos-Carreras
Date: December 8, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1747
US v. Correia
Date: December 8, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1823
Sevelitte v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America  
Date: December 7, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1228

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the district court discharging Guardian Life Insurance Company of America from this interpleader action and awarding the death benefit in dispute to…

US v. Vega-Monserrate
Date: December 5, 2022
Docket Number: 18-2241
Glassie v. Doucette  
Date: December 5, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1761

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case stemming from a lengthy and acrimonious family dispute over the property of Donelson Glassie, whose estate remained in probate in Rhode Island eleven years after his death, the First Circuit reversed the…

United States v. Mejia  
Date: December 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1815

Justia Opinion Summary: The affirmed the decision of the district court to allow the government to rescind a plea agreement previously entered into with Defendant and proceed to sentence Defendant to a 162-month term of immurement, holding that…

Levine v. Grubhub Holdings Inc.
Date: December 2, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1131
US v. Bauza-Saez
Date: December 1, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-2128, 21-1510
Dominguez-Rivera v. Hazelwood
Date: December 1, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1474
Gonzalez-Arroyo v. Doctors' Center Hospital Bayamon, Inc.
Date: December 1, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1689
United States v. Ramos-Carreras  
Date: December 1, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1747

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the sentence the district court judge imposed after revoking Defendant's term of supervised release, holding that the district judge's use of alleged facts from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico…

Punsky v. City of Portland  
Date: November 29, 2022
Docket Number: 21-2007

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants on the basis of qualified immunity and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint bringing various constitutional claims…

Immediato v. Postmates, Inc.  
Date: November 29, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1015

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court determining that couriers who deliver goods from local restaurants and retailers are transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce such that they are…

United States v. Correia  
Date: November 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1823

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction for wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, and extortion, holding that Defendant was "fairly tried and lawfully convicted by an impartial jury in a trial presided over by an…

Swartz v. Sylvester
Date: November 23, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1568
Motorists Commercial Mutual Insurance Co. v. Hartwell  
Date: November 23, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1603

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the conclusion of the district court conclusion that the insurance policy issued by Motorists Commercial Mutual Insurance Company to the dealership that owned a motor vehicle that killed and…

Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito Abraham Rosa v. Financial Oversight & Management Bd. for Puerto Rico  
Date: November 23, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1048

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the claims brought by six Credit Unions against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and several of its agencies and instrumentalities, holding that the…

Financial Oversight & Management Bd. For Puerto Rico v. Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito  
Date: November 23, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1079

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed certain Credit Unions' challenge to the district court's rejection of their objections to the Modified Eighth Amended Title III Joint Plan of Adjustment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the…

In re Evenflo Company, Inc. v. Xavier  
Date: November 23, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1133

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court granting Evenflo Company Inc.'s motion to dismiss this amended class action complaint brought by forty-three plaintiffs from…

Kriss v. United States  
Date: November 22, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1206

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming the ruling of the bankruptcy court that the tax liabilities relevant to this appeal had not been discharged, holding that, under the subjective…

Gonzalez-Arroyo v. Doctors' Center Hospital Bayamon, Inc.  
Date: November 22, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1689

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting the motion in limine and motion for summary judgment brought by Defendants, Doctors' Center Hospital Bayamon and Dr. Benito Hernandez-Diaz (together,…

Swartz v. Sylvester  
Date: November 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1568

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's decision granting summary judgment to Defendants, Norman Sylvester and the Town of Bourne, Massachusetts and dismissing Plaintiff's lawsuit alleging that the discipline he…

Lionbridge Technologies, LLC v. Valley Forge Insurance Co.  
Date: November 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1698

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the ruling of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of a general liability insurer (Insurer) and dismissing Insured's complaint seeking full coverage of its defense when the…

United States v. Rijos-Rivera  
Date: November 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1721

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to 108 months in prison in connection with her conviction for one count of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, holding that…

Frese v. Formella
Date: November 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1068
United States v. Gauthier  
Date: November 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1785

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's requested credit for accepting responsibility for the two offenses of conviction because he had offered to plead guilty to those offenses…

United States v. Moffett  
Date: November 18, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1075

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's convictions for nine counts of wire fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft for his participation in an alleged health insurance fraud scheme, holding that the verdict form…

Frese v. Formella  
Date: November 8, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1068

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Appellant's complaint asserting that New Hampshire's criminal defamation statute was unconstitutionally vague in violation of the Fourteenth…

Rodriguez-Severino v. UTC Aerospace Systems
Date: November 4, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1901
Chavez v. Garland
Date: November 4, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1267
Dusel v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company
Date: November 4, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1609
Laparra-Deleon v. Garland  
Date: November 4, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1081

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that denied Petitioner's motion to reopen and terminate his removal proceedings but granted the petition…

Dusel v. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.  
Date: November 1, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1609

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Employer and dismissing Employee's claims alleging age discrimination and retaliation against a protected activity,…

Pais v. Kijakazi  
Date: November 1, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1948

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion for attorneys' fees, which he filed more than two years after successfully representing Appellee before both the Social Security…

Calvary Chapel of Bangor v. Mills  
Date: October 31, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1453

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Calvary Chapel of Bangor's (Calvary) complaint against Maine Governor Janet Mills raising several facial and as-applied constitutional and…

Bache v. Town of Boxborough
Date: October 31, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1166
United States v. Greaux-Gomez  
Date: October 27, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2065

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of enticement of a fifteen-year-old minor for unlawful sexual activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2422(b), and transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual…

Rodriguez-Severino v. UTC Aerospace Systems  
Date: October 27, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1901

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Employer and dismissing all of Employee's claims alleging retaliatory behavior under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act…

Guaetta & Benson, LLC v. McArdle  
Date: October 27, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1034

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the federal district court imposing Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 sanctions against attorney Michael McArdle, counsel on a state court complaint, holding that the district court erred in…

Financial Oversight & Management Bd. v. Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito  
Date: October 27, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1120

Justia Opinion Summary: In this installment of a series of cases before the Court regarding the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, 48 U.S.C. 2101-2241, the First Circuit dismissed the appeal, holding that this Court…

Cheng v. Neumann  
Date: October 25, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1124

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss this action for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional…

Triangle Cayman Asset Co. v. LG & AC, Corp.  
Date: October 24, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1251

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals arising from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Triangle Cayman Asset Company and Oriental Bank in a foreclosure action brought by Triangle against Appellants, who…

H.H. v. Garland  
Date: October 21, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1150, 21-1230

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted Petitioner's petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the denial of Petitioner's application for deferral of removal to Honduras under the Convention…

Chavez v. Garland  
Date: October 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1267

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted in part Petitioner's petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the denial of Petitioner's application for withholding of removal under the Immigration…

Estate of Rahim v. Doe 1  
Date: October 20, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1086, 21-1087

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court denying Appellants' denial of their pre-discovery motions for summary judgment on grounds of qualified immunity, holding that Appellants were entitled to…

United States v. Franklin  
Date: October 20, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1880

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court to admit and consider hearsay evidence when revoking Appellant's term of supervised release, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below. After…

Plazzi v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.  
Date: October 20, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1365

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the determination of the district court that Plaintiffs lacked standing under Article III to bring this action alleging a violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, 148…

Green Earth Energy Photovoltaic Corp. v. Keybank National Ass'n  
Date: October 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1580

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court appointing a receiver in an interlocutory appeal occurring during litigation between solar energy companies and the bank that funded the companies'…

Reyes-Batista v. Garland
Date: October 14, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1111
Moreno v. Garland  
Date: October 14, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1237

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of a final removal order upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), holding that the BIA did not commit legal error or abuse its discretion in failing…

United States v. Rivera  
Date: October 14, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1531

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1951(a), holding that there was no plain error in the…

US v. Raiche
Date: October 14, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1591
United States v. Cadden  
Date: October 13, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1602, 21-2003

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of fifty-seven counts under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.; the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.…

Dorce v. Garland
Date: October 12, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1336
United States v. Ahmed  
Date: October 12, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1583

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of twenty-four months' imprisonment imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to health care fraud, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively…

Maine Forest Products Council v. Cormier  
Date: October 12, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1198

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court issuing a preliminary injunction preliminarily enjoining enforcement of a state law before it took effect, holding that the district court properly entered…

Reyes-Batista v. Garland  
Date: October 7, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1111

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing his appeal of an order of the immigration judge (IJ) denying Petitioner nunc pro tunc relief…

US v. Cruz, US v. Lovely, US v. Mitchell
Date: October 7, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1388, 21-1429, 21-1720, 21-1428
US v. Melendez-Rivera
Date: October 6, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1285
United States v. Raiche  
Date: October 6, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1591

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of all counts in a 41-count indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of a child and possessing, promoting, and distributing child…

Laufer v. Acheson Hotels, LLC  
Date: October 5, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1410

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's claim brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Defendant, which operated an inn on Maine's southern coast, for…

Cante-Lopez v. Garland  
Date: October 5, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1922

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed Petitioner's petition for review of the denial by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) of his application for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3), holding that the petition is…

Shields v. United of Omaha Life Insurance Co.  
Date: October 4, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1290

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of United of Omaha Life Insurance Company (United) and against Lorna Shields on her claims for…

FinSight I LP v. Seaver  
Date: October 4, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1141

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiffs' claims for breach of contract and other related causes of action, holding that the district…

Dorce v. Garland  
Date: October 3, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1336

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied the petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying Petitioner's application for cancellation of removal, holding that substantial evidence supported the BIA's…

US v. Mulkern
Date: September 30, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1475
US v. Benjamin-Hernandez, US v. Balbuena-Hernandez
Date: September 28, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-1236, 20-1295
United States v. Cruz  
Date: September 28, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1388, 21-1429, 21-1720, 21-1428

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Appellants to terms of imprisonment and imposing conditions of supervised release on all Appellants, including "Standard Condition of Supervised…

United States v. Mulkern  
Date: September 27, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1475

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction for drug-trafficking and firearms charges, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress or in finding Defendant eligible for a…

Charron v. County of York  
Date: September 27, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1753

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the County of York and various County officials in this case alleging violation of Plaintiff's civil right, false…

United States v. Doe  
Date: September 23, 2022
Docket Number: 17-2134

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction, entered upon his guilty plea, for one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence of fifteen years of incarceration followed by three years of…

US v. Davis
Date: September 22, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1467
United States v. Benjamin-Hernandez  
Date: September 21, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-1236, 20-1295

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the convictions of Appellants Edilio Benjamin-Hernandez (Benjamin) and Johanni Balbuena-Hernandez (Balbuena) on multiple charges stemming from a conspiracy to transport cocaine from the…

The University of Notre Dame (USA) in England v. TJAC Waterloo, LLC
Date: September 20, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1558
United States v. Perry  
Date: September 16, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1730

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of a federal district judge in Maine sentencing Defendant on drug-distribution and communications-device counts, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor…

United States v. Bruzon-Velazquez  
Date: September 15, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1540, 21-1541

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and sentencing him to consecutive sentences of life imprisonment for discharging a firearm during and…

University of Notre Dame (USA) in England v. TJAC Waterloo, LLC  
Date: September 13, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1558

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court confirming certain damages awarded to The University of Notre Dame (USA) in England (Notre Dame) by a foreign arbitral tribunal in a contractual dispute…

United States v. Fonseca  
Date: September 8, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1791

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's latest request to withdraw his guilty plea to conspiring to import Cocaine into the United States and money laundering to promote this…

Gonzalez-Caban v. JR Seafood Inc.  
Date: September 2, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1450

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint alleging that he contracted paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) after eating a…

Doe v. Newton Public Schools  
Date: September 2, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1505, 21-1539, 21-1535

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the rulings of the district court in this civil action brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., holding that none of the parties were…

United States v. Williams  
Date: September 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1532

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base after a traffic stop near Wells, Maine, holding that the…

Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, S.A. v. Zealand Pharma A/S  
Date: September 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1781

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, S.A.'s claims against Zealand Pharma A/S and vacated the dismissal of Amyndas's claims against Zealand Pharma U.S., Inc.,…

Rivera-Medrano v. Garland
Date: September 1, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1667
Domingo-Mendez v. Garland  
Date: August 31, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1029

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

US v. Trenkler
Date: August 29, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1441
United States v. Trenkler  
Date: August 29, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1441

Justia Opinion Summary: On the government's appeal from the district court's grant of Appellant's motion for compassionate release the First Circuit reversed, holding that remand was required for further review. Nearly thirty years ago,…

Rivera-Medrano v. Garland  
Date: August 26, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1667

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the denial of Appellant's request for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3) and protection under the Convention Against…

Kenyon v. Gonzalez-Del Rio  
Date: August 25, 2022
Docket Numbers: 17-1686, 17-2217

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decisions of the district court granting partial summary judgment to defendant-physicians and denying Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration in light of the decision in Oquendo-Lorenzo v.…

Oquendo-Lorenzo v. Hospital San Antonio, Inc.  
Date: August 25, 2022
Docket Numbers: 17-1810, 18-1936

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court entering judgment against Hospital San Antonio, Inc. (HSA) and denying HSA's subsequent motion for relief under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b), holding that the district…

Falto-de Roman v. Municipal Gov't of Mayaguez
Date: August 24, 2022
Docket Number: 17-1653
Doe v. Mass. Institute of Technology  
Date: August 24, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1056

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court denying Plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed under a pseudonym, holding that the district court did not apply the appropriate standard for adjudicating such…

Falto-de Roman v. Municipal Government of Mayaguez  
Date: August 22, 2022
Docket Number: 17-1653

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court awarding plaintiff Elba I. Falto De Roman only nominal damages against the Municipal Government of Mayguez and against its mayor, Jose Guillermo Rodriguez, on…

US v. Vazquez-Rosario
Date: August 19, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1087
Dor v. Garland  
Date: August 19, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1694

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this immigration case to the Boards of Immigration Appeals (BIA) after it affirmed an immigration judge's (IJ) decision to deny Petitioner's applications for relief from removal based on two…

Harper v. Rettig  
Date: August 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1316

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court dismissing this complaint after concluding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Appellant's suit under the Anti-Injunction Act of the Internal…

Efreom v. McKee  
Date: August 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1382

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing this case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, holding that, as to counts I-IV, Plaintiffs ran afoul of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and that…

City of Miami Fire Fighters' & Police Officers' Retirement Trust v. CVS Health Corp.  
Date: August 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1479

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the complaint brought by two retirement funds in this putative securities fraud class action against CVS Health Corporation and the court's…

United States v. Vazquez-Rosario  
Date: August 17, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1087

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of false impersonation of an employee of the United States, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his claims of error. On appeal, Defendant…

US v. Soler-Montalvo
Date: August 17, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1311
Sarmiento v. Garland  
Date: August 17, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1679

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed Petitioner's petition for review of an immigration judge's (IJ) denial of his application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture and denied Petitioner's…

Craker v. DEA, Scottsdale Research Institute v. DEA
Date: August 17, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1055, 21-1323
Northeast Patients Group v. United Cannabis Patients & Caregivers of Maine  
Date: August 17, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1719, 21-1759

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the conclusion of the district court that the Maine Medical Marijuana Act's requirement that officers and directors of medical marijuana dispensaries operating in Maine be Maine residents…

United States v. Candelario-Ramos  
Date: August 16, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1988

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed Appellant's appeal from his mandatory minimum sixty-month sentence, holding that Appellant knowingly and voluntarily agreed to an appeal waiver, barring this appeal. Pursuant to a written…

Guldseth v. Family Medicine Associates LLC  
Date: August 16, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1212

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Family Medicine Associates (FMA) and one of its members (together, Defendants) and dismissing this lawsuit alleging…

Boston Executive Helicopters, LLC v. Maguire  
Date: August 15, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1002

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute between Boston Executive Helicopters (BEH) and the Town of Norwood, the First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court denying BEH's motions to enforce the parties'…

Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Edge Pharma, LLC  
Date: August 12, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1492

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the district court granting Edge Pharma, LLC's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim the allegations brought by Azurity Pharmaceuticals,…

Efron v. Mora Development Corp.  
Date: August 11, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2099

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over an award of attorneys' fees under 42 U.S.C. 1988, the First Circuit identified only one defect in the award, thus vacating the existing fee award in the amount of $20,243 and remanding to the…

Baez v. Town of Brookline, Mass.  
Date: August 11, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1278

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the Town of Brookline and its Selectmen and dismissing Plaintiffs' claims of unconstitutional mistreatment by the Town's…

Barth v. City of Cranston
Date: August 11, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1632
US v. Rivera-Ruiz
Date: August 10, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1992
United States v. Soler-Montalvo  
Date: August 10, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1311

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's conviction of attempting to persuade, induce, or entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, holding that the trial was tainted by the erroneous limitation of Defendant's…

Rodriguez-Rivera v. Allscripts HC Sol., Inc.
Date: August 10, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1936
Barth v. City of Cranston  
Date: August 10, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1632

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants and dismissing Plaintiffs' hybrid breach of contract and fair representation claim, their Takings Clause claim,…

Harris v. University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Date: August 10, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1770
Craker v. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration  
Date: August 9, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1055, 21-1323

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioners' petition for review in this action challenging a final rule promulgated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that set the framework through which applicants may register to…

Berkshire Place Associates, LP v. MDG Real Estate Global Limited
Date: August 9, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1820
Falmouth School Dep't v. Doe  
Date: August 9, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1882, 21-1887

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the federal district court rejecting a challenge to the ruling by a Maine Department of Education hearing officer that the Falmouth School District violated the Individuals with…

Rodriguez-Rivera v. Allscripts HC Sol., Inc.  
Date: August 5, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1936

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing this case against Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (AHS) on personal jurisdiction grounds but vacated the dismissal as to Allscripts…

United States v. Andujar-Colon  
Date: August 5, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1215

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of three counts of engaging in the business of dealing a firearm without a license and sentence of sixty months' imprisonment, holding that there was no error or abuse…

Thant v. Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.  
Date: August 5, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1657

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing this complaint against Karoypharm Therapuetics, Inc. and its corporate officers (collectively, Defendants) alleging securities fraud in violation…

United States v. Rivera-Ruiz  
Date: August 4, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1992

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Appellant's upwardly variant sentence of sixty months imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to one count of racketeering, holding that the sentencing court procedurally erred by basing…

Doe v. Brown University  
Date: August 4, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2023

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment dismissing Plaintiff's federal claims against Brown University and reversed the grant of summary judgment as to Plaintiff's state law…

Harris v. University of Massachusetts, Lowell  
Date: August 4, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1770

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed this appeal from the dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit filed by Plaintiffs, two college students, against Defendants, their former universities and university officials, asserting…

United States v. Staveley  
Date: August 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1842

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed this appeal, in which Appellant sought to override an appeal waiver and to proceed with an appeal based on the alleged ineffective assistance of his counsel, holding that ineffective…

Aadland v. Boat Santa Rita II, Inc.  
Date: July 28, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2073

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court in favor of Defendants in this action brought against the owners of a fishing vessel on which Plaintiff was a seaman alleging that…

Oriental Bank v. Builders Holding Co., Corp.  
Date: July 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1299

Justia Opinion Summary: In this bankruptcy action, the First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court affirming the order of the bankruptcy court granting summary judgment against Oriental Bank on all of the claims asserted against…

IDC Properties, Inc. v. Chicago Title Insurance Company
Date: July 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1757
Ministeri v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co.  
Date: July 25, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1651, 21-1652

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of an employee's widow in this insurance dispute, holding that the employee did not lose life insurance coverage under his employer's group policy…

Paiva v. Coyne-Fague
Date: July 25, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1746
IDC Properties, Inc. v. Chicago Title Insurance Co.  
Date: July 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1757

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island granting summary judgment in favor of Chicago Title Insurance Company (CTIC) and…

Financial Oversight & Management Board v. Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito  
Date: July 18, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1119

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the Title III court confirming a plan of adjustments for the debts of the Commonwealth and two of its instrumentalities in this action brought under the Title III of the Puerto…

Gonpo v. Sonam's Stonewalls & Art, LLC  
Date: July 15, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1352

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court finding Defendants liable for failing to pay all of the wages owed to Plaintiff, their former employee, holding that there was no error in the district…

United States v. Chin  
Date: July 15, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1574

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court resentencing Defendant while applying two sentencing enhancements under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, holding that both enhancements…

US v. Vega-La Torres
Date: July 14, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1888
United States v. Cortez-Oropeza  
Date: July 13, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1209

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions for unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon and for unlawfully possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, holding that Defendant…

Baker v. Smith & Wesson, Inc.  
Date: July 13, 2022
Docket Number: 21-2019

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court denying Defendant's motion for summary judgment as to Plaintiff's whistleblower retaliation claim brought under section 1514A of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, holding…

US v. Serrano-Berrios
Date: July 12, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1457
District 4 Lodge of the International Ass'n v. Raimondo  
Date: July 12, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1873, 21-1874

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute between the Maine lobster industry and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Agency) over a rule barring frequently employed methods of lobstering the First Circuit lifted its issuance of a…

United States v. Soto-Villar  
Date: July 11, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1198

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's judgmentsentencing Defendant to a 188-month term of imprisonment for his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute on kilogram or more…

Webster v. Gray  
Date: July 8, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1002

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's habeas petition, holding that the Massachusetts state court reasonably applied federal law in deeming the Commonwealth's proof…

We The People PAC v. Bellows  
Date: July 7, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1149

Justia Opinion Summary: In this lawsuit challenging both the residency and voter-registration requirements under Maine law the First Circuit affirmed the order issuing a preliminary injunction preventing the residency requirement and…

Does v. Mills  
Date: July 7, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1435

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied an emergency stay sought by Plaintiffs of a disclosure order in this challenge to the Maine vaccine mandate for healthcare workers as it stood on October 19, 2021, holding that Plaintiffs were…

United States v. Sierra-Ayala  
Date: July 5, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1145

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction for four offenses relating to Defendant's possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number and drugs found within the bag that he was carrying, holding that…

Frith v. Whole Foods Market, Inc.  
Date: June 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1171

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment dismissing Plaintiffs' lawsuit asserting race-based discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, holding that the district…

Vapotherm, Inc. v. Santiago  
Date: June 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1567

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss this case brought against him by Plaintiff, his previous employer, for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that the…

United Steelworkers v. National Grid  
Date: June 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1833

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court denying arbitration requested by two unions - the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers…

United States v. Serrano-Berrios  
Date: June 27, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1457

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to the statutory maximum of two years' imprisonment for violating two conditions of his supervised release, holding that the written…

United States v. Canty  
Date: June 23, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-2187, 21-1327

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the trial judge denying Defendants' motion for a new trial based on improper comments by the prosecutor, holding that the district court's denial of the new trial motions was…

United States v. Gordon  
Date: June 23, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1023

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of criminal copyright infringement and one count of mail fraud and his sentence of concurrent prison terms of thirty-six months for the copyright counts and…

US v. Messner
Date: June 23, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1483
Pierluisi v. Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico  
Date: June 22, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1071

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court rejecting Appellants' argument that the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico acted arbitrarily and capriciously in objecting to four laws…

United States v. Messner  
Date: June 22, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1483

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for one count of possession of child pornography, holding that Defendant suffered no prejudice from any claims deficient performance of his trial counsel.…

Pleasantdale Condominiums, LLC v. Wakefield  
Date: June 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1822

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Defendant Thomas Wakefield and dismissing Plaintiff Pleasantdale Condominiums LLC's claims alleging nondisclosure of…

Watson v. US
Date: June 17, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2134
Emigrant Residential LLC v. Pinti  
Date: June 17, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1330

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the district court's grant of summary judgment in this mortgage dispute, holding that the district court abused its discretion in denying Appellants' motion to defer the adjudication of a…

Watkins v. Medeiros
Date: June 16, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-1108, 20-1194
Field v. Hallett
Date: June 16, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1571
US v. Chiu
Date: June 16, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1120
United States v. Dion  
Date: June 16, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1411

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit upheld the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment against him and convicting Defendant of interstate violation of a protection order under 18 U.S.C.…

Watson v. United States  
Date: June 15, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2134

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's petition for habeas corpus, in which he alleged ineffective assistance of counsel, holding that Appellant failed to establish that his…

Field v. Hallett  
Date: June 14, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1571

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied a writ of habeas corpus sought by Petitioner under 28 U.S.C. 2254 to vacate her conviction for murder in the first degree, holding that there was no error. Petitioner was convicted of…

Sonoiki v. Harvard University  
Date: June 14, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1689

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint against Harvard University for breach of contract and other related claims, holding that the…

Pujols v. Garland  
Date: June 14, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1128, 21-1590

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted a petition for review of a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that affirmed the final order of removal entered against Petitioner pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1229-1229a and vacated the…

Wilson v. McDonough
Date: June 14, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1498
Railroad Avenue Properties, LLC v. Acadia Insurance Co.  
Date: June 14, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1834

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Acadia Insurance Company in this action brought by Railroad Avenue Properties, LLC for breach contract to recover…

Watkins v. Medeiros  
Date: June 10, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-1108, 20-1194

Justia Opinion Summary: Watkins was convicted of first-degree murder in Massachusetts state court in 2005 for a fatal 2003 shooting. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed his conviction. His federal habeas petition was denied. The First…

US v. Moore-Bush, US v. Moore
Date: June 9, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-1582, 19-1626, 19-1625, 19-1583
United States v. Diggins  
Date: June 8, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-2078, 20-2079

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals of the First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of committing a hate crime and one count of conspiring to commit a hate crime under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr, Hate…

Ken's Foods, Inc. v. Steadfast Insurance Co.  
Date: June 7, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1649

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) a question regarding whether Massachusetts recognizes a common-law duty for insurers to cover costs incurred by an insured party to prevent…

Legal Sea Foods, LLC v. Strathmore Insurance Co.  
Date: June 3, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1202

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the claims brought by Legal Sea Foods under Massachusetts law against Strathmore Insurance Co. following Strathmore's denial of Legal's request for…

SAS International Ltd. v. General Star Indemnity Co.  
Date: June 3, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1219

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case arising from losses that SAS International, Ltd. (SAS) claimed to have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting General Star Indemnity…

State of Rhode Island v. Shell Oil Products Co., LLC
Date: June 2, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1818
Shea v. Millett
Date: June 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1044
United States v. Chiu  
Date: June 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1120

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions for receipt and possession of child pornography, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's pre-trial motion to suppress evidence obtained…

Arch Insurance Co. v. Graphic Builders LLC  
Date: June 1, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1126

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment for Arch Insurance Co. and dismissing this diversity case brought by Graphic Builders, LLC, a general contractor, seeking to enforce a…

Porter v. Coyne-Fague  
Date: May 31, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1333

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the decision of the district court that the prosecutor in the underlying Rhode Island case transgressed the Batson rule in the course of jury selection but that Petitioner was not entitled to…

Shea v. Millett  
Date: May 27, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1044

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Dr. Peter Millett and dismissing Joseph Shea's alleged breach of oral contract action, holding that the statute of…

United States v. Windle  
Date: May 26, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1477

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court revoking Defendant's supervised release and adding to the terms of his supervised release a monitoring condition as to Defendant's computer activities to…

State of Rhode Island v. Shell Oil Products Co., LLC  
Date: May 23, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1818

Justia Opinion Summary: In this climate-change case, the First Circuit once more affirmed the order of the federal district court allowing Rhode Island's motion to return to state court its state court complaint against oil and gas companies…

US v. Flores-Gonzalez
Date: May 23, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2204
Bruce v. Worcester Regional Transit Authority
Date: May 23, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1293, 21-1300
Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. v. FOMB
Date: May 23, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1301
United States v. Lessard  
Date: May 23, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1443

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to a 150-month term of immurement in connection with his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to…

Victor J. Salgado & Associates v. Cestero-Lopategui
Date: May 20, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1855
Ponsa-Rabell v. Santander Securities, LLC  
Date: May 20, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1857

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing all claims in this dispute between brokerage customers of Defendant, who purchased special Puerto Rico securities during a recession but before the…

United States v. Cintron-Ortiz  
Date: May 19, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1366

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that Defendant violated the conditions of his supervised release term and the length of his revocation sentence, holding that any error was…

Bruce v. Worcester Regional Transit Authority  
Date: May 18, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1293, 21-1300

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's claims challenging the termination of his employment on free speech grounds, holding that…

Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. v. Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico  
Date: May 17, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1301

Justia Opinion Summary: In this interlocutory appeal, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss this suit pursuant to both the Eleventh Amendment and the Puerto Rico Oversight,…

United States v. Flores-Gonzalez  
Date: May 16, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2204

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence entered after he pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a machine gun, holding that Defendant's upwardly variant sentence could not stand. After a hearing, the sentencing…

United States v. Sepulveda  
Date: May 16, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2193

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the ruling of the district court denying Appellant's motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A), as amended by the First Step Act (FSA), holding that Appellant was not…

US v. Sepulveda
Date: May 13, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2193
Viscito v. National Planning Corp.  
Date: May 13, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1081

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the entry of final judgment entered in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff's wage and employment misclassification claims, holding that the Massachusetts Wage Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, 148…

VS PR, LLC v. ORC Miramar Corp.  
Date: May 13, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1112

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico dismissing without prejudice this collection and foreclosure action that VS PR, a limited liability corporation,…

Seifer v. Government Employees Insurance Company
Date: May 13, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1371
McIntyre v. RentGrow, Inc.  
Date: May 13, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1637

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of RentGrow, Inc. and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint alleging that RentGrow willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act…

Victor J. Salgado & Associates v. Cestero-Lopategui  
Date: May 12, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1855

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court denying Defendants' motion for entry of an automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. 922, incorporated into Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and…

J-Way Southern, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers  
Date: May 10, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1144

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting the government's motion to dismiss this lawsuit alleging improper termination and breach of contract for failure to state a claim on the grounds that…

US v. Toth
Date: May 6, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1009
Coughlin v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians  
Date: May 6, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1153

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court's dismissal of Debtor's motion to enforce an automatic stay as to a subsidiary of the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, holding that the Bankruptcy…

Ali v. Garland  
Date: May 5, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1296

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted in part a petition for review from Petitioner in which Petitioner challenged the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the immigration judge's (IJ) denial of Petitioner's…

United States v. Carrasquillo-Vilches  
Date: May 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1355

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed all but a small portion of the sentence and restitution order imposed by the district court in connection with Defendant's guilty plea to charges of falsely impersonating a federal officer and…

Martinez v. United States  
Date: April 29, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1981

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court granting summary judgment against Plaintiffs in this medical malpractice suit brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), see 28 U.S.C. 1346(b), 2671-2680,…

United States v. Toth  
Date: April 29, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1009

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court ruling for the government on its complaint seeing to obtain a judgment against Monica Toth for failing to pay an ordered penalty holding that there was no…

Moore v. British Airways PLC  
Date: April 29, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1037

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of an airline and dismissing an airline passenger's personal injury complaint, holding that the district court erred in…

Blackstone Headwaters Coalition v. Gallo Builders, Inc.  
Date: April 28, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2095

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the grant of summary judgment against Blackstone Headwaters Coalition in this citizen suit brought against various defendants involved in the development of a…

Lopez-Ramirez v. Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc.  
Date: April 28, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1937

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment against Eulalia Lopez-Ramirez (Lopez) in the medical malpractice suit that she and her daughter brought under Puerto Rico law, holding that Plaintiffs' allegations…

Together Employees v. Mass General Brigham Inc.  
Date: April 27, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1909

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court denying motion for a preliminary injunction sought by Appellants, then-employees of Mass General Brigham, Inc. (MGB), to stop their employer's application of…

United States v. McCarthy  
Date: April 26, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1129

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence for maintaining a drug-involved premises, holding that the sentence was not unreasonable. Defendant pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises. The trial court…

Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico, Inc.  
Date: April 26, 2022
Docket Number: 22-1080

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the court charged with overseeing proceedings under Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act confirming a plan of adjustment for the debts…

United States v. Batista  
Date: April 25, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1365

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of possession with intent to distribute forty grams or more of fentanyl, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence…

Courthouse News Service v. Quinlan, Bangor Publishing Co., Inc.  
Date: April 25, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1624, 21-1642

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court dismissing this complaint alleging a First Amendment claim and seeking a preliminary injunction, holding that Plaintiffs plausibly alleged a First Amendment…

US v. Brown
Date: April 21, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1612
United States v. Velez-Vargas  
Date: April 21, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1298

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence and remanded the case for resentencing, holding that the district court incorrectly found that Defendant's prior conviction in a Puerto Rico court for attempted aggravated…

Barros v. Garland
Date: April 20, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1335
Hollis v. Magnusson  
Date: April 19, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1160

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 alleging that the prosecution violated Batson v. Kentucky, 476…

Barros v. Garland  
Date: April 19, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1335

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted a petition for review sought by Petitioner from the denial of Petitioner's application for cancellation of removal and request for voluntary departure, holding that the Board of Immigration…

UniBank for Savings v. SBK Holdings USA, Inc.
Date: April 14, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-1990, 21-1184
United States v. Brown  
Date: April 14, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1612

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of forty-one months' imprisonment imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that there was no error or abuse of…

US v. Minor
Date: April 14, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1903
United States v. Procell  
Date: April 12, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1924

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to 135 months' imprisonment in connection with his pleas of guilty to crimes arising from his sexually-explicit virtual contact with an…

UniBank for Savings v. SBK Holdings USA, Inc.  
Date: April 11, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-1990, 21-1184

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action brought for the nonpayment of a promissory note the First Circuit affirmed the rulings of the district court entering summary judgment against SBK Holdings USA, Inc. and denying SBK's motion to set aside…

United States v. Minor  
Date: April 11, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1903

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's conviction of knowingly violating 18 U.S.C. 922(g), which prohibits nine categories of persons from possessing a firearm, holding that the trial court erred when it allowed the…

Katz v. Belveron Real Estate Partners
Date: April 8, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1724
Reyes-Caparros v. Garland
Date: April 8, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1792
Cushing v. Packard
Date: April 8, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1177
Confederacion Hipica de Puerto Rico v. Confederacion de Jinetes Puertorriqueños, Inc.  
Date: April 4, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-2201, 20-2172

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment against a group of jockeys who demanded higher wages and refused to rice and vacated the orders permanently enjoining the work…

United States v. Ortiz-Perez  
Date: March 31, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1838

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentences imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to two carjacking counts and one firearm possession count, holding that Defendant's arguments on appeal were without…

Bessette v. IKO Industries, Inc.  
Date: March 29, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1986

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to IKO Industries, Inc. (IKO) on the Massachusetts state law contractual and consumer protection claims that Armand Bessette…

Rivera v. Kress Stores of Puerto Rico, Inc.  
Date: March 29, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1331

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the order of the district court dismissing this action, holding that the court erred in characterizing the forum selection clause in this case as mandatory. Plaintiff Zuleyka Rivera, a former…

Doe v. Portland Public Schools  
Date: March 29, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1589

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court issued under the stay-put provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1415(j), ordering Portland Public Schools to pay for…

Puerto Rico Farm Credit, ACA v. Eco-Parque del Tanama Corp.  
Date: March 28, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1367

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment and order of the district court granting summary judgment for Lender and denying Borrowers' motion for reconsideration in this lawsuit brought by Lender seeking repayment and…

Williams v. Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.  
Date: March 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1442

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants and dismissing this lawsuit alleging various Massachusetts law claims based on a purported manufacturing…

United States v. Agramonte-Quezada  
Date: March 25, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1346

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of importation of cocaine and his sentence of a term of imprisonment of 120 months to be…

Cushing v. Packard  
Date: March 25, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1177

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the ruling of the district court denying Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction in this case arising from a decision by the Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives to…

OK Resorts of Puerto Rico, Inc. v. Charles Taylor Consulting Mexico, S.A. de C.V.  
Date: March 25, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1201

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting motions to dismiss filed by defendants Charles Taylor Consulting Mexico, S.A. de C.V., James Heiden, and Pierre Barron (collectively, Charles Taylor)…

Valentin-Marrero v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  
Date: March 24, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-2054, 20-2112

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the order of the district court denying in part Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and granting in part Defendants' motion for summary judgment, holding that the case must be dismissed for…

St. Paul's Foundation v. Ives  
Date: March 24, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1463

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants, the Town of Marblehead and its buildings commissioner, and dismissing this lawsuit brought under the…

United States v. Serrano-Delgado  
Date: March 22, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1652

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant, pursuant to a jury verdict, of conspiracy to commit a robbery, committing the robbery, and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime…

United States v. Torres-Melendez  
Date: March 21, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1029

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to illegally possessing a machine gun and remanded the case for resentencing, holding that the judge's sentence "explanation"…

United States v. Guerrero-Narvaez  
Date: March 16, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2209

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting the separate post-verdict motions for judgment of acquittal filed by the two defendants in this case, Eddie Guerrero-Narvaez and Kayvan…

Lahens v. AT&T Mobility Puerto Rico, Inc.  
Date: March 16, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1972

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant, his former employer, and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint alleging that Defendant terminated his employment…

Monsarrat v. Newman  
Date: March 10, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1146

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's defamation complaint, holding that the district court properly dismissed the complaint. Plaintiff brought this action against…

Katz v. Belveron Real Estate Partners, LLC  
Date: March 8, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1724

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Defendant and dismissing Plaintiff's claims for fraud, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment,…

Lopez-Perez v. Garland
Date: March 8, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1057
United States v. Kitts  
Date: March 3, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1325

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Appellant's plea of guilty to one count of investment adviser fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the…

Silva v. Garland
Date: March 3, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1593
Lebron-Yero v. Lebron-Rodriguez
Date: March 2, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1443
US v. Ruvalcaba
Date: March 2, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1064
United States v. Bowers  
Date: March 1, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2100

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that the district court did not err in its application of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1)…

Adeyanju v. Garland
Date: March 1, 2022
Docket Numbers: 21-1045, 21-1616
Silva v. Garland  
Date: February 28, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1593

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), holding that the immigration judge (IJ) and BIA properly concluded that Petitioner's…

United States v. Joseph  
Date: February 28, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-1787, 20-1794

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed Defendants' appeals from the trial court's refusal to dismiss their indictments, holding that this Court lacked jurisdiction to review before final judgment the district court's order denying…

Lepore v. United States  
Date: February 28, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1836

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court ordering the release of sealed archival records of certain grand jury proceedings and its judgment in favor of historian and Petitioner Jill Lepore, holding that…

Forsythe v. Wayfair, LLC  
Date: February 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1095

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff's federal and Massachusetts state law employment discrimination claims, holding…

Modeski v. Summit Retail Solutions, Inc.  
Date: February 25, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1747

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment ruling in favor of Defendant, a marketing company, holding that district court correctly concluded that Plaintiffs, who worked as…

Maldonado-Cabrera v. Anglero-Alfaro  
Date: February 25, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2030

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the order of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' action seeking damages for medical malpractice, holding that the district court abused its discretion by failing to apply the requisite…

Rodriguez-Valentin v. Doctors' Center Hospital (Manati), Inc.  
Date: February 24, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2093

Justia Opinion Summary: In this medical malpractice action the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court entering judgment in accordance with the jury's verdict finding Doctors' Center Hospital (Manati), Inc. (Doctors' Center)…

Adeyanju v. Garland  
Date: February 24, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1045

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted in part one of Petitioner's petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ordering Petitioner removed, holding that remand was required. The same day the denial…

US v. Sampson
Date: February 23, 2022
Docket Number: 17-6001
US v. Pimentel
Date: February 23, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2024
United States v. Sampson  
Date: February 22, 2022
Docket Number: 17-6001

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed as moot Gary Lee Sampson's appeal from his death sentence for murder and declined to exercise its equitable discretion to vacate the death sentence, holding that Sampson's convictions, life…

United States v. Carrion-Melendez  
Date: February 22, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1815

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence of ninety months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for his conviction for one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in violation of 18…

Reyes-Caparros v. Garland  
Date: February 22, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1792

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court rejecting the jury's advisory verdict in this case, holding that Plaintiff was not entitled to relief on his claims of error. Plaintiff, a former…

G.D. v. Swampscott Public Schools  
Date: February 22, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2114

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting judgment to Defendants and denying a declaration requested by Plaintiffs that the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) erred in…

Lopez-Perez v. Garland  
Date: February 22, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1057

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the ruling of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying Petitioner's application for asylum, withholding of removal, protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), and voluntary…

Xu v. Garland  
Date: February 18, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1044

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit dismissed Petitioner's petition for review of a final administrative removal order (FARO) issued against her in 2018 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), holding that this Court lacked…

United States v. Encarnacion  
Date: February 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1165

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions for certain drug-trafficking offenses, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on any of its allegations of error. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted…

Fincher v. Town of Brookline  
Date: February 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1281

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the Town of Brookline, Massachusetts on Plaintiff's claim brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging discrimination on…

Lerner v. Colman  
Date: February 17, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1984

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that this dispute concerning the disposition of assets once held by the uncle of the parties in this case belonged in a state court, not in a…

United States v. Pimentel  
Date: February 17, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2024

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress. Upon executing a no-knock search…

Securities & Exchange Commission v. LBRY Foundation Inc.  
Date: February 17, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1618

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying a motion to intervene filed by LBRY Foundation Inc. (Foundation) in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil enforcement action against LBRY,…

United States v. Espinoza-Roque  
Date: February 16, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1214

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the forty-six-month sentence Defendant received after pleading guilty to various firearm offenses, holding that the district court erred in finding that Defendant was an unlawful drug user at…

United States v. Brown  
Date: February 16, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1959

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and other offenses and resentencing him to a 300-month sentence, holding…

Gomez-Abrego v. Garland  
Date: February 16, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2175

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied in part Petitioner's petition for judicial review and remanded this immigration case to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) for further consideration, holding that remand was required for…

United States v. Ruvalcaba  
Date: February 16, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1064

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit held that a district court, when adjudicating a prisoner-initiated motion for compassionate release, is not bound by the Sentencing Commission's current policy statement and may consider the First Step…

Consumer Data Industry Ass'n v. Frey  
Date: February 10, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2064

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated and reversed the judgment of the district court holding that two laws passed by Maine's Legislature in 2019 that amended the Maine Fair Credit Reporting Act, Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, 1306 et…

US v. Medina-Flores
Date: February 9, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1814
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Berns v. Labaton Sucharow LLP  
Date: February 9, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1069

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal arising from the post-settlement process of apportioning a $300 million recovery between a class and its lawyers the First Circuit affirmed the district court's Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b) sanction of Leiff…

Ixcuna-Garcia v. Garland  
Date: February 8, 2022
Docket Number: 17-1867

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted in part and denied in part Appellant's petition for review of the judgment of the board of immigration appeals (BIA) finding that Appellant was ineligible for asylum and denying her application…

Thomas v. Garland  
Date: February 8, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2144

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit denied a petition for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that affirmed the denial of Appellant's application for adjustment of status on statutory and federal constitutional…

United States v. Mulero-Vargas  
Date: February 2, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1941

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable. Defendant Jose Mulero-Vargas and and Luis…

N.R. v. Raytheon Co.  
Date: January 31, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1639

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss as to count one of Plaintiffs' complaint and reversed the dismissal and remanded for further proceedings on counts two…

Moore v. Electric Boat Corp.  
Date: January 31, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1566

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court finding that Electric Boat Corp. had failed to satisfy the requirements of 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(1) for federal officer removal, holding that Electric Boat…

French v. Merrill
Date: January 28, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1650
Johnson Controls Security Solutions, LLC v. Int'l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 103  
Date: January 28, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1460

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court in this dispute between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 103 (the Union) and Johnson Controls Security Solutions, LLC over Johnson…

United States v. Reyes-Barreto  
Date: January 27, 2022
Docket Number: 18-1747

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's twelve-month prison sentence that was imposed after he committed and admitted to multiple supervised release violations, holding the sentence was neither procedurally nor…

U.S. Dep't of Justice v. Jonas  
Date: January 27, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1243

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court ordering compliance with an administrative subpoena issued to Appellant by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 876,…

United States v. Bilodeau  
Date: January 26, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-2292, 20-1054, 20-1034

Justia Opinion Summary: In this interlocutory appeal, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendants' claims that their prosecutions ran afoul of the prohibition in a congressional appropriations rider against…

United States v. Merced-Garcia  
Date: January 25, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2033

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction, entered following his guilty plea, for aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and aiding and abetting the possession…

Daggett v. York County
Date: January 25, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1374
United States v. Pena  
Date: January 21, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-1522, 20-1083

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendants' convictions for conspiring to distribute twenty-eight grams or more of cocaine base, holding that neither Defendant was entitled to relief on his claims of error. Defendants Juan…

Borzilleri v. Bayer AG  
Date: January 21, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1066

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing a relator's qui tam action brought under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729 through 3733, holding that the district court did not err in…

US v. Davila-Reyes, US v. Reyes-Valdivia
Date: January 20, 2022
Docket Numbers: 16-2089, 16-2143
US v. Davila-Reyes, US v. Reyes-Valdivia
Date: January 20, 2022
Docket Numbers: 16-2089, 16-2143
United States v. Doe  
Date: January 20, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1953

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions on six counts covering a range of federal crimes that stemmed from Defendant's use of a social security number assigned to another person, holding that there was no…

Johnson v. Johnson  
Date: January 19, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1719

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment for Defendants in this personal injury action, holding that the district court properly granted summary judgment as to all…

United States v. Reyes  
Date: January 19, 2022
Docket Number: 19-2013

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 846, and one count of possession…

United States v. Torres-Correa  
Date: January 18, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1639

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction for interfering with commerce by threats or violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1951 and 2 (Hobbs Act robbery); and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm during and in…

Da Graca v. Garland  
Date: January 18, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1607

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit vacated the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals affirming Petitioner's order of removal and denying his requests for cancellation of removal and voluntary departure, holding that a conviction…

Motus, LLC v. CarData Consultants, Inc.  
Date: January 18, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1226

Justia Opinion Summary: Motus and CarData both provide tools for managing businesses' reimbursement of employee expenses. Motus is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Boston.. CarData is a Toronto-based…

United States v. Ramirez-Frechel  
Date: January 13, 2022
Docket Numbers: 19-2010, 19-2017

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court convicting Defendants, two brothers, of gun and drug crimes and sentencing them to 111 months' imprisonment, holding that there…

Waters v. Day & Zimmermann NPS, Inc.  
Date: January 13, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1997

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court denying Day & Zimmerman's (D&Z) motion to dismiss this lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that there was no error. Plaintiff filed suit in…

Bonilla v. Garland  
Date: January 12, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1165

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted in part Petitioner's petition appealing the board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) denial of Petitioner's application for withholding of removal under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section…

United States v. Bynoe  
Date: January 12, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1925

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit summarily affirmed the order of the district court imposing an aggregate sentence of 210 months, to be followed by a six-year term of supervised release, in connection with Defendant's guilty plea to…

US v. Bynoe
Date: January 12, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1925
US v. Carter
Date: January 12, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1953
United States v. Texeira-Nieves  
Date: January 12, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1034

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A), as amended by the First Step Act (FSA), holding that the district court…

Peulic v. Garland  
Date: January 11, 2022
Docket Number: 20-1587

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

A.C. v. McKee  
Date: January 11, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2082

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Appellants' action for declaratory relief against the Governor of Rhode Island and various Rhode Island officials and agencies (collectively, Rhode…

Plourde v. Sorin Group USA, Inc.  
Date: January 11, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1145

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit posed a question of Massachusetts state law to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) in this negligence and failure to warn case, holding that this case met the both the SJC's and this Court's…

Yacouba-Issa v. Calis  
Date: January 10, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1343

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's petition for habeas relief, holding that the district court did not err in its treatment of Defendant's claim for habeas relief based on…

Ortiz v. Garland  
Date: January 10, 2022
Docket Number: 19-1620

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit granted Petitioner's petition for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the denial of Petitioner's claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the…

Pineda v. Skinner Services, Inc.
Date: January 7, 2022
Docket Numbers: 20-1097, 20-1141
Perez-Sosa v. Garland  
Date: January 7, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2083

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed all but two of the district court's rulings in this dispute over the amount of attorneys' fees due to Plaintiff, the prevailing party in the underlying employment discrimination dispute, and…

Vieira v. De Souza  
Date: January 7, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1522

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Father's petition seeking the return of seven-year-old Child from Massachusetts to Brazil, holding that the district court did not err or abuse its…

Spectrum Northeast, LLC v. Frey  
Date: January 4, 2022
Docket Number: 20-2142

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit held that a Maine statute requiring cable operators to grant subscribers pro rata credits or rebates for the days remaining in the billing period after the termination of cable service is not preempted…

Historic Bridge Foundation v. Buttigieg  
Date: January 4, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1188

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the holdings of the district court affirming the conclusions of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approving the Maine Department of Transportation's (MDOT)…

Perry v. Spencer
Date: January 3, 2022
Docket Number: 16-2444
Alexandre v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh  
Date: January 3, 2022
Docket Number: 21-1140

Justia Opinion Summary: The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court upholding Defendant National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburg, PA's denial of accidental death insurance benefits to Plaintiff following her…

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