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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

Adam

May 16, 2008D.N.H.Defendant Win

UMass Memorial Medical Center, Inc. v. United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 1445

May 15, 20081st CircuitDefendant Win

Molina

May 8, 2008D.P.R.Dismissed

Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System v. Boston Scientific Corp.

Apr 16, 20081st CircuitRemanded

DeAndrade

Apr 15, 20081st CircuitDefendant Win

Vega-Caraballo

Apr 10, 2008D.P.R.Dismissed

Lugo-Velazquez

Apr 4, 20081st CircuitDefendant Win

International Shipping Agency, Inc. v. Union De Trabajadores De Muelles, Local 1740

Apr 3, 2008D.P.R.Dismissed

Nadeau

Apr 2, 2008D.N.H.Defendant Win

Five Star Transportation, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 31, 20081st CircuitDefendant Win

International Shipping Agency, Inc. v. Union Empleados De Muelles

Mar 31, 2008D.P.R.Dismissed

Pan American Grain Manufacturing, Inc. v. Congreso De Uniones Industriales De P.R.

Mar 28, 2008D.P.R.Defendant Win

Sullivan

Mar 19, 20081st CircuitDefendant Win

United States ex rel. Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

Mar 13, 2008D. Mass.Mixed Result

Cytosol Laboratories, Inc. v. Federal Insurance

Mar 6, 2008D. Mass.Defendant Win

Belleville

Feb 28, 2008D.R.I.Mixed Result

Gastronomical Workers Union Local 610 v. Posadas De Puerto Rico Associates, Inc.

Feb 27, 2008D.P.R.Plaintiff Win

School Union No. 37 v. MS. C.

Feb 26, 20081st CircuitDefendant Win

Baldwin

Jan 4, 2008D. Mass.Defendant Win

Local 791, United Food & Commercial Workers Union v. Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc.

Nov 7, 20071st CircuitDefendant Win

Government Employees Hospital Ass'n v. Serono International, S.A.

Nov 7, 2007D. Mass.Settlement

Massachusetts v. Mylan Laboratories, Inc.

Oct 29, 2007D. Mass.Defendant Win

Del Pilar Salgado v. Abbott Laboratories

Oct 23, 2007D.P.R.Defendant Win

Local 509, Service Employees International Union v. Fidelity House, Inc.

Sep 28, 2007D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Asociacion De Empleados Del Estado Libre Asociado De Puerto Rico v. Union Internacional De Trabajadores De La Industria De Automoviles

Sep 11, 2007D.P.R.Defendant Win

GE HFS Holdings, Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins.

Sep 5, 2007D. Mass.Defendant Win

GE HFS Holdings, Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins.

Sep 5, 2007D. Mass.Mixed Result

In Re Boston Scientific Corp. ERISA Litigation

Aug 27, 2007D. Mass.Mixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Harding Glass Co.

Aug 17, 20071st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Sullivan

Aug 13, 2007D. Mass.Defendant Win

Muniz-Olivari

Aug 1, 20071st CircuitPlaintiff Win

North Atlantic Distribution, Inc. v. Teamsters Local Union No. 430

Jul 24, 2007D.R.I.Plaintiff Win

Reeder

Jul 24, 2007D. Mass.Defendant Win

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 4 v. Stanley Excavation

Jul 23, 2007D. Me.Plaintiff Win

Gonzales v. Embajada De La Republica Dominicana

Jul 3, 2007D.P.R.Dismissed

Holloway

Jun 29, 2007D. Mass.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Champagne Drywall, Inc.

Jun 8, 2007D. Mass.Defendant Win

International Ass'n of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental & Reinforcing Iron Workers Union Local 7 v. Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, Inc.

Jun 7, 20071st CircuitDefendant Win

Gordon

Jun 4, 2007D. Mass.Remanded

Hospital Cristo Redentor, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

May 30, 20071st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dorothy B. Bach v. First Union National Bank

May 15, 20071st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Heide Betz v. Trainer Wortham & Company, Inc. David P. Como First Republic Bank, a Nevada Corporation Robert Vile

May 11, 20071st CircuitPlaintiff Win

United States ex rel. Ven-A-Care of the Floride Keys, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

May 8, 2007D. Mass.Mixed Result

Judkins

Apr 20, 2007D. Me.Defendant Win

American Steel Erectors, Inc. v. Local Union No. 7, International Ass'n of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental & Reinforcing Iron Workers

Mar 30, 2007D. Mass.Defendant Win

Gastronomical Workers Union v. DORADO BEACH HOTEL

Mar 2, 2007D.P.R.Defendant Win

Watson

Mar 1, 20071st CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Feb 28, 2007D. Mass.Mixed Result

Regan

Feb 20, 2007D.N.H.Mixed Result

Laborer’s Pension v. Regan, et al.

Feb 20, 2007D.N.H.Remanded

Showing 701750 of 1,014 rulings · Page 15 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.