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

The First Circuit summarily affirmed Appellant's sentence for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, holding that the forty-eight-month sentence represented a defensible result.On appeal, Defendant argued that the upwardly variant sentence was substantively unreasonable because the district court imposed a sentence based on an incorrect statement of a material fact concerning Defendant's criminal history. The district court in this case, however, corrected its misstatement before imposing the sentence. The First Circuit summarily affirmed the sentence, holding that where the district court's brief mischaracterization of Defendant's prior offense was promptly corrected, the district court's sentencing rationale was plausible. View "United States v. Rodriguez-Cruz" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting, in part, summary judgment in favor of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its allegation that Appellants Jonathan Morrone and Z. Paul Jurberg solicited investments in Bio Defense Corporation, where they were senior officers, from investors in violation of federal securities law, holding that the district court did not err.On appeal, Appellants asserted (1) the district court erred in applying United States federal securities laws to their solicitation of foreign investors, in light of Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd., 561 U.S. 247 (2010); and (2) genuine issues of material fact barred summary judgment on some of SEC's claims. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in applying the federal securities laws to Appellants; and (2) the district court did not err in granting partial summary judgment in favor of the SEC. View "Securities & Exchange Commission v. Morrone" on Justia Law

The First Circuit held that the district court correctly denied the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's motions for reconsideration at issue in this appeal insofar as they might be construed as motions to apply an automatic stay under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) to either dismiss a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action or a settlement agreement that had not yet been enforced, holding that the circuit court did not err.This case stemmed from a settlement following a section 1983 suit against a Commonwealth officer in the officer's individual capacity. After the settlement agreement was filed under seal and the district court had dismissed the case with prejudice, and before the first installment of the agreed settlement payments was due, the Financial Oversight and Management Board filed a petition for bankruptcy relief on behalf of the Commonwealth under Title III of PROMESA. Appellant filed a motion in opposition, arguing that the automatic stay was not applicable in his case. The district court granted the opposition. The Commonwealth filed a motions for reconsideration, which the district court denied. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in denying the Commonwealth's motions for reconsideration insofar as they may be construed as motions to apply PROMESA's automatic stay to either the dismiss section 1983 action or the settlement agreement. View "Diaz-Morales v. Rubio-Paredes" on Justia Law

The First Circuit vacated the order of the district court requiring immediate payment of a $10,000 settlement sum by Defendant, the Secretary of Corrections to Puerto Rico, and remanded with instructions to stay Plaintiff's effort to recover on the settlement, holding that the automatic stay provision of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) applied.Plaintiff brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against Defendant and others, alleging that the defendants had been deliberately indifferent to his medical needs while he was an inmate at the Baymon Correctional Facility. The parties eventually settled for $50,000. At issue was who was responsible to pay the remaining $10,000 of that sum. The district court ordered Defendant, and not the Commonwealth, to pay the balance of the settlement amount. Defendant appealed, arguing that Plaintiff's effort to collect the $10,000 should have been stayed under the automatic stay provision of PROMESA. The First Circuit agreed, holding that, given the manner in which Plaintiff styled his effort to recover, the automatic stay properly applied. View "Colon-Torres v. Negron-Fernandez" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court confirming an arbitration award denying the claims brought by Asociacion de Empleados del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico (AEELA), holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion by confirming the award.AEELA was a private financial institution serving Puerto Rico government employees. AEELA suffered major investment losses when, in 2013, the market for municipal bonds in Puerto Rico crashed. AEELA initiated arbitration with UBS Financial Services, Inc., its former financial consultant, before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and a panel of arbitrators entered an award denying AEELA's claims. AEELA sought to vacate the award, arguing that one of the arbitrators had failed to disclose his professional connections to UBS. The district court confirmed the arbitration award. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in finding that AEELA did not meet its burden of showing that the arbitrator was partial to UBS. View "UBS Financial Services Inc. v. Asociacion de Empleados del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" on Justia Law

The First Circuit resolved a portion of Appellant's appeal in this opinion addressing the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Town of Brookline, Massachusetts, the Brookeline Board of Selectmen, the Town's counsel and Human Resources director, and select members of the board, holding that the summary judgment is affirmed in part, vacated in part and remanded for further proceedings.Plaintiff, black man, brought this suit alleging that during his employment as a firefighter, he had been discriminated against and retaliated against for reporting discriminatory conduct. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Defendants. The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the summary judgment granted in favor of Defendants, holding that the district court erred in granting summary judgment as to Plaintiff's retaliation claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the Town, the Board, and certain members of the Board, in their personal and official capacities. The Court then remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Alston v. Town of Brookline, Mass." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of Hobbs Act robbery, murdering a person through the use of firearm during a crime of violence, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below.Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) under the circumstances of this case, the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress identification evidence; (2) the evidence was sufficient to support Defendant's convictions; and (3) the district court did not err in determining that Hobbs Act robbery qualifies as a "crime of violence" under 18 U.S.C. 924(c). View "United States v. Seary-Colon" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the the district court's denial of Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence, holding that the district court did not err in denying the motion.Petitioner pled guilty to one count of possession of a firearm and entered into a plea agreement with the government that included a sixty-month sentencing recommendation. At sentencing, the district court imposed a 120-month sentence. The First Circuit affirmed. Thereafter, Petitioner filed this petition asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court denied relief. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Petitioner was not prejudiced by counsel's failure to object to the discrepancy between two versions of events contained in the presentence investigation report. View "Fernandez-Garay v. United States" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendant on Plaintiff's challenge to an arbitration award in favor of Defendant, holding that the district court did not err.After Plaintiff was summarily dismissed from his employment he challenged his dismissal by filing a complaint and submitting the grievance to arbitration pursuant to his union's collective bargaining agreement with the union. The arbitrator issued an arbitral award dismissing Plaintiff's complaint. The district court dismissed Plaintiff's petition for judicial review. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in finding that the arbitrator's ruling was not in manifest disregard of the law. View "Torres-Burgos v. Crowley Liner Service, Inc." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the sentences imposed on Defendant after he pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), holding that the sentences were substantively and procedurally reasonable.The district court sentenced Defendant to a within-guidelines sentence of forty-six months' imprisonment for violating section 922(g)(1), to be served consecutively with a sentence of eighteen months for violating the terms of his supervised release. Defendant appealed, arguing that the sentences were procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the sentences were both substantively and procedurally reasonable. View "United States v. Ayala-Lugo" on Justia Law