1st Circuit Case Commentaries

Form-Over-Substance Rejected: A Pending Rule 12(b)(6) Motion May Be Applied to a Later Amended Complaint When the Amendment Does Not Materially Change the Issues

Date: Mar 29, 2026

Form-Over-Substance Rejected: A Pending Rule 12(b)(6) Motion May Be Applied to a Later Amended Complaint When the Amendment Does Not Materially Change the Issues Case: Kendell Seafood Imports, Inc....

Urizar-Mota v. United States: Individualized FTCA Presentment for Derivative Consortium Claims and Evidence-Based Limits on Rhode Island Homemaker Damages

Date: Mar 29, 2026

Urizar-Mota v. United States: Individualized FTCA Presentment for Derivative Consortium Claims and Evidence-Based Limits on Rhode Island Homemaker Damages Court: United States Court of Appeals for...

Post-Janus Declaratory Relief Is Moot Once Dues Deductions End and Defendants Concede Error: Limits of Voluntary Cessation

Date: Mar 27, 2026

Post-Janus Declaratory Relief Is Moot Once Dues Deductions End and Defendants Concede Error: Limits of Voluntary Cessation 1. Introduction In Ramos Ramos v. Jordan-Conde (1st Cir. Mar. 25, 2026),...

Manzo v. Wohlstadter: Securities-Fraud and Tort Claims “Arise Out of” Promissory Notes When the Notes Are the Security, the Misrepresentation Vehicle, and the Source of Loss—Triggering Delaware-Exclusive Forum Clauses

Date: Mar 27, 2026

Manzo v. Wohlstadter: Securities-Fraud and Tort Claims “Arise Out of” Promissory Notes When the Notes Are the Security, the Misrepresentation Vehicle, and the Source of Loss—Triggering...

Retaliation Causation Cannot Run Backward: Post-Ultimatum Accommodation or FMLA Activity Cannot Create a Nexus to Termination

Date: Mar 26, 2026

Retaliation Causation Cannot Run Backward: Post-Ultimatum Accommodation or FMLA Activity Cannot Create a Nexus to Termination Introduction In Harris v. National Grid USA Service Company, Inc. (1st...

Trade-Secret “Ownership” Limits for Third-Party Deal Data and Non-Secret Acquisition Strategy: ZipBy USA LLC v. Parzych (1st Cir. 2026)

Date: Mar 24, 2026

Trade-Secret “Ownership” Limits for Third-Party Deal Data and Non-Secret Acquisition Strategy: ZipBy USA LLC v. Parzych (1st Cir. 2026) Court: United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit...

Post-Remand Petrozziello Challenges: Deference, Harmless Error, and Plain-Error Waiver for Unpreserved Statement-Specific Attacks

Date: Mar 24, 2026

Post-Remand Petrozziello Challenges: Deference, Harmless Error, and Plain-Error Waiver for Unpreserved Statement-Specific Attacks 1. Introduction United States v. Quinones-Santiago (1st Cir. Mar. 20,...

Hellman v. Massachusetts DESE — Pierce Parental-Choice Rights Do Not Guarantee On-Site, State-Funded Special Education at Private Schools

Date: Mar 24, 2026

Pierce Parental-Choice Rights Do Not Guarantee On-Site, State-Funded Special Education at Private Schools Case: Hellman v. Mass Dep't of Elementary and Secondary Education (1st Cir. Mar. 20, 2026)...

United States v. Millán-Machuca (1st Cir. 2026) Commentary

Date: Mar 24, 2026

Post-Remand Petrozziello Review: Global Coconspirator Findings, Harmless-Error Backstops, and Waiver of Unargued Plain Error 1. Introduction In United States v. Millán-Machuca (Nos. 20-1275, 20-1276,...

United States v. Rosario-Orangel (1st Cir. 2026) — Overwhelming Evidence Defeats Cumulative-Error Relief Even Assuming Multiple Petrozziello Misadmissions

Date: Mar 24, 2026

Overwhelming Evidence Defeats Cumulative-Error Relief Even Assuming Multiple Petrozziello Misadmissions Case: United States v. Rosario-Orangel (consolidated Nos. 20-1275, 20-1276, 20-1283) Court:...

DTSA “Ownership” Limits for Due-Diligence Disclosures and No Trade-Secret Protection for a Disclosed “Decision-to-Pass” Strategy

Date: Mar 24, 2026

DTSA “Ownership” Limits for Due-Diligence Disclosures and No Trade-Secret Protection for a Disclosed “Decision-to-Pass” Strategy I. Introduction ZipBy USA LLC v. Parzych (1st Cir. Mar. 19, 2026)...

DTSA/Massachusetts Trade-Secret “Ownership” Requires Control of Secrecy: A Buyer’s NDA Access to a Target’s Deal Data Does Not Create a Misappropriation Claim

Date: Mar 24, 2026

DTSA/Massachusetts Trade-Secret “Ownership” Requires Control of Secrecy: A Buyer’s NDA Access to a Target’s Deal Data Does Not Create a Misappropriation Claim Case: ZipBy USA LLC v. Parzych (1st Cir....

Hodzic v. Bondi: Clarifying the Non-Reviewability of Sua Sponte Reopening Absent Colorable Legal/Constitutional Error

Date: Mar 24, 2026

Hodzic v. Bondi: Clarifying the Non-Reviewability of Sua Sponte Reopening Absent Colorable Legal/Constitutional Error 1. Introduction In Hodzic v. Bondi (1st Cir. Mar. 19, 2026), Edina and Redzo...

Hodzic v. Bondi — Statutory “Exceptional Circumstances” Do Not Govern BIA Sua Sponte Reopening, and Niz-Chavez Does Not Compel Reopening

Date: Mar 24, 2026

Hodzic v. Bondi — Statutory “Exceptional Circumstances” Do Not Govern BIA Sua Sponte Reopening, and Niz-Chavez Does Not Compel Reopening 1. Introduction In Hodzic v. Bondi (1st Cir. Mar. 19, 2026),...

Police “Wanted Posters” Do Not Trigger the Federal Sixth Amendment Speedy-Trial Clock; In Massachusetts, the Clock Starts at Arrest/Indictment, Not at Complaint

Date: Mar 20, 2026

Police “Wanted Posters” Do Not Trigger the Federal Sixth Amendment Speedy-Trial Clock; In Massachusetts, the Clock Starts at Arrest/Indictment, Not at Complaint 1. Introduction Carr v. Lizotte (1st...

Narrigan v. Goldberg — Ripeness and Standing Limits for Takings Challenges to Unclaimed-Property Interest Regimes

Date: Mar 20, 2026

Narrigan v. Goldberg: Takings Challenges to Unclaimed-Property Interest Are (i) Unripe Before a Claim-and-Refusal and (ii) Cannot Support Prospective Relief Once the Alleged Taking Is Complete...

Delegation Clauses and Equitable Estoppel Do Not Let a Signatory Force a Nonsignatory Courier Into Arbitration When the Contract Is Only With the Courier’s LLC

Date: Mar 19, 2026

Delegation Clauses and Equitable Estoppel Do Not Let a Signatory Force a Nonsignatory Courier Into Arbitration When the Contract Is Only With the Courier’s LLC I. Introduction Abdisalam v. Strategic...

Overwhelming Evidence Renders Alleged “Overview” and Prejudicial-Background Testimony Harmless in Money-Laundering Conspiracy Trials

Date: Mar 19, 2026

Overwhelming Evidence Renders Alleged “Overview” and Prejudicial-Background Testimony Harmless in Money-Laundering Conspiracy Trials Case: United States v. Figueroa (1st Cir. Mar. 17, 2026) (Not for...

Categorical Funding Freezes Are Reviewable and Likely Arbitrary, but APA Courts Cannot Order Grant/Contract Payments (Tucker Act Limit)

Date: Mar 18, 2026

Categorical Funding Freezes Are Reviewable and Likely Arbitrary, but APA Courts Cannot Order Grant/Contract Payments (Tucker Act Limit) Introduction In State of New York v. Trump (1st Cir. Mar. 16,...

Rescission-in-Name-Only Does Not Moot a De Facto Federal Funding Freeze; APA Injunctions May Bar Categorical Freezes but Generally May Not Compel Grant/Contract Disbursements

Date: Mar 18, 2026

Rescission-in-Name-Only Does Not Moot a De Facto Federal Funding Freeze; APA Injunctions May Bar Categorical Freezes but Generally May Not Compel Grant/Contract Disbursements 1. Introduction In State...