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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

Adames

Jul 19, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Santos Espada v. Cancel Lugo

Jul 17, 2001D.P.R.Dismissed

Manno

Jul 17, 2001D. Mass.Mixed Result

Ryan Iron Works, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 16, 20011st CircuitMixed Result

White

Jul 13, 2001D.N.H.Defendant Win

White

Jul 13, 2001D.N.H.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Samuel Bent, LLC

Jun 14, 20011st CircuitRemanded

Lebron-Torres

May 30, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Gerard

May 24, 2001D. Me.Mixed Result

Daley

May 14, 2001D. Mass.Mixed Result

Corrada-Betances

May 3, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Cohen

Apr 16, 2001D. Mass.Mixed Result

Commercial Union Ins. v. North American Paper Co.

Apr 6, 2001D. Mass.Defendant Win

Bath Iron Works Corp. v. Director, Office of Workers Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

Apr 5, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Members First Federal Credit Union, Louisville, Ky, Cross v. Members First Credit Union of Florida

Mar 27, 20011st CircuitRemanded

Vlass

Mar 26, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Posadas

Mar 23, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Intercity Maintenance Co. v. Local 254, Service Employees International Union

Mar 2, 20011st CircuitMixed Result

Mauser

Feb 27, 20011st CircuitMixed Result

Edward S. Quirk Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 27, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Stein

Feb 14, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

FLRA

Feb 6, 20011st CircuitDefendant Win

Mauser v. Raytheon Co. Pension Plan for Salaried Employees

Feb 2, 20011st CircuitMixed Result

Regional

Jan 23, 20011st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Fiori

Jan 8, 2001D. Mass.Mixed Result

Lorenc

Jan 5, 2001D. Mass.Mixed Result

Snow

Jan 3, 2001D. Me.Defendant Win

Puerto Rico Telephone Co. v. UNION INDEPENDIENTE DE EMPLEADOS TELEFONICOS

Dec 20, 2000D.P.R.Dismissed

SIG Arms Inc. v. Employers Insurance of Wausau

Dec 5, 2000D.N.H.Mixed Result

Garcia

Dec 4, 2000D.N.H.Defendant Win

Emerito Estrada Rivera-Isuzu De P.R., Inc. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc.

Nov 28, 20001st CircuitDefendant Win

Zimmerman

Nov 16, 2000D. Mass.Mixed Result

NATIONAL ASS'N OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES/INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF POLICE OFFICERS v. BUCI Television, Inc.

Oct 19, 2000D. Mass.Defendant Win

March

Oct 18, 2000D.N.H.Plaintiff Win

Trull

Oct 17, 20001st CircuitRemanded

First Union Mortgage Corporation v. Galen J..

Oct 16, 20001st CircuitRemanded

Almeida

Oct 5, 2000D.R.I.Mixed Result

Biogen, Inc. v. Berlex Laboratories, Inc.

Sep 19, 2000D. Mass.Defendant Win

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

Sep 18, 2000D. Mass.Defendant Win

Beaver Plant Operations, Inc. v. Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

Sep 7, 20001st CircuitDefendant Win

Hilda Rodriguez,plaintiffs v. Smithkline Beecham, Their Agents, Officers, Employees and Successors in Interest

Aug 16, 20001st CircuitDefendant Win

John Dame v. First National Bank of Omaha, as Trustee of the United-A. G. Cooperative, Inc., Employees Retirement Plan United-A. G. Cooperative, Inc.

Aug 3, 20001st CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Union Independiente De La Autoridad De Acueductos Y Alcantarillados De Puerto Rico

Jul 11, 2000D.P.R.Plaintiff Win

Carpenters Local Union No. 26 v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.

Jun 16, 20001st CircuitPlaintiff Win

Chandler v. Raytheon Employees'

Jun 15, 20001st CircuitDefendant Win

Rhode Island Laborers' Health & Welfare Fund Ex Rel. Trustees v. Philip Morris, Inc.

Jun 1, 2000D.R.I.Defendant Win

Teamsters Local Union No. 42 v. Supervalu, Inc.

May 15, 20001st CircuitDefendant Win

Vlass

May 2, 2000D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Ferris

Apr 27, 2000D. Me.Defendant Win

SIG Arms v. Employers Ins. of Wausau

Apr 26, 2000D.N.H.Mixed Result

Showing 901950 of 1,014 rulings · Page 19 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.