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

In this case brought under the anti-retaliation provision of the False Claims Act, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court awarding Plaintiff $762,525 in compensatory damages, holding that the causation standard for retaliation claims under the Act is a "but-for" standard.Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant, her employer, alleging that Defendant had retaliated against her in violation of the Act after it learned that she had filed a qui tam action against it and one of its largest customers. The jury awarded Plaintiff compensatory damages, and the district court denied Plaintiff's subsequent motions for judgment as a matter of law and a new trial. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) retaliation claims under the Act must be evaluated under the "but-for" causation standard; (2) the "substantial motivating factor" instruction given to the jury was erroneous, but the instruction was not plain error; (3) the jury supportably found sufficient evidence against Defendant on the retaliation claim; and (4) the district court properly denied Defendant's motion for a new trial. View "Lestage v. Coloplast Corp." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of stealing a motor vehicle and one count of brandishing a firearm, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on any of his allegations of error.Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) the evidence at trial was sufficient to support the conviction; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to compel Defendant's co-defendant to testify and by denying Defendant's motion to delay the trial until after Defendant's co-defendant was sentenced; and (3) precedent foreclosed Defendant's argument that the jury's verdict was inconsistent and his conviction should be vacated. View "United States v. Forty-Febres" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law and dismissing Plaintiff's claim that she was fired from her position because of her age, holding that Plaintiff's claims were without merit.After she was discharged, Plaintiff brought suit in the federal district court pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. 623(a)(1). Plaintiff also asserted a number of supplemental claims under Puerto Rico law. At trial, once Plaintiff rested, Defendant moved for judgment as a matter of law. The district court granted the motion. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not contradict the law of the case doctrine when it excluded certain evidence at trial; (2) did not abuse its discretion in refusing to admit the evidence at trial; and (3) did not err in entering judgment as a matter of law. View "Daumont-Colon v. Coop de Ahorro y Cred Caguas" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully possessing a machine-gun, holding that the district court did not err in sentencing Defendant.In sentencing Defendant, the district court sentenced Defendant to sixty months, which was outside the guidelines range. The First Circuit largely affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err when it calculated Defendant's guideline sentencing using other relevant conduct; (2) the sentencing court did not improperly rely on an arrest that was unsupported by probable cause; and (3) the district court did not err when it denied Defendant access to the written Statement of Reasons (SOR) but erred when it denied counsel access to the SOR. The Court remanded the case to give defense counsel access to the SOR. View "United States v. Ramirez-Romero" on Justia Law

The First Circuit dismissed these consolidated appeals, and a companion appeal, arising out of long-running litigation between Puerto Rico and several Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) over the Commonwealth's failure to make payments to the FQHCs, holding that the orders appealed from were void.Here, the FQHCs asserted new claims that the Commonwealth failed fully to pay the statutorily required reimbursement amounts for the services they provided to underserved patients under the Medicaid Act. The First Circuit dismissed the appeals, holding that the Court lacked jurisdiction to resolve the merits of the underlying orders because they were void. View "HealthproMed Foundation, Inc. v. Department of Health And Human Services" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of eighty-six months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to two firearms counts, holding that the sentence was not procedurally unreasonable.On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court (1) committed clear error by applying the four-point enhancement under Guidelines § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B); and (2) failed to provide the notice required by Rule 32(h) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure before imposing a sentence that departed from the Guidelines. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err by applying the four-point enhancement; and (2) because the district court imposed a "variance," not a "departure," it did not violate Rule 32(h). View "United States v. Tirado-Nieves" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Petitioner's habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255, holding that defense counsel did not render ineffective assistance in deciding not to call two witnesses during Petitioner's trial and introduce certain documents.After a trial, Petitioner was found guilty of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms of cocaine and of aiding and abetting others to do so as well. Thereafter, Petitioner field a timely habeas petition, arguing that his right to effective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment was violated by deciding not to call two witnesses during trial. The district court denied the petition. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that even if counsel's performance was deficient, Defendant's ineffective assistance claim failed because there was no reasonable probability that the results of the trial would have been different had counsel called the two witnesses. View "Rijo v. United States" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of armed bank robbery and related crimes, holding that Defendant's claims on appeal were without merit.After a trial, the jury found Defendant guilty of conspiracy to commit bank robbery, armed bank robbery, conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, and using, carrying or brandishing firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence. The district court sentenced Defendant to a term of eighty-seven months of imprisonment. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions; and (2) any constitutional shortcoming in the residual clause of 18 U.S.C. 924(c) does not undermine Defendant's section 924(c) conviction. View "United States v. Hernandez-Roman" on Justia Law

The First Circuit vacated the October 30, 2019 order of the National Labor Relations Board reinstating its November 10, 2016 order finding that Wang Theatre, Inc. (WTI) committed labor violations by failing to bargain with the Boston Musicians' Association, holding that the Board made errors of law and fact in certifying a bargaining unit that had no employees.BMA petitioned the Board to become the union representative for musicians employed by WTI. WTI argued that the petition should be dismissed because WTI had not employed any musicians since 2014. On November 10, 2016, the Board certified the bargaining unit. BMA then filed a charge with the Board alleging that WTI committed an unfair labor practice by refusing to bargain. The Board granted summary judgment for BMA. On October 30, 2019, the Board reinstated its original November 10, 2016 order. The First Circuit vacated both orders, holding that the Board misapplied the law and its own case law in certifying a no-employee bargaining unit. View "National Labor Relations Board v. Wang Theatre, Inc." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting a Union's motion to dismiss two Hampshire state employees' (Appellants) complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, holding that Appellants' claim based on Janus v. American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448 (2018), was not cognizable under section 1983.Appellants sought retrospective relief for themselves and other state employees who were not members of the State Employees' Association of New Hampshire (the Union) but were forced to pay "agency fees" to it prior to the decision in Janus. In Janus, the United States Supreme Court overruled its decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209 (1977), and held that "agency fee" arrangements violate the First Amendment. The district court granted the Union's motion to dismiss Appellants' complaint for failure to state a claim. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court correctly held that Appellants' damages claim failed. View "Doughty v. State Employees' Ass'n of New Hampshire" on Justia Law