The Do Corporation, et al v. Shastany, et al

Filing

OPINION issued by Jeffrey R. Howard, Chief Appellate Judge; Bruce M. Selya, Appellate Judge and William J. Kayatta , Jr., Appellate Judge. Per Curiam. Unpublished. [15-1978]

Case: 15-1978

Document: 00117103368

Page: 1

Date Filed: 01/11/2017

Entry ID: 6061047

Not for Publication in West's Federal Reporter

United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 15-1978
THE DO CORPORATION; DANIEL SILVA,
Plaintiffs, Appellants,
v.
PAUL J. SHASTANY; TOWN OF STOUGHTON; JOHN M. ANZIVINO;
CYNTHIA A. WALSH; STEPHEN G. ANASTOS; ROBERT J. O'REGAN;
THOMAS J. RECUPERO; MICHAEL HARTMAN,
Defendants, Appellees.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Denise J. Casper, U.S. District Judge]

Before
Howard, Chief Judge,
Selya and Kayatta, Circuit Judges.

Anthony Ivan Wilson for appellants.
Jackie Cowin, with whom Janelle M. Austin and Kopelman and
Paige, P.C. were on brief, for appellee Paul J. Shastany.
Thomas R. Donohue, with whom Leonard H. Kesten, Deidre Brennan
Regan, and Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten, LLP were on brief,
for appellees Town of Stoughton, John M. Anzivino, Cynthia A.
Walsh, Stephen G. Anastos, Robert J. O'Regan, Thomas J. Recupero,
and Michael Hartman.

January 11, 2017

Case: 15-1978

Document: 00117103368

Per Curiam.

Page: 2

Date Filed: 01/11/2017

Entry ID: 6061047

After carefully considering on de novo

review the record and the briefs on appeal, as well as oral
argument by counsel, we affirm for substantially the same reasons
as those stated by the district court.
escalating

incidents

of

violence,

There were numerous and

including

most

notably

a

shooting, in and around the "Whiplash" nightclub that plaintiffs
owned and operated.
preclude

any

The nature and frequency of those incidents

reasonable

factfinder

from

concluding

that

the

proffered comparators were similarly situated in all relevant
respects.

See Freeman v. Town of Hudson, 714 F.3d 29, 38 (1st

Cir. 2013).

Additionally, the police chief's accurate factual

descriptions of a change in the type of music played at the club
and the urban origin of many patrons attracted by certain disc
jockeys were germane to answering a question asked of the chief
concerning the circumstances coincident with the escalation of
violence at the club, were similar to the descriptions provided by
plaintiffs themselves, and, in context, provide too thin of a reed
to support a reasonable finding that impermissible discrimination
rather than obvious public-safety considerations motivated the
challenged restrictions.
Affirmed.

See 1st Cir. R. 27.0(c).

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