United States First Circuit

In an interlocutory appeal in an action arising from the termination of a cognitively disabled homebound minor's educational services provided by the government after his family reported alleged incidents of physical and sexual abuse by his teacher to police, the court of appeals rules that: 1) the district court's denial of qualified immunity was not subject to interlocutory review under prior precedent, as the ruling did not turn on a legal issue; and 2) due to the intricacies of federal preemption and exhaustive principles underlying the peculiar nature of plaintiff's claims, defendant's non-classical theory of sovereign immunity defenses could not be entertained for the limited purposes of an interlocutory appeal.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/05/2008
• Published 06/05/2008

Judges

• BOUDIN, Chief Judge., Before BOUDIN, Chief Judge, TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, and SELYA, Senior Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Luis A. Rodríguez-Muñoz with whom Hon. Roberto Sánchez-Ramos, Secretary of Justice, Hon. Salvador Antonetti-Stutts, Solicitor General, Vivian González, Deputy Secretary for Litigation, Eileen Landrón-Guardiola, Eduardo A. Vera-Ramírez and Landrón & Vera, LLP were on brief for defendants, appellants., Nora Vargas-Acosta with whom Wilma E. Reverón-Collazo was on brief for appellees.