Justia U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

A pension fund and other America Online (AOL) shareholders brought a class action against Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), former CSFB analysts, and other related defendants (collectively, Defendants), alleging violations of sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act and of SEC Rule 10b-5. Specifically, Plaintiffs claimed (1) CSFB made material misstatements and fraudulently withheld relevant information from the market in its reporting on the AOL-Time Warner merger; and (2) the shareholders purchased stock in the new company at artificially inflated prices as a result of the alleged misstatements and omissions. The district court awarded summary judgment to Defendants. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in excluding the shareholders’ expert testimony for lack of reliability; and (2) without the expert’s testimony, Plaintiffs were unable to establish loss causation. View "Bricklayers & Trowel Trades Int'l Pension Fund v. Credit Suisse Secs. (USA) LLC" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Before Appellant’s sentencing, he learned of the existence of certain evidence that the government had failed to disclose to him. Appellant filed a motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial, contending that the government had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence that could have been used to impeach the credibility of the key government witness against him at trial. The district court denied the motion. Appellant was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, which was “legally required” by the quantities of cocaine at issue and by virtue of this being Appellant’s third felony drug conviction. The First Circuit Court of Appeals (1) affirmed the denial of Appellant’s motion, holding that the suppression did not result in prejudice to Appellant; and (2) rejected the constitutional challenges Appellant raised to the district court’s imposition of a life sentence. View "United States v. Paladin" on Justia Law

Petitioner, a native and citizen of Indonesia, was charged with removability because he was a noncitizen who overstayed his tourist visa. Petitioner conceded removability but applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, asserting that he feared returning to Indonesia because he believed he would be subjected to persecution due to his Christian faith. The Immigration Judge denied all relief. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denied Petitioner’s untimely motion to reopen asylum proceedings, concluding that Petitioner failed to demonstrate a change in country circumstances that would excuse the untimeliness of his motion. The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied Petitioner’s petition for review, holding that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Petitioner’s motion to reopen. View "Simarmata v. Holder" on Justia Law

Defendants, Geovanny Ramirez-Negron and Obed Alvarado-Merced pled guilty to aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine, fifty grams of cocaine base, and one hundred kilograms of marijuana, all within 1000 feet of a public school, and related conspiracy charges. The district court sentenced each defendant to a Guidelines sentence. Defendants appealed, challenging the district court’s findings at sentencing as to drug quantity. After oral argument, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the parties to submit additional briefs on the issue of whether the Supreme Court’s decision in Alleyne v. United States impacted this appeal. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) there was no Alleyne error because all elements of Defendants’ crimes of conviction were admitted as part of the guilty pleas and neither Defendant was sentenced based on a mandatory minimum sentence; and (2) the evidentiary base for the district court’s findings of fact in support of its Guidelines sentences was adequate. View "United States v. Ramirez-Negron" on Justia Law

Plaintiff sought insurance coverage for gastric lap band surgery. Defendant, a health-care insurer that covered Plaintiff by virtue of Plaintiff’s husband’s employment with the federal government, refused to cover the full cost of the surgery. Plaintiff brought tort and breach of contract claims against Defendant in the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance. Defendant removed the action to the federal district court, asserting, inter alia, that the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act of 1959 (FEHBA) completely preempted Plaintiff’s local-law claims, thus conferring original jurisdiction on the federal court. Defendant then moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the FEHBA demanded exhaustion of administrative remedies. Plaintiff, in the meantime, requested that the district court remand the case to the Court of First Instance. The district court (1) denied Plaintiff’s motion to remand, holding that the FEHBA completely preempted Plaintiff’s claims and, thus, federal jurisdiction attached; and (2) dismissed the action for Plaintiff’s failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s judgment of dismissal and its order denying remand, holding that the court erred in concluding that the FEHBA afforded complete preemption. View "Lopez-Munoz v. Triple-S Salud, Inc. " on Justia Law

Petitioner, a native and citizen of Haiti, was charged with removability. An Immigration Judge (IJ) eventually ordered Petitioner removed to Haiti. Petitioner filed a motion to reopen the proceedings, alleging that because he had been granted temporary protected status (TPS) he was no longer removable, and that, at a minimum, his case should be administratively closed. The IJ denied the motion, concluding that Petitioner’s receipt of TPS was not a material change justifying reopening his case and that Petitioner’s TPS status did not warrant reopening the case so that the proceedings could be administratively terminated. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissed Petitioner’s subsequent appeal. The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied Petitioner’s petition for review, holding that the BIA did not commit legal error when it refused to reopen Petitioner’s removal proceedings so that they could be administratively closed based on Petitioner’s grant of TPS. View "Donnee v. Holder" on Justia Law

In 2011, in order to combat the use of anonymous prepaid cell phone for criminal purposes, the Puerto Rico Governor signed into law the Registry Act, which requires telephone companies and other sellers of prepaid phones to provide information about the purchasers of the phones to the government of Puerto Rico, which then compiles a registry with the names, numbers, and addresses of the purchasers. Plaintiff, a non-profit corporation that represents the interests of the wireless communications industry, sought declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing that the Registry Act was preempted by the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA) because the SCA prohibits Plaintiff’s members from turning over to the government without a subpoena the information required by the Registry Act. The district court granted Plaintiff’s motion for a permanent injunction. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the Registry Act is preempted by the SCA, and its enforcement should be enjoined. View "CTIA - The Wireless Assoc. v. P.R. Telecomms. Regulatory Bd." on Justia Law

Appellee, which manufactures and distributes specialized products for use in the defense, security, and aerospace industries, entered into a consultant agreement with Appellant, under which Appellant agreed to identify buyers for Appellee’s products. Three years later, Appellee acquired the rights to manufacture and sell RH1280B field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”)s, which are semiconductor integrated circuits that are used in satellites and other space equipment. Operating under the terms of the consultant agreement, Appellant found customers for RH1280B FPGAs, accepted delivery of the PFGAs, and resold the goods to its customers. Before Appellant accepted delivery, however, Appellee warned it that the RH1280Bs failed to meet certain specifications. Appellant subsequently refused to pay an outstanding balance of $1,800,000, alleging that Appellee breached its express warranty regarding the performance characteristics of the RH1280B. Thereafter, Appellee terminated the consultant agreement. The district court granted summary judgment in Appellee’s favor. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that, under the circumstances of this case, the district court correctly granted summary judgment in Appellee’s favor. View "BAE Sys. Info. & Elec. Sys. Integration, Inc. v. SpaceKey Components, Inc." on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of fraudulently collecting federal civil service retirement survivor annuity payments intended for her mother. The district court sentenced Defendant to time served plus thirty days of incarceration and ordered her to pay $77,379 in restitution. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) any error in disallowing Defendant’s peremptory challenge to a prospective juror and in seating the individual on the jury was harmless; (2) the district court did not violate the rule against hearsay by admitting into evidence photocopies of the annuity checks that were deposited in Defendant’s bank account; (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting into evidence a copy of a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles record of information about Defendant’s drivers license; and (4) there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could find that Defendant committed the charged offenses. View "United States v. Bowles" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs in this case were former officers and a former cadet of the Boston Police Department (Department) who were fired after testing positive for cocaine, a current officer who tested positive and underwent rehabilitation as an alternative to termination, and a former applicant whose contingent job offer was revoked after a positive test. Each Plaintiff was black. Plaintiffs filed suit against the Department, alleging, inter alia, that the Department’s drug testing program, which used hair samples to test for illegal drug use, caused a disparate impact on the basis of race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The district court granted summary judgment to the Department on all claims. The First Circuit Court of Appeals (1) vacated the grant of summary judgment as to Plaintiffs’ Title VII claim and reversed the district court’s denial of Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment on the question of whether they had proved a prima facie case of disparate impact under Title VII, holding that Plaintiffs proved beyond reasonable dispute a prima facie case of disparate impact under Title VII; and (2) otherwise affirmed. View "Jones v. City of Boston" on Justia Law