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

The First Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court's dismissal of Debtor's motion to enforce an automatic stay as to a subsidiary of the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, holding that the Bankruptcy Code unequivocally strips tribes of their immunity,Debtor sought to enforce the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay against one of his creditors, a subsidiary of the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (Band). Debtor sought an order prohibiting further collection efforts as well as damages and attorney fees. The Band and its affiliates moved to dismiss the enforcement proceeding, asserting tribal sovereign immunity. The bankruptcy court agreed and granted the motion to dismiss. The First Circuit reversed the decision of the bankruptcy court dismissing Debtor's motion to enforce the automatic stay, holding that tribes are governmental units and, thus, the Bankruptcy Code abrogates tribal sovereign immunity. View "Coughlin v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians" on Justia Law

The First Circuit granted in part a petition for review from Petitioner in which Petitioner challenged the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the immigration judge's (IJ) denial of Petitioner's request for deferral of removal pursuant to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading treatment or Punishment (CAT), holding that the BIA's decision was not supported by substantial evidence.Petitioner, a noncitizen who was granted asylum in 2002, was served with a notice to appear from removal proceedings. The notice alleged that Petitioner was subject to removal from the United States pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) and 1182(a)(2)(C) based on his prior Massachusetts state law convictions. Ali submitted to the IJ an application for asylum, for withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT, asserting that he was be subject to torture in Somalia. The IJ sustained the charges and ordered Petitioner removed to Somalia. The BIA affirmed. The First Circuit vacated the BIA's order, holding that the BIA did not address Petitioner's contention that the IJ failed to consider relevant evidence concerning the torture that Petitioner would face from private militias and armed criminals, and the failure to consider that evidence was not harmless. View "Ali v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed all but a small portion of the sentence and restitution order imposed by the district court in connection with Defendant's guilty plea to charges of falsely impersonating a federal officer and wire fraud, holding that the inclusion of travel expenses in the restitution order was error.Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating a federal officer and four counts of wire fraud. The district court imposed five concurrent eighteen-month terms of immurement and ordered restitution in the amount of $30,605. On appeal, Defendant challenged his sentence as both procedurally and substantively unreasonable and argued that his restitution order was excessive because it improperly included certain travel expenses. The First Circuit largely affirmed, holding (1) there was no procedural error; (2) Defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable; and (3) the restitution order was not improper with the exception of the inclusion of travel expenses in the amount of $605. View "United States v. Carrasquillo-Vilches" on Justia Law

The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of an airline and dismissing an airline passenger's personal injury complaint, holding that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the airline.The passenger in this case was injured after falling while disembarking from an aircraft via a mobile staircase made of a last step that was steeper than the earlier steps. At issue was whether Plaintiff's injuries resulted from an "accident" within the meaning of the Montreal Convention. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the airline, determining that the passenger's injuries were not the result of an accident within the meaning of the Montreal Convention. The First Circuit vacated the judgment, holding that it is for a jury to decide whether the passenger's injuries resulted from an accident within the meaning of the Montreal Convention. View "Moore v. British Airways PLC" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court ruling for the government on its complaint seeing to obtain a judgment against Monica Toth for failing to pay an ordered penalty holding that there was no error.In 2013, the IRS assessed a civil penalty against Toth in consequence of her failure to comply with the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act in connection with her Swiss bank account. Toth refused to pay the penalty of the maximum allowable set forth in the Act, and the government filed suit. The district court granting summary judgment in favor of Toth. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Toth was not entitled to relief on any of her proffered grounds for overturning the summary judgment against her. View "United States v. Toth" on Justia Law

The First Circuit reversed the order of the district court granting summary judgment against Plaintiffs in this medical malpractice suit brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), see 28 U.S.C. 1346(b), 2671-2680, holding that summary judgment was inappropriate.Noel Martinez-Marrero died while being treated at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. His four children brought suit against the United States in the District of Puerto Rico pursuant to the FTCA, alleging medical negligence. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants after excluding the expert testimony of Dr. Ortiz Feliciano. The First Circuit reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that the district court erred in excluding Dr. Feliciano's expert testimony pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 702 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26. View "Martinez v. United States" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment against Eulalia Lopez-Ramirez (Lopez) in the medical malpractice suit that she and her daughter brought under Puerto Rico law, holding that Plaintiffs' allegations of error were unavailing.Plaintiffs brought this suit seeking damages in connection with the brain surgery that was performed on Lopez to alleviate her facial spasms. After the surgery, Lopez developed full right facial paralysis. Plaintiffs claimed that Defendants' negligence in providing medical care to Lopez made them liable under Puerto Rico Laws title 31, Section 5141 and 5142. The district court granted summary judgment for Defendants. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Plaintiffs' allegations of error were unavailing. View "Lopez-Ramirez v. Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the grant of summary judgment against Blackstone Headwaters Coalition in this citizen suit brought against various defendants involved in the development of a construction site, holding that North and South Rivers Watershed Ass'n v. Town of Scituate, 949 F.2d 552 (1st Cir. 1991), construed the scope of 33 U.S.C. 1319(g)(6)(A)'s limitation on citizen suits too broadly.In Scituate, a First Circuit panel held that the limitation on citizen suits established by 33 U.S.C. 1319(g)(6)(A) precludes a citizen suit that seeks to obtain declaratory or prospective injunctive relief from a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. In the instant case, a panel of the Court relied on Scituate to affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment against Blackstone. The Court then reconsidered its decision in Scituate, vacated the panel opinion in this case, and reversed the grant of summary judgment in part, holding that, contrary to Scituate, the limitation set forth in section 1319(g)(6)(A) bars only a citizen suit that seeks to apply a civil penalty for an ongoing violation of the CWA and does not bar a citizen suit for declaratory and prospective injunction relief to redress an ongoing violation of the CWA. View "Blackstone Headwaters Coalition v. Gallo Builders, Inc." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court denying motion for a preliminary injunction sought by Appellants, then-employees of Mass General Brigham, Inc. (MGB), to stop their employer's application of its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy to them, holding that the district court did not err.In November 2021, Appellants bought this action. The district court denied a preliminary injunction. Appellants then noticed an appeal and also sought emergency injunctive relief from the First Circuit. The First Circuit held that they had not met the requirements for an injunction pending appeal. Now that the merits of Appellants' appeal were before the Court, the First Circuit affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction, holding that the district court correctly denied relief. View "Together Employees v. Mass General Brigham Inc." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the court charged with overseeing proceedings under Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act confirming a plan of adjustment for the debts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and two of its instrumentalities, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion.In this case arising out of the effort to restructure the Commonwealth's sovereign debt under Title IIII, various organizations that represented some public school teachers and educators participating in the Commonwealth's pension system objected to the manner in which the plan of adjustment handled their claims to current and future pension payments. The Title III court approved the plan of adjustment over Appellants' objections. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Appellants' arguments on appeal failed. View "Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico, Inc." on Justia Law