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Criminal – Sentencing – Ammunition
Where an upwardly variant sentence has been challenged on appeal, the defendant’s possession of 31 rounds of ammunition could not alone justify the upward variance, so he must be resentenced.
Public utilities – Disability discrimination – Meters
Where a plaintiff suffering from cancer chose to opt out of a defendant power company’s “Advanced Metering Infrastructure” (AMI) and then brought suit alleging disability discrimination after he was denied a waiver of the opt-out fee, an award of summary judgment in favor of the defendant should be affirmed because the plaintiff did not meet his obligation to provide evidence showing that th[...]
Habeas corpus – Custody – Deportation
Where a petitioner requested habeas corpus relief after being deported, the dismissal of her petition should be affirmed because she was not in the custody of any Massachusetts state official when she filed her petition.
Appeals – Stay
Where a U.S. District Court judge granted requests for preliminary injunctions after the Department of Housing and Urban Development made sudden and dramatic changes to the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, HUD’s request for an emergency stay pending appeal should be denied because HUD has not made a “strong showing” that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal.
Arbitration – Non-signatory
Where (1) a plaintiff who provided courier services brought suit alleging that the defendant misclassified its couriers as independent contractors and failed to pay them appropriate wages and (2) the defendant moved to compel arbitration based on a provision in a vendor agreement between it and a limited liability company that the defendant required the plaintiff to form in order to provide it wit[...]
Contract – Bidding – Racial discrimination
Where a defendant did not invite a plaintiff construction company to bid on a major housing redevelopment project, a grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant should be affirmed because no reasonable jury could find that the defendant made an enforceable promise in July 2016 that the plaintiff would be the project’s general contractor, nor could a reasonable jury could find that the de[...]
Immigration – Nexus – Waiver
Where applications for asylum and withholding of removal were denied on the ground that the applicant had failed to show the required nexus between the harm she experienced and her asserted protected status, the applicant’s petition for review must be denied because of her failure to make any developed argument as to why the nexus determination was incorrect.
Criminal – Forced labor
Where a defendant owner of a chain of pizzerias was convicted of forced labor and attempted forced labor, the convictions should be affirmed because the jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant sought out undocumented immigrants as employees so that he could intimidate them into working long hours under difficult conditions and, thereafter, intentionally caused them to fe[...]
Negligence – Emotional distress – Expert evidence
Where a defendant doctor who reported suspected medical child abuse by the plaintiff was awarded summary judgment on a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress, that judgment should be affirmed because the plaintiff did not offer any expert’s opinion on the standard of care that would have applied to the defendant’s decision about whether to file a report of suspected medical child [...]
1st Circuit limits privilege waiver in kickback case
The 1st Circuit ruled that an executive’s involvement-of-counsel defense in an Anti-Kickback criminal case does not automatically waive a corporation’s attorney-client privilege.
Criminal – Advice of counsel – Waiver of privilege
Where (1) a defendant corporate executive indicated his intent to invoke an “involvement-of-counsel” defense at his criminal trial and (2) the lower court found an implied waiver of attorney-client privilege as to the defendant’s communications with corporate counsel, a remand is necessary because the facts and procedural posture of the case have shifted substantially.
Immigration – Asylum – Gang threats
Where a petitioner and his family fled to the United States following death threats from a criminal gang in Colombia, a denial of asylum and withholding of removal should be upheld based on substantial evidence that the Colombian government was able to protect the petitioner and his family from the gang.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
