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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

PAPKEE

Feb 18, 2022D. Me.Mixed Result

Hall

Jan 28, 2022D.R.I.Plaintiff Win

Rivera

Jan 18, 2022D. Mass.Mixed Result

LOWE

Jan 4, 2022D. Me.Plaintiff Win

Pineda v. Skinner Services, Inc.

Dec 30, 20211st CircuitPlaintiff Win

TOURANGEAU

Dec 14, 2021D. Me.Remanded

OUELLETTE

Nov 30, 2021D. Me.Dismissed

U.S. Dep’t of Labor, Secretary of Labor v. P Unitil Service Corp.

Nov 17, 2021D.N.H.Defendant Win

US Department of Labor, Secretary of Labor v. Unitil Service Corporation

Nov 17, 2021D.N.H.Defendant Win

McKnight V. Honeywell Safety Products Inc.

Nov 16, 2021D.R.I.Defendant Win

Adams

Nov 12, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Adams

Nov 10, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

BELL v. O'REILLY AUTO ENTERPRISES LLC

Nov 5, 2021D. Me.Mixed Result

Host

Oct 28, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Caniglia

Oct 27, 2021D.R.I.Defendant Win

Adam Veinotte v. Milford DCH, Inc. d/b/a DCH Toyota of Milford

Oct 25, 2021D.N.H.Defendant Win

The General Hospital Corporation v. Esoterix Genetic Laboratories, LLC

Oct 21, 20211st CircuitDefendant Win

Trustees of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 17 Insurance Fund v. Phils HVAC, Inc.

Oct 6, 2021D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Owens

Oct 4, 2021D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

El Curragh v. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Oct 1, 2021D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Echavarria

Sep 30, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO/CLC v. National Grid

Sep 28, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Asantewaa

Sep 22, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Mullane

Sep 10, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Limenos Corporation

Sep 9, 2021D.P.R.Defendant Win

Hospital de la Concepcion v. Unidad Laboral de Enfermeras(os) y Empleados de la Salud

Sep 1, 2021D.P.R.Defendant Win

Hatch

Aug 25, 2021D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Morales Posada v. Cultural Care, Inc.

Aug 13, 2021D. Mass.Mixed Result

Union Internacional, UAW Local v. Bacardi Corporation

Aug 11, 20211st CircuitDefendant Win

Rosado-Pagan

Jul 22, 2021D.P.R.Remanded

Pearl

Jun 29, 2021D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Mirakl, Incorporated v. VTEX Commerce Cloud Solutions LLC

Jun 14, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Rose

Jun 10, 20211st CircuitDefendant Win

Paige

Jun 9, 2021D.R.I.Defendant Win

Martin

Jun 2, 2021D. Mass.Remanded

Robles-Figueroa

May 26, 2021D.P.R.Remanded

Guevara Ortiz v. Union Independiente de Empleados Telefonicos

May 19, 2021D.P.R.Plaintiff Win

Staples

May 18, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Gunter

Apr 30, 2021D. Mass.Mixed Result

JOY

Apr 22, 2021D. Me.Defendant Win

Khan

Apr 20, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Efreom

Apr 15, 2021D.R.I.Mixed Result

Menninger

Apr 14, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

PAPKEE

Mar 26, 2021D. Me.Remanded

White

Mar 26, 2021D. Mass.Defendant Win

Solari

Mar 22, 2021D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

Rosario Ramos v. Municipality of Rio Grande

Mar 11, 2021D.P.R.Defendant Win

Weissman

Mar 8, 2021D. Mass.Plaintiff Win

John R Wade v. Tri -Wire Employee Stock Option Trust

Mar 5, 2021D. Mass.Dismissed

Gonzalez-Bermudez

Mar 3, 20211st CircuitMixed Result

Showing 301350 of 1,014 rulings · Page 7 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.