1st Circuit Court of Appeals, January, 2009, Federal Case law

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Federal Courts - 1st Circuit Court of Appeals - January 21 - January 23, 2009

Hamilton v. Appolon (In re Hamilton ), BAP NO. MB 08-049, UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY APPELLATE PANEL FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 21, 2009, Decided
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Overview: Bankruptcy court improperly dismissed adversary proceeding based solely on noncompliance with one case management order where the court did not consider whether there was a good reason for the noncompliance, did not analyze whether defendants were unduly prejudiced, and did not warn the party that noncompliance might have resulted in dismissal.

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United States v. Perazza-Mercado, No. 07-1511, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 21, 2009, Decided
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Overview: Special conditions of defendant's supervised release which prohibited all internet use and possession of pornography were improper, since neither internet nor pornography was implicated in defendant's offense of sexual contact with minor, restricted use of internet was available, and no relationship between pornography and offense was articulated.

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United States v. Saunders, No. 07-1675, No. 07-1704, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 21, 2009, Decided
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Overview: The imposition of a four level increase for defendant's leadership role in a drug conspiracy, under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual ? 3B1.1(a), was supported by the evidence, where defendant paid for the warehouse where the marijuana was taken, spoke to the suppliers of the drug, and held himself out as the leader of the organization.

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United States v. Textron, Inc., No. 07-2631, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 21, 2009, Decided
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Overview: Where the IRS sought a corporation's tax accrual workpapers, the work-product doctrine protected the workpapers because, inter alia, the resolution of disputes through adversary administrative processes met the definition of litigation and dual-purpose documents were protected; however, remand was necessary regarding waiver.

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Abraham v. Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., No. 08-1655, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 22, 2009, Decided
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Overview: It was not an abuse of discretion to deny an employee's request to amend a complaint to include a Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B claim as futile when the claim was untimely. A decision not to apply equitable tolling to the employee's Title VII claim was not an abuse of discretion since the employee's lack of diligence barred the doctrine's application.

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United States v. Evano, No. 07-2605, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 22, 2009, Decided
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Overview: Sentence in fraud case was upheld because, inter alia, identity theft enhancement, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual ? 2B1.1(b)(10)(C)(ii), was applicable where pre-sentence report showed defendant used social security numbers of at least eight individuals in order to get documents such as driver's licenses and Social Security cards.

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Awuah v. Coverall N. Am., Inc., No. 08-1920, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 23, 2009, Decided
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Overview: Although the arbitration clause said that the unconscionability issue was for the arbitrator to decide, given the court's concern that the arbitration regime was structured so as to prevent a litigant from having the arbitrator to resolve claims, the franchisees were entitled to a court ruling on whether the arbitration remedy was illusory.

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Tobin v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., Nos. 07-1764, 07-1765, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 23, 2009, Decided
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Overview: The evidence supported a jury's finding that an employer failed to reasonably accommodate a former employee, who suffered from bipolar disorder, as required by the ADA and Massachusetts law. The evidence did not reveal the kind of intentional or reckless indifference to federal rights required to support a punitive damages award.

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United States v. Silva, No. 07-2320, UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT, January 23, 2009, Decided
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Overview: Defendant was properly convicted of offenses related to forged prescriptions for narcotics, since party was not government agent in seizing evidence requested by officer who believed party already possessed evidence, letter implicating another person was properly admitted only for impeachment, and jury was properly instructed not to speculate.

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