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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

Bath Marine Draftsmen's Ass'n v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 29, 20071st CircuitDefendant Win

John Acevedo v. First Union National Bank, a Foreign Banking Corporation

Jan 26, 20071st CircuitDefendant Win

Kropp

Jan 10, 2007D. Me.Defendant Win

John Hancock Life v. Abbott Laboratories

Nov 8, 20061st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Kropp

Nov 2, 2006D. Me.Defendant Win

Massachusetts Nurses Ass'n v. North Adams Regional Hospital

Oct 26, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

John Hancock Life Insurance Company John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company and Investors Partner Life Insurance Company v. Abbott Laboratories

Sep 28, 20061st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Allen

Sep 1, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

Pesante

Aug 9, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

Santiago-Diaz

Aug 8, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

Holsum De Puerto Rico, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 8, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

Santos

Jun 29, 20061st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Trezvant

Jun 1, 2006D. Mass.Mixed Result

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1309, Afl-Cio v. Laidlaw Transit Services, Inc.

May 31, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Pan American Grain Co.

May 31, 20061st CircuitRemanded

National Labor Relations Board v. Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union Local 26

Apr 28, 20061st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Conroy

Apr 21, 2006D.R.I.Defendant Win

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 68 Welfare Fund v. AstraZeneca PLC

Apr 14, 2006D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company v. Utility Workers Union Of America, Local 270

Mar 14, 20061st CircuitMixed Result

Pye ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Young Women's Christian Ass'n

Mar 10, 2006D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Estrada-Canales

Feb 21, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

Torres Vazquez v. Commercial Union Insurance

Feb 17, 2006D.P.R.Defendant Win

Vieques Air Link, Inc. v. United States Department of Labor

Feb 2, 20061st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1309, AFL-CIO v. Laidlaw Transit Services, Inc.

Jan 26, 20061st CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Pan American Grain Co.

Dec 22, 20051st CircuitRemanded

NLRB v. Pan American Grain

Dec 22, 20051st CircuitMixed Result

Ronald Jordan, Robert MacKay and the Mbta Police Patrolman's Union v. Joseph C. Carter

Nov 4, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

Massachusetts Nurses Ass'n v. North Adams Regional Hospital

Oct 24, 2005D. Mass.Defendant Win

Saint-Gobain

Oct 19, 20051st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Theresa McAdam v. Raymond Lorden, Individually and as trustee of the REL Revocable Trust

Sep 26, 2005D.N.H.Defendant Win

Tejada-Batista

Sep 20, 20051st CircuitPlaintiff Win

ARMANDO MÉNDEZ-LABOY v. ABBOTT LABORATORIES, INC.

Sep 15, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

DiGregorio

Sep 8, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

DeToledo

Jul 26, 2005D. Mass.Defendant Win

Ortiz-Bou

Jul 13, 2005D.P.R.Dismissed

Sociedad Española de Auxilio Mutuo Y Beneficencia de P.R. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 8, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

Sociedad Espanola v. NLRB

Jul 8, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

Commercial Union Insurance v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corp.

Jun 27, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union, Local 1-9 v. S.D. Warren Co.

Jun 24, 2005D. Me.Defendant Win

First American Kickapoo Operations, L.L.C., a Nevada Limited Liability Company v. Multimedia Games, Inc.

Jun 22, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

Sevigny

Jun 9, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

Affiliated F.M. Insurance v. Employers Reinsurance Corp.

May 12, 2005D.R.I.Mixed Result

Otis Elevator Co. v. International Union of Elevator Constructors, Local 4

May 11, 20051st CircuitMixed Result

Frank

May 11, 2005D. Me.Mixed Result

Torres Vazquez v. Commercial Union Insurance

Apr 28, 2005D.P.R.Mixed Result

Sturm Ruger & Co. v. Secretary of Labor

Apr 18, 20051st CircuitDefendant Win

Adam

Mar 21, 2005D.N.H.Dismissed

Nashua Corp. v. Paper Allied Union

Mar 14, 2005D.N.H.Defendant Win

Pesante

Mar 3, 2005D.R.I.Defendant Win

Ciudadana

Feb 22, 2005D.P.R.Plaintiff Win

Showing 751800 of 1,014 rulings · Page 16 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.