Morales-Tirado v. Sanches-Rodriguez ( 2000 )

USCA1 Opinion

       [NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOT TO BE CITED AS PRECEDENT]

                 United States Court of Appeals

                     For the First Circuit











No. 99-1807



                      CARLOS MORALES-TIRADO,



                      Plaintiff, Appellant,



                                v.



                ISRAEL SANCHEZ-RODRIGUEZ, ET AL.,



                      Defendants, Appellees.







           APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT



                 FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO



        [Hon. Juan M. Perez-Gimenez, U.S. District Judge]







                              Before



                      Selya, Circuit Judge,

                Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge,

                   and Lipez, Circuit Judge.











     Emilio F. Soler on brief for appellant.

     Suzette M. Del Valle Lecaroz and Law Offices Benjamin Acosta,

Jr. on brief for appellees.











February 2, 2000











            Per Curiam.   After a careful review of the record

  and of the parties' submissions, we affirm.  We conclude that

  the lower court did not abuse its discretion in denying the

  motion to set aside judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b), given

  counsel's repeated failure before his family crisis to comply

  with court orders or adequately to explain his actions.

  "Although we are not unsympathetic to appellant['s] plight in

  this case, . . . the acts or omissions of counsel are visited

  upon the client[.]"  Pinero Capo v. United States, 7 F.3d 283,

  285 & n. 2 (1st Cir. 1993) (citing Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370

  U.S. 626 (1962)) (additional citations omitted).   We find no

  abuse of discretion, even if the failures here were those of

  counsel and not of the appellant.

            Affirmed.  1st Cir. Loc. R. 27(c).