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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

Mark C. Hawkins v. First Union Corporation Long-Term Disability Plan

Apr 22, 20031st CircuitDefendant Win

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

Mar 6, 20031st CircuitDefendant Win

Greenier

Feb 12, 2003D. Me.Defendant Win

Nathaniel Trull, Ppa David Trull and David Trull, Administrator of the Estate of Benjamin Trull v. Volkswagen of America, Inc. And Volkswagen, Ag

Feb 11, 20031st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brigham

Jan 28, 20031st CircuitDefendant Win

Poland Spring Corporation v. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Afl-Cio-Clc, Local 1445

Jan 22, 20031st CircuitDefendant Win

Poland Spring Corp. v. United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, Local 1445

Dec 30, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union, CLC v. Allied Textile Companies, PLC

Dec 30, 2002D. Me.Dismissed

Adams

Dec 18, 2002D.N.H.Defendant Win

Adams

Dec 17, 20021st CircuitRemanded

Santos-Espada

Dec 2, 20021st CircuitRemanded

Barthel

Oct 25, 2002D. Mass.Dismissed

RTA Transit Services, Inc. v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 22

Sep 30, 20021st CircuitMixed Result

Heimmermann v. First Union Mortgage Corporation

Sep 18, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

Vazquez-Garcia

Sep 18, 2002D.P.R.Mixed Result

De Hoyos v. Bristol Laboratories Corp.

Aug 20, 2002D.P.R.Defendant Win

High Country Investor, Inc. v. McAdams, Inc.

Aug 13, 2002D. Mass.Dismissed

Davis

Aug 12, 2002D. Mass.Defendant Win

Negron-Agosto

Aug 7, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

Haas Electric, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 7, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 1, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

Kittel v. First Union Mortgage Corporation

Jul 19, 20021st CircuitRemanded

Spickler

Jul 1, 2002D. Me.Defendant Win

Terradata, Inc. v. Budget Rent-A-Car International Inc.

Jun 28, 2002D.P.R.Defendant Win

Sullivan

Jun 25, 2002D. Mass.Defendant Win

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Employment & Training v. Boston Regional Medical Center, Inc. (In re Boston Regional Medical Center, Inc.)

May 31, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

QST

May 28, 2002D.N.H.Defendant Win

Toledo v. Puerto Rico Labor & Human Resources Dept.

Apr 29, 2002D.P.R.Dismissed

Karen Lynn Bienkowski, David Eberle, Delia Ann Hoye and Edward McDonald v. Northeastern University

Apr 23, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

Greenier

Apr 23, 2002D. Me.Mixed Result

D'AMICO

Apr 22, 2002D. Mass.Defendant Win

Paquin

Apr 11, 2002D. Me.Mixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Goodless Bros. Electric Co.

Mar 29, 20021st CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Mar 12, 2002D.P.R.Mixed Result

Brigham

Feb 6, 2002D. Mass.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Unión Independiente De La Autoridad De Acueductos Y Alcantarillados

Feb 4, 20021st CircuitMixed Result

Green

Jan 29, 2002D. Me.Mixed Result

Haines

Jan 4, 2002D.N.H.Dismissed

Poland Spring Corp. v. Local 1445, United Food & Commercial Workers Union

Jan 3, 2002D. Me.Defendant Win

Garcia

Dec 17, 2001D.P.R.Mixed Result

New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199 v. Rhode Island Legal Services

Dec 10, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Gough

Nov 26, 2001D. Me.Defendant Win

DeNadai

Nov 13, 2001D. Mass.Defendant Win

Graphic Communications International Union v. Quebecor Printing Providence, Inc.

Oct 25, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Unidad Laboral De Enfermeras(OS) Y Empleados De La Salud (ULEES) v. Hospital De Damas, Inc.

Oct 25, 2001D.P.R.Defendant Win

Briones

Sep 20, 2001D. Mass.Defendant Win

Celia G. Zimmerman v. Direct Federal Credit Union and David Breslin

Sep 4, 20011st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brawn

Aug 30, 2001D. Mass.Remanded

Hospital Del Maestro v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 20, 20011st CircuitRemanded

Boston Medical Center v. Service Employees International Union, Local 285

Aug 9, 20011st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Showing 851900 of 1,014 rulings · Page 18 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.