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

The First Circuit affirmed the rulings of the bankruptcy court in this adversary proceeding brought by Ann Tracy Botelho against her neighbor and business partner, Mary E. Buscone, during Mary's bankruptcy proceedings, holding that there was no error in the challenged rulings.In 2012, Mary and Ann opened up a frozen yogurt shop together. The business ceased operations in 2014, and Ann filed for bankruptcy. In 2018, after Ann received a Chapter 7 discharge, Ann sued Mary in state court, resulting in a default judgment. The court attached a lien for the judgment amount plus interest to Mary's home. Mary then brought her own Chapter 7 case, listing in her schedules Ann's claim against her. Ann subsequently initiated an adversary proceeding seeking a determination that her claim against Mary was non-dischargeable. A prolonged discovery dispute ensued resulting in another default judgment against Mary as a sanction for her failure to comply with discovery orders. The bankruptcy appellate panel largely affirmed the bankruptcy court's rulings. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in denying Mary's motion for summary judgment, granting Ann's second motion to compel, and denying Mary's motion for reconsideration. View "Botelho v. Buscone" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the bankruptcy court determining that Donald Kupperstein knowingly and fraudulently omitted and misrepresented material facts in his Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and related schedules, requiring that Kupperstein be denied a discharge, holding that there was no error.Kupperstein filed in bankruptcy court a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7. Appellees commenced adversary proceedings seeking the denial of Kupperstein's bankruptcy discharge under 11 U.S.C. 523, 727(a)(4)(A) on the grounds that Kupperstein had engaged in clear and blatant misconduct. The bankruptcy court denied a discharge and granted summary judgment for Appellees. The district court affirmed. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the bankruptcy court did not err in denying Kupperstein's motion for leave to file a belated response to Appellees' joint statement of facts in support of their motion for summary judgment; and (2) the bankruptcy court did not err in granting Appellees' joint motion for summary judgment. View "Kupperstein v. Schall" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss this case arising from a labor dispute under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), holding that Plaintiff's constitutional rights were not violated by the designation of his union as the exclusive bargaining representative for all employees within Plaintiff's bargaining unit.At issue was whether a public employee's First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association are infringed when a public employer authorizes a union to serve as the exclusive representative in collective bargaining for employees within that employee's designated bargaining unit. Plaintiff, a law professor, brought this lawsuit against, inter alia, the union that represented his bargaining unit, arguing that Defendants infringed his First Amendment rights by making the union his exclusive representative in negations regarding certain pay cuts. The district court granted Defendants' motions to dismiss. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that there was no merit to Plaintiff's contention that his constitutional rights were infringed by the designation of the union as the exclusive bargaining representative for all employees within Plaintiff's bargaining unit. View "Peltz-Steele v. Umass Faculty Federation" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the Title III court dismissing this adversary proceeding for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the district court properly dismissed the action.The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico determined that the the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Retirement System - the entity that administers the university's pension plan - was heading toward insolvency and therefore issued fiscal plans for UPR that, inter alia, identified the options UPR had for adjusting its continuing accrual of obligations to the Retirement System. Plaintiffs filed this adversary proceeding seeking to block any pension changes. The Title III court dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in granting dismissal pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). View "Asociacion Puertorriquena de Profesores Univ. v. University of Puerto Rico" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of twenty-four months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release, holding that the sentence was both procedurally and substantively reasonable.After completing his term of imprisonment for possession of a firearm following a felony conviction Defendant began a three-year term of supervised release. Defendant was charged with two counts of aggravated abuse fifteen months into his term of supervised release. After a revocation hearing, the district court imposed a sentence of twenty-four months' imprisonment. The case was remanded, and on remand, the court imposed the same length sentence it had imposed after the original revocation hearing. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Defendant's claims of procedural and substantive error were unavailing. View "United States v. Portell-Marquez" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied in part and dismissed in part the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upholding an immigration judge's (IJ) denial of Petitioners' request for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), holding that Petitioners were not entitled to relief.The IJ denied the requests for asylum and withholding of removal brought by Petitioners, a mother and daughter who were natives and citizens of Honduras, based on its finding Petitioners failed to demonstrate a well-founded fear of future persecution "on account of" a statutorily protected ground. Petitioners sought judicial review. The First Circuit denied the petition in part and otherwise dismissed it, holding (1) substantial evidence supported the agency's findings; and (2) Petitioners' CAT claim was not administratively exhausted. View "Barnica-Lopez v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court entering summary judgment for the Town of Pittsfield, New Hampshire and dismissing Plaintiff's allegation that the Town's zoning ordinance, as applied by the Town's Board of Selectmen, was unconstitutionally vague and violated his First Amendment and equal protection rights, holding that the district court did not err.Plaintiff applied for and received a permit to keep a trailer on his property for storage purposes. In 2016 and 2017, the Board granted Plaintiff permit extensions. In 2018, the Board denied Plaintiff's request for a third extension and required him to remove the trailer from his property. Plaintiff subsequently brought this action, invoking 42 U.S.C. 1983 and challenging the ordinance. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Town. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court provided the requisite notice that it would reach Plaintiff's claim of content or viewpoint discrimination at summary judgment and properly entered summary judgment on this claim; (2) the Town's application of the ordinance against Defendant did not violate Defendant's equal protection rights; and (3) the ordinance, as applied by the Town, was not unconstitutionally vague. View "McCoy v. Town of Pittsfield, NH" on Justia Law

The First Circuit vacated the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) rejecting Petitioner's claim for withholding of removal, holding that the BIA erred in failing properly to consider significant documentary evidence.Petitioner, a native and citizen of Honduras, applied for withholding of removal, alleging that she endured pervasive abuse at the hands of her ex-husband and that she fled Honduras to escape the abuse. An immigration judge (IJ) denied her application for withholding of removal, finding Petitioner to be not credible. The BIA dismissed Petitioner's appeal. The First Circuit vacated the BIA's decision because the agency had failed to consider the documentary evidence. On remand, the BIA again affirmed. The First Circuit vacated the BIA's order and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that the BIA failed properly to consider the documentary evidence in accordance with this Court's prior remand order. View "Aguilar-Escoto v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence that he possessed an AR-15 assault rifle and many rounds of ammunition, holding that the district court correctly found that Defendant had no objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in the evidence at issue.At issue was whether Defendant showed an objectively reasonable privacy interest in the items seized from a case he had left in the home of his former domestic partner and their minor son. Law enforcement officers retrieved the case after responding to Defendant's former partner's domestic disturbance call when Defendant entered the residence, assaulted her, and left her and the child wounded. Defendant filed a motion to suppress, arguing that he had a subjective and objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in the case. The district court denied the motion. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Defendant did not have an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy. View "United States v. John" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the decision of the immigration (IJ) denying all three forms of relief sought by Petitioner, holding that the agencies improperly denied relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).Petitioner, a Guatemalan citizen, fled to the United States after a police-aided assault left him hospitalized. Petitioner sought asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the CAT. The IJ found Petitioner credible but denied his requests for relief. The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part, holding (1) there was no basis to reverse the IJ's denial of asylum or withholding of removal; but (2) the harm inflicted in the past on Petitioner clearly satisfied the severity element of torture for purposes of adjudicating a claim for relief under the CAT. View "Hernandez-Martinez v. Garland" on Justia Law