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

The First Circuit affirmed the rulings of the district court granting Appellants attorney's fees under the the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), which entitles a prevailing party in certain civil actions against the United States to remove attorney's fees unless the government's position was substantially justified or special circumstances make an award unjust, holding that there was no error.Appellants brought this challenge against the Department of Homeland Security and its agency, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), after USCIS administratively closed each Appellant's application to adjust status, seeking attorney's fees under the EAJA. Determining that the government's position was substantially justified, the district court denied attorney's fees for the proceedings before the court but granted Appellants EAJA fees for the ensuing appellate proceedings that the government voluntarily dismissed. The First Circuit affirmed both rulings, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying EAJA fees related to the challenges before it; and (2) the district court did not err in its calculation of the EAJA award for the appellate proceedings abandoned by the government. View "Michel v. Mayorkas" on Justia Law

The First Circuit vacated the decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and the immigration judge (IJ) denying Appellant's applications for asylum and withholding of removal and denied Appellant's petition for review as to Appellant's claim for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), holding that remand was required for further proceedings.In denying Appellant's claims for asylum and related relief the IJ concluded that Appellant had failed to establish the requisite basis of fear of future persecution. The BIA affirmed. The First Circuit vacated the decisions in part, holding (1) Appellant was statutorily eligible for asylum on political opinion grounds; (2) because neither the IJ nor the BIA confronted the merits of Appellant's withholding of removal claim, remand was required for the IJ to assess the evidence in the first instance; and (3) the BIA's denial of Appellant's application for CAT protection was supported by substantial evidence. View "Mendez Esteban v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court denying Defendants' motion to dismiss the underlying case or, in the alternative, to compel arbitration under section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), holding that Defendants were not entitled to reversal.Plaintiffs, who distributed Defendants' baked goods along routes in Massachusetts, brought this action alleging that Defendants misclassified them as independent contractors and seeking unpaid wages, overtime compensation, and other damages. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, to compel arbitration under the FAA. The district court denied the motion, concluding that Plaintiffs fell within the FAA's section 1 exemption from the FAA's purview "contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce." The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) two of Defendants' arguments were waived; and (2) Defendants were not entitled to relief on the merits of their remaining arguments. View "Canales v. CK Sales Co., LLC" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the immigration judge's (IJ) denial of his applications for asylum and withholding of removal under sections 208(b)(1)(A) and 241(b)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, holding that Petitioner was not entitled to relief on his claims of error.Petitioner, a Guatemalan citizen, entered the United States illegally in 2016. After DHS charged him with being subject to removal Petitioner filed applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The IJ denied relief from removal, and the BIA affirmed. The First Circuit denied in part and dismissed in part Petitioner's petition for review, holding (1) Petitioner's unexhausted claim must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; and (2) substantial evidence supported the BIA's determination, and the agency committed no errors of law in that ruling. View "Santos Garcia v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition challenging a final administrative removal order on grounds that Petitioner derived United States citizenship as a child, holding that there was no error.Petitioner, who was born in India, entered the U.S. as a child without lawful immigration status. Petitioner was later convicted by a Massachusetts state court of second-degree murder and sentenced in life in prison. After Petitioner was granted parole, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged him with being removable for having been convicted of an aggravated felony. In response, Petitioner asserted that he was not removable because he had derived U.S. citizenship from his mother pursuant to former section 321(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. DNA rejected Petitioner's reading of former section 321(a) and ordered him removed. The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review, holding that his arguments contesting removability were unavailing. View "Sharma v. Garland" on Justia Law

In this civil enforcement action, the First Circuit affirmed the interlocutory order of the district court ruling that a violation of the right to poll each of the jurors individually under Civil Rule 48(c) is per se reversible and that, therefore, Defendant was entitled to a new trial, holding that there was no error.At issue was whether, under this Court's precedent, the district court's denial of Defendant's right to poll each juror individually after the jury had collectively been polled was per se reversible error. The trial court judge ruled that the error was per se reversible. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the arguments raised by the Securities and Exchange Commission on appeal were unavailing. View "U.S. Securities & Exchange Comm'n v. Sargent" on Justia Law

The First Circuit dismissed in part and denied in part Petitioner's petition for judicial review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the decision of the immigration judge (IJ) ordering Petitioner's removal, holding that the Court lacked jurisdiction in part and that Petitioner was not entitled to relief on his remaining allegations of error.Petitioner, a Jordanian national, was granted status as a conditional permanent resident of the United States due to his marriage to a citizen, but an IJ later ordered his removal due to his inability to prove that he entered the marriage in good faith. The BIA affirmed. Thereafter, Petitioner filed a petition for judicial review. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) this Court lacked jurisdiction to review the agency's factual findings; and (2) Petitioner's remaining challenges to the BIA's decisions were unavailing. View "Alzaben v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing Petitioner's appeal of the decision of the immigration judge (IJ) concluding that Petitioner's Brazilian conviction constituted both an aggravated felony and a particularly serious crime rendering him ineligible for asylum, withholding of removal, cancellation of removal, and voluntary departure, holding that there was no error of law.On appeal, Petitioner argued that his Brazilian conviction was in absentia and that both the IJ and BIA erred in determining that the conviction was valid for immigration purposes, thus barring him from obtaining the relief he sought. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the Brazilian conviction was not in absentia; (2) there was no evidence to support Petitioner's claim that his foreign conviction was a travesty of justice; and (3) substantial evidence supported the IJ's conclusion that Petitioner's conviction was not politically motivated. View "Andrade-Prado, Jr. v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Kent County Memorial Hospital and Michael Dacey, M.D., in his individual capacity and as President of Kent Hospital, and dismissing Richard Gilbert, M.D.'s suit challenging the Hospital Board of Trustees' revocation of Dr. Gilbert's privileges at Kent Hospital, holding that dismissal was proper.In granting summary judgment for Defendants, the district court concluded that Dr. Gilbert had not rebutted the presumption that Defendants were immune from liability in damages under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA), 42 U.S.C. 11101-11152, and immune from suit under Rhode Island state law. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the Board was entitled to HCQIA immunity; and (2) the Board was entitled to immunity under R.I. Gen. Laws 23-17-23(b). View "Gilbert v. Kent County Memorial Hospital" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that a rule promulgated by the National Marine Fisheries Services (the Agency) requiring vessels fishing for herring on certain fishing trips to carry monitors on board was a permissible exercise of agency authority, holding that the rule was a permissible exercise of the Agency's authority and was otherwise lawful.Plaintiffs, owners of two fishing vessels that harvest herring brought this action asserting, among other things, that they were disproportionately burdened by carrying monitors and that the Agency's monitor rule was arbitrary and capricious. The district court granted summary judgment for the Agency. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the challenged rule was authorized by Congress and immune to Plaintiffs' various procedural and substantive challenges. View "Relentless Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Commerce" on Justia Law