1st Circuit Opinions

Glennon Co. v. Monday - Trade Secrets and Civil RICO Claims

The First Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of T.H. Glennon Co.'s claims against Debra Monday for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that a Massachusetts federal court has general jurisdiction over this Massachusetts resident who was served at her Massachusetts home. The court simultaneously affirmed dismissal of claims against H.U.R.B. Landscaping and Ulderic Boisvert, finding Glennon failed to adequately plead its civil RICO claim because it alleged only one predicate act and failed to specify how multiple predicate acts were separately pleaded.

Giang v. United States - Employment Tax and Mail Fraud Conviction Affirmed

The First Circuit affirmed Lilian Giang's convictions for four counts of failure to collect or pay employment taxes in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202 and one count of mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341. Giang operated Able Temp Agency and paid workers in unreported cash while submitting false payroll information to the IRS and workers' compensation insurer, avoiding over $800,000 in employment taxes. The court rejected her challenges regarding admission of evidence about cash withdrawals below the $10,000 reporting threshold, refusal of an implicit bias jury instruction, tax obligation jury instructions, and sufficiency of evidence for the mail fraud conviction.

Perez v. FEMA Appeal Affirmed — Workers Not Federal Employees Under FLSA

The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for FEMA in a wage suit brought by employees of The Facilitators: Iron Horse, Inc. (TFCI), a nonprofit that received FEMA Disaster Case Management Program funding after Hurricane Maria. The court held that the plaintiffs were TFCI employees, not FEMA employees, because the uncontroverted facts showed TFCI — not FEMA — had authority to hire and fire, controlled work schedules, determined pay rates and methods, and maintained employment records. FEMA's denial of supplemental funding caused TFCI to stop paying workers from May 2019 until August 2019 when TFCI terminated employment. The plaintiffs' FLSA backpay claims against FEMA fail because FLSA liability attaches only to an employer, and no employment relationship existed between plaintiffs and FEMA under the economic-realality test.