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

Articles Posted in Family Law
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The case involved a dispute between two Brazilian nationals, Heitor Ferreira da Costa and Jessica Camila Albefaro de Lima, who were previously married and had a child together. Following their divorce in Brazil, de Lima moved with the child to the United States without da Costa's knowledge. Once da Costa discovered his ex-wife and child's location, he filed a petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Convention) to have the child returned to Brazil. The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied da Costa's petition, concluding that the child was now settled in his new environment and it would not exercise its discretion to order the child's return. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the decision, agreeing with the lower court's conclusion based on the totality of the circumstances, including the child's age, stability and duration of residence in the new environment, relationships with family members in the United States, and his progress in learning English. The appellate court noted that returning the child to Brazil would be disruptive given the child's strong connections in the United States and his limited connections to Brazil. View "Ferreira da Costa v. Albefaro de Lima" on Justia Law

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In this case, Ángel Menéndez-Montalvo, while serving a term of supervised release arising from his conviction for a federal firearm offense, violated the conditions of his release by breaching Article 3.1 of Puerto Rico's Domestic Violence Law. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit had to determine whether a violation of Article 3.1 is a "crime of violence" as used in section 7B1.1(a)(1) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The court found that it is not because Puerto Rico courts have applied the law to encompass less-than-violent force. As such, the court vacated Menéndez's sentence because the district court had held to the contrary in calculating a sentencing range that was higher than it should have been. The court further clarified that its decision does not prevent the district court from considering Menéndez's conduct while on supervised release as it bears on the factors specified in 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e). The case was remanded to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. View "US v. Menendez-Montalvo" on Justia Law

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In 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Luis Jimenez Carrillo for securities violations he allegedly committed well after his divorce from Yolanda Sanchez-Diaz. Sanchez-Diaz was named as a relief defendant in the suit and the SEC sought to recover from her the value of a car she received four years earlier, claiming Carrillo paid for it with illicit funds. The SEC did not accuse Sanchez-Diaz of any wrongdoing but argued she had no legitimate claim to the car because she had not provided any consideration for it. The district court agreed and ordered her to pay almost $170,000, including interest.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a relief defendant in an SEC enforcement action has a legitimate claim to funds if they have provided something of value in exchange and the value they provided is more than nominal in relation to the money received. In this case, the court concluded that through a 2016 child support agreement, Sanchez-Diaz provided more than nominal value in exchange for Carrillo's promise to purchase the car. The court found that the district court erred in its finding that Sanchez-Diaz provided no value at all. Accordingly, the Appeals Court reversed the district court's disgorgement order. View "SEC v. Sanchez Diaz Monge" on Justia Law

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The First Circuit affirmed the denial of Appellant's request for an award of attorney's fees and the costs of translation services, holding that there was no error.Appellant brought an action against her husband, Appellee, in federal court, alleging causes of action for divorce, custody, child support, alimony. Appellee moved to dismiss the claims for lack of jurisdiction. The Court of First Instance granted the motion to dismiss. Thereafter, Appellee filed a petition under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act and the Hague Convention requesting that the district court order the return of the parties' minor children to their "habitual residence" in Colombia for resolution of the custody proceedings under Colombia law. The court of appeals reversed the judgment in Appellant's action, holding that the Court of First Instance erred by dismissing the complaint in its totality. The district court then dismissed Appellee's action on abstention grounds. Appellant subsequently sought an award of attorney fees and costs for translation services. The district court denied Appellant's requests. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant's requests for attorney's fees and costs of translation services. View "Mata-Cabello v. Thula" on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law
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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 discretion.Father filed his petition pursuant to The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, alleging that Mother removed Child from Brazil to Massachusetts without his authorization. The district court granted Father's petition and ordered that Child be returned to Brazil. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not err in finding that returning Child to Brazil would not expose Child to a grave risk of harm; and (2) did not err in declining to consider Child's views. View "Vieira v. De Souza" on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law
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The First Circuit affirmed the district court's order granting the government's request to garnish Appellant's husband's 401(k) account and apply the proceeds to his nearly four million dollar criminal restitution obligations, holding that Appellant had no vested legal interest in her husband's account.Appellant's husband (Husband) pleaded guilty to eight counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful monetary transactions. The district court sentenced him to a term of incarceration and ordered him to pay $3,879,750 in restitution. The government later asked the district court for a writ of garnishment directed at Husband's 401(k) plan, which Husband held individually in his own name. The district court rejected Appellant's objections and issued a garnishment order. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Massachusetts law did not give Appellant a vested legal interest in Husband's 401(k) account; and (2) it was not plain error for the district court to issue the writ of garnishment without compensating Appellant for her contingent death benefit under the policy. View "United States v. Abell" on Justia Law

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The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Mother's petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction for return of her son (Child) to Venezuela from the United States, holding that the district court properly exercised its discretion in refusing Mother's petition.Mother sought Child's return to Venezuela, alleging that Father abducted Child in contravention of The Hague Convention and a Venezuelan child custody order. The district court concluded that Father admitted to retaining Child in contravention of the Hague Convention but that Father had established that Child was a mature child such that the court should consider Child's stated desire to remain with Father in the United States. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not clearly err in rejecting Mother's claim that Father unduly influenced Child and in determining that Child was of the age and maturity to state his viewpoint that he should remain in the United States and not return to Venezuela. View "Avendano v. Balza" on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law
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The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint seeking to recoup assets purportedly gifted to a charitable institution for less than adequate consideration by Plaintiff's ex-husband, holding that the district court erred by dismissing Plaintiff's claims on the basis that she lacked standing.Janet and Robert Foisie entered into a divorce settlement agreement in which each party agreed to a mutually acceptable split of assets. When Janet discovered that Robert had fraudulent transferred several million dollars to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Janet brought a civil action against WPI asserting claims of actual and constructive fraudulent transfers under both the common law and Connecticut's version of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA). The district court dismissed the complaint. The First Circuit vacated the judgment, holding (1) Janet easily satisfied the three elements of Article III standing, and her claims were ripe; (2) a choice-of-law analysis would be better performed on a more fully developed factual record; (3) the district court erred by dismissing Janet's UFTA claims on the basis that she lacked standing as a creditor; (4) the dismissal of Janet's common law claims on preemption grounds cannot stand; and (5) Janet's UFTA and common law claims were adequately pleaded. View "Foisie v. Worcester Polytechnic Institute" on Justia Law

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The First Circuit affirmed the decisions of the district court ordering the return of A.C.A., the child that Mother "wrongfully removed" from Brazil, holding that the district court did not err in finding that the two affirmative defenses to return under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction did not apply and did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant's motion for a new trial.Without Father's consent or knowledge, Mother took A.C.A. from Brazil, where the parties lived, to the United States. Father filed a Hague Convention petition seeking the return of A.C.A. to Brazil. The district court concluded that Mother had wrongfully removed A.C.A. from Brazil and ordered that A.C.A. be returned to Brazil. Mother moved for a new trial, which the district court denied. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in concluding that Mother had not met her burden of proof as to any of her defenses; and (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mother's motion for a new trial. View "da Silva v. de Aredes" on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law
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The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Father's petition brought under The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act seeking return of his child from the United States to Chile on the basis that Mother had wrongfully retained the child in violation of his custody rights, holding that the district court did not err.In denying Father's petition the trial judge ruled, among other things, that clear and convincing evidence established that the child faced a grave risk of harm if sent back to Chile. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that where the district judge was in a unique position to gauge the child's credibility, none of Father's arguments left this Court with a firm conviction that the district judge made a mistake on the grave-risk issue. View "Diaz-Alarcon v. Flandez-Marcel" on Justia Law

Posted in: Family Law