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

In 2013, New Balance entered into a Distribution Agreement with PSG to distribute its products in Peru. The Agreement contained an arbitration clause, which New Balance invoked in 2018. Also joined as respondents in this arbitration were Ribadeneira, PSG’s controlling owner, and Superdeporte, another business entity owned by Ribadeneira in Peru. The arbitrator issued two awards, which imposed liability on PSG and Superdeporte for breach of the Distribution Agreement, and on PSG, Superdeporte, and Ribadeneira for tortious interference. The arbitrator rejected three counterclaims brought against New Balance. Finding that the arbitrator had improperly exercised jurisdiction over nonsignatories Ribadeneira and Superdeporte, the district court vacated the awards.The First Circuit reversed. Theories of assumption and equitable estoppel apply to support arbitral jurisdiction over Ribadeneira and Superdeporte. Superdeporte was PSG's successor-in-interest and assumed PSG's obligation to arbitrate under the Distribution Agreement. Ribadeneira is estopped from denying that the Agreement's arbitration clause is enforceable, just as he is estopped from asserting his nonsignatory status to avoid the obligation to arbitrate under that clause. The tortious interference claims were "related to or arising out of" the Agreement. View "Ribadeneira v. New Balance Athletics, Inc." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of extortionate interstate communications and threatening to injury property or reputation, holding that Defendant did not meet his burden on any of his claims of error.On appeal, Defendant argued, among other things, that the government improperly relied on statements made by a non-testifying witness in its closing argument and improperly instructed the jury that provocation was not a defense. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the prosecutor's use of the statement at issue was improper, but the improper comment did not likely affect the outcome of the trial; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in giving a provocation instruction; and (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's request for a downward departure. View "United States v. Cantwell" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court entering summary judgment for Defendants on all of Plaintiff's claims in this wrongful termination case, holding that there was no error in the trial court proceedings.Plaintiff, a former police officer, filed a complaint against the town of Lexington, Massachusetts and its retired chief of police, arguing that Defendants denied him due process during the proceedings that led to the termination of his employment and that Defendants intentionally interfered with his efforts to gain employment elsewhere. The district court entered summary judgment for Defendants on all claims. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that there was no material fact in dispute as to whether the reason stated for refusing to hire Plaintiff was pretextual and that there was sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that Defendants' stated reason for denying him employment was pretextual. View "Mirabella v. Town of Lexington, Mass." 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 Defendant's sentence imposed upon his plea of guilty to five counts of carjacking and one count of attempted carjacking with a direct modification of the restitution order as specified in this and affirmed the modified restitution order, holding that Defendant's claims of sentencing error were without merit and that there was merit as to one of his claims regarding the restitution order.Defendant pleaded guilty to all six counts in the indictment. After a hearing, the district court imposed a within-the-range term of immurement of seventy-eight months and ordered Defendant to pay $9,295 in restitution. The First Circuit affirmed as modified, holding (1) there was no procedural error in Defendant's sentence; (2) Defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable; and (3) the district court must modify the portion of the restitution order dealing with reimbursement for transmission repairs. View "United States v. De Jesus-Torres" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting partial summary judgment for Plaintiff and its subsequent judgment in Plaintiff's favor in this breach of contract case, holding that the plain language of the controlling agreement entitled Plaintiff to the retirement compensation which he claimed.Plaintiff sued Northeast Investors Trust and the trustees then in office alleging that Defendants improperly withheld his retirement compensation in violation of the parties' agreement. The district court granted partial summary judgment on Plaintiff's breach of contract claim and then entered judgment in Plaintiff's favor for the sum of $794,500. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the plain language of the controlling agreement entitled Plaintiff to the claimed compensation. View "Minturn v. Monrad" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting Defendant's motion for summary judgment and dismissing Plaintiff's action alleging gender discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq. and other claims under Puerto Rico law, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on her assignments of error.Plaintiff sued Defendant after she was not selected for promotion and her employment was terminated. The district court dismissed Plaintiff's claims on summary judgment, finding that Plaintiff failed to show that Defendant's decisions relating to Plaintiff's employment were motivated by discriminatory animus. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that summary judgment was proper as to all of Plaintiff's claims. View "Lopez-Hernandez v. Terumo Puerto Rico LLC" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the claim brought by the Back Beach Neighbors Committee alleging that the Town of Rockport, Massachusetts committed a class-of-one equal protection violation by failing adequately to enforce local rules against scuba divers at Back Beach, holding that the district court did not err.The Committee brought this complaint claiming that the Town's failure consistently to enforce various rules as to Back Beach led to the singling out of the beach as a place "to welcome divers." The district court granted the Town's motion to dismiss as to six of the complaint's eight counts and then granted summary judgment for the Town on the remaining counts. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that because the Committee did not plausibly allege the existence of similarly-situated comparators, its class-of-one equal protection claim failed. View "Back Beach Neighbors Committee v. Town of Rockport" on Justia Law

The First Circuit dismissed Appellant's appeal from the 115-month sentence imposed by the district court upon his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and heroin, holding that Appellant's challenge to his sentence was barred.Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and heroin. As part of his plea agreement, Appellant agreed to waive his right to appeal. The district court imposed a sentence of 115 months of imprisonment. The First Circuit dismissed Appellant's appeal, holding (1) contrary to Appellant's contention, the language of the plea agreement's waiver provision covered this appeal; and (2) enforcing the waiver did not constitute a miscarriage of justice because it was entered into knowingly. View "United States v. Spinks" on Justia Law