⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Real court arguments, crisp audio, with context.

Court recordings can be difficult to follow, and many suffer from poor audio quality. This podcast enhances the audio, provides a brief introduction to each case, and explains legal concepts that may be unfamiliar to some listeners.

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Rodriguez-Rivera v. Allscripts Healthcare, LLC — 1st Cir. (Nov 5, 2026)

No. 25-1463 Argued November 5, 2026 Published November 6, 2026

The First Circuit hears a dispute that began with a doctor's lost patient records. Dr. Rodriguez-Rivera used Allscripts' MyWay software in his Puerto Rico practice. He says the destruction of his patients' electronic records caused losses for which Allscripts should pay. But this argument concerns a threshold question: did he agree to have that dispute decided in private arbitration rather than court? The particular signed license agreement said to bind him has not been produced. After an earlier appeal, the district court held a trial, found an agreement to arbitrate, and sent the case to arbitration. Rodriguez-Rivera will challenge both the strength of that proof and the use of a reseller's deposition testimony. A deposition is sworn testimony taken before trial; here, the dispute is whether enough was shown to justify using it without the witness appearing in person. Allscripts will defend the trial judge's assessment and argue that the software terms and the doctor's use of the product support arbitration. Listen for two separate questions: which evidence may be considered, and what that evidence proves about consent. You'll hear the lawyers call the software contract a EULA, short for end-user license agreement.

Rodriguez-Rivera v. Allscripts Healthcare, LLC (No. 25-1463) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, argued November 5, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — official First Circuit recording; complete case call, advocacy and closing; fixed 6 dB peak attenuation only:https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/oralargs/25-1463_20261105.mp3
Case and argument date — official First Circuit November 5, 2026 archive:https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/doar/results/2026-11
Patient-records dispute and post-trial arbitration ruling — D.P.R. Document 325, January 10, 2025; not this appeal's outcome:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-prd-3_18-cv-01076/pdf/USCOURTS-prd-3_18-cv-01076-1.pdf
Earlier procedural and arbitration background — First Circuit No. 20-1936, 2022 amended opinion; not the current argument's decision:https://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/20-1936P-01A.pdf
Using deposition testimony in court — Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 32; no prediction of the current appeal's result:https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_32
Deposition oath and recording — Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(5) and (c)(1):https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_30

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