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Employment Rulings in the First Circuit

The First Circuit covers the federal courts in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,014 published rulings we track here (19802026), the breakdowns below show how they were decided. They describe published opinions only — not the odds of any particular situation.

How These Rulings Ended

Of the 1,014 published rulings we track in the First Circuit.

Defendant Win
410 (40%)
Plaintiff Win
186 (18%)
Mixed Result
175 (17%)
Dismissed
136 (13%)
Remanded
86 (8%)
Settlement
21 (2%)

What Happens at Each Stage

A workplace lawsuit moves through stages, and a ruling can end it at any of them. Here is where the 996 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
419 (42%)

A higher court reviewing an earlier decision. Many published opinions come from this stage, after a lot has already happened in the case.

Summary judgment
194 (19%)

A ruling where the judge decides the case — or part of it — without a trial, because one side argues the key facts are not in dispute. For workers, getting past this step is often the biggest hurdle.

Of the 194 summary-judgment rulings here, 111 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 83 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
309 (31%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
30 (3%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
19 (2%)

The two sides resolved the dispute by agreement, sometimes with court approval. Most settlements are private and never show up in published opinions.

Default judgment
16 (2%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
9 (1%)

Procedural decisions and orders that do not fit the main stages above.

States in This Circuit

Browse rulings from courts in each state the First Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the First Circuit

Montoya

Jan 30, 2018D. Mass.Mixed Result

Gross

Jan 18, 20181st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Whitaker

Jan 12, 2018D. Mass.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc.

Jan 11, 2018D. Mass.Mixed Result

Tombeno

Jan 9, 2018D. Mass.Defendant Win

Farias

Jan 9, 2018D. Mass.Dismissed

Merlini

Dec 7, 2017D. Mass.Dismissed

Access Now, Inc. v. Otter Products, LLC

Dec 4, 2017D. Mass.Remanded

Ouadani

Nov 21, 20171st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Quality Health Services of P.R., Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 16, 20171st CircuitDefendant Win

Depianti v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc.

Sep 29, 20171st CircuitDefendant Win

Gustavesen

Sep 29, 2017D. Mass.Dismissed

United States v. Burhoe

Sep 8, 20171st CircuitDefendant Win

John Hancock Life Insurance Co. v. Abbott Laboratories

Jul 12, 20171st CircuitMixed Result

Union de Tronquistas de Puerto Rico, Local 901 v. Cadillac Uniform & Linen Supply, Inc.

Jul 5, 2017D.P.R.Defendant Win

Good Samaritan Medical Center v. National Labor Relations Board

May 31, 20171st CircuitDefendant Win

Acosta

May 3, 2017D. Mass.Defendant Win

Nimco Real Estate Associates, et al. v. Nadeau, et al.

Apr 24, 2017D.N.H.Defendant Win

Pan Am Railways, Inc. v. United States Department of Labor

Apr 21, 20171st CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Lily Transportation Corp.

Mar 31, 20171st CircuitDefendant Win

Southcoast Hospitals Group v. NLRB

Jan 23, 20171st CircuitRemanded

Southcoast Hospitals Group, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 20, 20171st CircuitRemanded

Healey

Dec 16, 20161st CircuitDefendant Win

Walsh ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. W.B. Mason Co.

Nov 28, 2016D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Gonzalez-Bermudez

Oct 9, 2016D.P.R.Mixed Result

United States ex rel. Cunningham v. Millennium Laboratories, Inc.

Aug 19, 2016D. Mass.Dismissed

Angell

Jun 22, 2016D.N.H.Dismissed

Boch Imports, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 17, 20161st CircuitDefendant Win

Painters & Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund v. Forest Laboratories, Inc.

Jun 2, 2016D. Mass.Mixed Result

Guadalupe-Baez

Apr 20, 20161st CircuitMixed Result

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 98 Health & Welfare Fund v. S&R Corp.

Mar 29, 2016D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Braintree Laboratories, Inc.

Feb 29, 2016D. Mass.Mixed Result

American Steel Erectors, Inc. v. Local Union No. 7, International Ass'n of Bridge Workers

Feb 25, 20161st CircuitMixed Result

Union De Empleados De Muelles De Puerto Rico, Inc. v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n

Feb 23, 2016D.P.R.Defendant Win

Watchtower Bible Tract Society of New York, Inc. v. Municipality of Aguada

Feb 10, 2016D.P.R.Mixed Result

United States ex rel. D'Agostino v. EV3, Inc.

Dec 30, 2015D. Mass.Defendant Win

Castañeda v. Souza

Dec 23, 20151st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Travers v. Flight Services & Systems, Inc.

Dec 15, 20151st CircuitMixed Result

Marzuq v. Cadete Enterprises, Inc.

Dec 9, 20151st CircuitRemanded

Bowen v. Elanes New Hampshire Holdings, LLC

Dec 4, 2015D. Mass.Remanded

Kreisberg ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Emerald Green Building Services, LLC

Nov 13, 2015D. Mass.Mixed Result

Singleton v. AT&T Mobility Services, LLC

Nov 12, 2015D. Mass.Defendant Win

Oliveira v. New Prime, Inc.

Oct 26, 2015D. Mass.Defendant Win

Kreisberg ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Emerald Green Building Services, LLC

Oct 23, 2015D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Yadav

Oct 9, 20151st CircuitDefendant Win

Ruggiero v. American United Life Insurance

Sep 30, 2015D. Mass.Defendant Win

Goulette

Sep 16, 2015D.N.H.Defendant Win

Sanchez-Estrada

Sep 4, 2015D.P.R.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. NSTAR Electric Co.

Aug 17, 20151st CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Le Fort Enterprises, Inc.

Jul 1, 20151st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Showing 501550 of 1,014 rulings · Page 11 of 21

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These figures summarize publicly available published court opinions only. Published opinions over-represent summary-judgment rulings (decisions made without a trial) and appeals, because those are the stages where judges most often write formal opinions. Most workplace disputes settle privately and never appear here at all. A ruling’s outcome reflects many case-specific factors and is not a prediction for any other situation. Read more about how we source and classify rulings.

Data sourced from public federal court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes extracted using AI analysis. This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The classification of outcomes and case stages is based on automated analysis and may not reflect the full scope of each case.