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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

Central Pension Fund of the International Union of Operating Engineers & Participating Employers v. Ray Haluch Gravel Co.

Sep 12, 20121st CircuitMixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 251

Aug 14, 20121st CircuitMixed Result

Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories of the University of Massachusetts v. MedImmune, LLC

Jul 2, 2012D. Mass.Mixed Result

Ruggers, Inc. v. United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.

Jan 30, 2012D. Mass.Mixed Result

United States ex rel. Estate of Cunningham v. Millennium Laboratories

Jan 30, 2012D. Mass.Defendant Win

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory v. Ropes & Gray LLP

Jan 13, 2012D. Mass.Dismissed

Hines

Nov 28, 20111st CircuitDefendant Win

Balser

Nov 16, 20111st CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. United States Postal Service

Oct 27, 20111st CircuitRemanded

Colby

Oct 12, 2011D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Duran-Lopez

Sep 27, 20111st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Jewell

Sep 15, 2011D. Me.Plaintiff Win

In re Textron ERISA Litig. R.I.

Sep 6, 2011D.N.H.Mixed Result

Knowlton

Aug 24, 2011D. Me.Defendant Win

International Union of Operating Engineers v. Ray Haluch Gravel Co.

Jul 25, 2011D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Northeastern Land Services, Ltd.

Jun 22, 20111st CircuitDefendant Win

International Union of Operating Engineers

Jun 17, 2011D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Intl. Union of Op. Engr. v. Ray Haluch Gravel

Jun 17, 2011D. Mass.Mixed Result

Manske

Jun 8, 2011D. Me.Defendant Win

Magriz

Feb 18, 2011D.P.R.Plaintiff Win

PLUMBERS'UNION

Jan 21, 20111st CircuitDefendant Win

Teamsters

Dec 30, 2010D. Mass.Defendant Win

Molina

Nov 9, 2010D.P.R.Defendant Win

Powercomm, LLC v. Holyoke Gas & Electric Dept.

Oct 19, 2010D. Mass.Defendant Win

Braintree Laboratories, Inc. v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

Oct 12, 20101st CircuitDefendant Win

R & B Transportation, LLC v. United States Department of Labor

Aug 26, 20101st CircuitDefendant Win

School Union No. 37 v. United National Insurance

Aug 19, 20101st CircuitMixed Result

Gastronomical Workers Union Local 610 v. Dorado Beach Hotel Corp.

Aug 12, 20101st CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Metro Mayagüez, Inc.

Jul 30, 20101st CircuitDefendant Win

United States Ex Rel. Gobble v. Forest Laboratories, Inc.

Jul 23, 2010D. Mass.Mixed Result

United States Ex Rel. Carpenter v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

Jul 16, 2010D. Mass.Dismissed

CUMIS

May 24, 2010D.N.H.Defendant Win

MetaBank

May 5, 2010D.N.H.Mixed Result

Sampson

Apr 13, 2010D. Mass.Defendant Win

Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance v. Employers Insurance

Apr 5, 2010D. Me.Defendant Win

Doe

Mar 25, 2010D. Me.Dismissed

Wagenmaker

Mar 24, 20101st CircuitDefendant Win

Sebelius

Mar 22, 2010D. Mass.Dismissed

City of New York v. Abbott Laboratories

Feb 9, 2010D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Estrada

Feb 4, 20101st CircuitDefendant Win

Decotiis

Jan 28, 2010D. Me.Dismissed

Boada

Jan 22, 2010D.P.R.Defendant Win

Samantha B. v. Hampstead School District

Dec 30, 2009D.N.H.Dismissed

Fisher

Dec 23, 20091st CircuitDefendant Win

DiFIORE v. American Airlines, Inc.

Dec 23, 2009D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

GONZALEZ BERMUDEZ v. Potter

Dec 23, 2009D.P.R.Mixed Result

Villanueva-Batista v. Doral Financial Corp.

Dec 23, 20091st CircuitDefendant Win

Braintree Laboratories, Inc. v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

Dec 22, 2009D. Mass.Defendant Win

Acosta v. Harbor Holdings & Operations, Inc.

Dec 21, 2009D.P.R.Defendant Win

Johnson v. General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc.

Dec 18, 2009D.N.H.Dismissed

Showing 601650 of 1,014 rulings · Page 13 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.