2012 Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 1 - 500 of 1035
Date: December 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1888
Justia Opinion Summary: Adigun was charged with three drug offenses after officers seized crack and cocaine powder from him on two separate occasions. On the day of his scheduled trial, Adigun pled guilty in open court and was later sentenced…
Date: December 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2903
Justia Opinion Summary: Poole, an Illinois prisoner, believed that a required $2 co-payment for dental care furnished at the prison violate his rights under the Eighth Amendment. After paying the fee, he sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Poole’s…
Date: December 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3347
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Earls was convicted in Wisconsin of three felony counts of sexual assault of a six-year-old and sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment. After exhausting state remedies, Earls sought federal habeas corpus, alleging…
Date: December 27, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1109
Justia Opinion Summary: The class consists of chemical companies that purchase sulfuric acid as one of the inputs into their production of chemicals. The defendants own smelters that process nonferrous minerals such as nickel and copper. They…
Date: December 27, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2425
Justia Opinion Summary: School administrators approved a seventh grade field trip to Mauthe Lake. Students were not required to attend. The school district forbids swimming on field trips unless a lifeguard is present. The administrator,…
Date: December 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3758
Justia Opinion Summary: Humphries applied to Milwaukee County to renew her child care provider certificate. Muniz reviewed her application, sent a standard inquiry to a state agency as part of the background check, learned that Humphries had a…
Date: December 26, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1973
Justia Opinion Summary: Labor unions allowed non-union members, part of their bargaining units, to opt out of paying dues used to support political and other activities unrelated to collective bargaining, contract administration, or grievance…
Date: December 26, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2273
Justia Opinion Summary: The government alleged, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601, that API and seven other companies caused $1 billion in PCB contamination in the Fox River near…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1669
Justia Opinion Summary: On Halloween 1996, Parish, age 20, was arrested by Elkhart police as he prepared to take his three children trick-or-treating, and charged with attempted murder and armed robbery. No physical evidence tied Parish to the…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2766
Justia Opinion Summary: After he pleaded guilty to a felon-in-possession charge, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), Elliott was sentenced as an armed career criminal based on the district court’s finding that a series of three robberies he perpetrated in a…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3576
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs are 250 purchasers of timeshare interests in a resort in San José del Cabo, Mexico. They bought the interests between 2004 and 2006 from a Mexican company, DTR, which no longer exists. Each contract stated…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3691
Justia Opinion Summary: Welch called 911. A Wishard ambulance arrived. Welch was 34 weeks pregnant. Paramedics ascertained that her water broke and she had a prolapsed umbilical cord. After consulting with her obstetrician’s office, paramedics…
Date: December 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1501
Justia Opinion Summary: Enviro-Chem conducted waste-handling and disposal operations at three sites north of Zionsville, Indiana, until it ceased operations in 1982, leaving considerable amounts of pollutants. The U.S. Environmental Protection…
Date: December 19, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2664
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant worked as an assistant branch manager and pled guilty to embezzlement, 18 U.S.C. 656 after stealing more than $40,000 from the bank by manipulating the electronic security system. He was arrested in the…
Date: December 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2716
Justia Opinion Summary: Moyaho, a Mexican citizen, first entered the U.S. in 1995, “without inspection.” Since then, he has lived and worked in the U.S., paid taxes, and, with his wife, raised three children, each born in the U.S. In 2005, DHS…
Date: December 18, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1262
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, age 46, pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a). He photographed his repeated sexual assaults on a girl who was a friend of his daughters. He obtained additional images…
Date: December 17, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1337
Justia Opinion Summary: On December 7, 2009, Burd pleaded guilty in Illinois state court to attempted burglary. He had 30 days to withdraw the plea. For the first 29 days of this period, he was held at prison facilities that had no library…
Date: December 17, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2845
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995 Chicago administered a civil-service examination for the fire department and initially hired those with scores of 89 to 100. From 2002-2006 it hired from the group who had scored 65 to 88. Plaintiffs contend…
Date: December 14, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3550
Justia Opinion Summary: Woolley was charged in Illinois state court with murder, armed violence, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, arising out the fatal shootings of two victims in 1995. After initially confessing,…
Date: December 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2097
Justia Opinion Summary: Illini Concrete formally ceased doing business in October 2009 and sold certain of its assets, including delivery trucks, to Kienstra. The Teamsters Local Union, which represents concrete mixer drivers and others…
Date: December 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2426
Justia Opinion Summary: Escobedo became suicidal and ingested cocaine. He dialed 911 and told the operator he had taken cocaine, had a gun to his head, and wanted to kill himself. An emergency response team was dispatched to negotiate with…
Date: December 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2427
Justia Opinion Summary: While installing a natural-gas pipeline in Madison, Wisconsin, KS Energy was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violating trench safety regulations that require companies to protect workers…
Date: December 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3535
Justia Opinion Summary: McIntosh has an extensive history of bank fraud, escape, 18 U.S.C. 751(a), violation of supervised release, and failure to surrender, going back about 20 years. In 2009, the court revoked supervised release and sentenced…
Date: December 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3892
Justia Opinion Summary: Lara, a citizen of Mexico, was 19 when he first entered the U.S. illegally in 1985. His wife and child joined him; they had three more children, each a citizen of the U.S. by birth. Lara was deported following a 1999…
Date: December 11, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1269
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs challenged an Illinois law that forbid carrying a gun ready to use (loaded, immediately accessible, uncased), with exceptions for police, security personnel, hunters, members of target shooting clubs, a…
Date: December 10, 2012
Docket Number: 10-2095
Justia Opinion Summary: Harney and Muldoon occupy one unit of a three-unit Chicago building; DeVarela occupies another. In 2004, DeVarela contacted police to complain about damage to her vehicle. Midona’s police report noted an “unknown…
Date: December 7, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2332
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff owns three tracts, zoned agricultural, and challenged a 2009 amendment to the Winnebago County zoning ordinance that makes it easier to obtain permission to build a wind farm. She claimed that a wind farm on…
Date: December 7, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1683
Justia Opinion Summary: Henry pleaded guilty to drug offenses in Iowa state court. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, suspended, and 5 years’ probation. The same day, Henry and Parazine drove to the Chicago area. On the way, Henry used…
Date: December 7, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1714
Justia Opinion Summary: Preacely pleaded guilty in 2009 to tax fraud, 26 U.S.C. 7206(2). The district court sentenced him to 18 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release, with a special condition, prohibiting him…
Date: December 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3281
Justia Opinion Summary: Wolfe was convicted on one count of bank theft and one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods under 18 U.S.C. 2113(b) and 2314 for his role in a copper theft scheme. The district court sentenced Wolfe to 88…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3121
Justia Opinion Summary: As part of a major interagency effort to combat gang violence and drug trafficking in Racine, Wisconsin, state and federal officers identified Matthews as an “impact player” and used a confidential informant to target…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1672
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, B.T., 14 years old, was failing in high school. Her friends accused her of making a bomb threat. She attempted suicide. In July 2006, B.T. told police that Dietrich, a family friend, had sexually assaulted her…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2216
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court certified a class consisting of more than 4000 participants in the Meriter pension plan who allegedly were not credited with all benefits to which the plan entitled them. Some members received benefits…
Date: December 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2546
Justia Opinion Summary: Nine defendants were charged with conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana; two were also charged as felons in possession of firearms. All were convicted. The sentences were: Moreland…
Date: December 3, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1283
Justia Opinion Summary: Purnell sold crack cocaine to an undercover agent (27 to 61 grams) on three occasions. During one transaction, Purnell revealed a pistol. In 2007, he pled guilty to distributing crack cocaine in excess of five grams, 21…
Date: November 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3607
Justia Opinion Summary: Over the course of two days in late 2009, Taylor went on a shooting spree in Aurora, Illinois. He fired his black 9 millimeter Beretta semiautomatic pistol on residential streets, at family homes, and at a moving…
Date: November 30, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1671
Justia Opinion Summary: Kasten sued his employer, alleging unlawful retaliation for lodging oral complaints regarding the location of time clocks under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3). Kasten complained that the time clocks…
Date: November 30, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2236
Justia Opinion Summary: Ruppel sued CBS in Illinois alleging CBS’s predecessor, Westinghouse, caused the mesothelioma from which he suffers. Westinghouse had included asbestos in the turbines it supplied to the U.S. Navy, and Ruppel was…
Date: November 29, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1285
Justia Opinion Summary: Huber operated a Ponzi scheme in which 118 investors lost a total of $22.6 million. He told investors, mainly friends and acquaintances, who trusted him, that he administered investment funds, using a computer trading…
Date: November 29, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1875
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Home Depot and a personnel manager, claiming that the company had refused to hire him because of his national origin, Albanian, in violation of Title VII. Defendants claim that a manager called plaintiff…
Date: November 29, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2478
Justia Opinion Summary: An officer responding to a report of gunshots, saw a Hispanic male running toward a building. A witness told the officer that her cousin had been shot by a black male and was hiding in an apartment in that building.…
Date: November 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3097
Justia Opinion Summary: Foster sold crack cocaine to a paid confidential informant through a series of controlled buys facilitated by federal agent and was charged with several counts of knowingly and intentionally distributing cocaine base. He…
Date: November 28, 2012
Docket Number: 12-3264
Justia Opinion Summary: Northwestern sold an annuity to approximately 36,000 persons: about 3,000 live in Wisconsin. In 1985 Northwestern changed its calculation of the annual dividend. In a 2001 suit by annuitants in Wisconsin state court, the…
Date: November 27, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1698
Justia Opinion Summary: Zheng, born in1984 in the People’s Republic of China, arrived in the U.S. illegally in 2001. After receiving a Notice to Appear, she filed applications for political asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under…
Date: November 26, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1111
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and wife, Pakistani citizens, entered the U.S. in 2006 and applied for asylum several months later. In 1984, wife had left her native India for an arranged marriage. Her new hometown of Karachi was full of…
Date: November 26, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1649
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 Calumet City’s Mayor Qualkinbush appointed Embry commissioner, to oversee construction and repair of streets, paving, sidewalks, and other public improvements. Embry supervised day-to-day work, prepared the…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1215
Justia Opinion Summary: The insurers provided law enforcement liability coverage to the city of Waukegan and its employees acting within the scope of employment. In 2009, Starks filed a civil rights suit against the city and some current and…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1295
Justia Opinion Summary: Raybourne was a quality engineer for 23 years. The employer provided a long-term disability plan that paid benefits for up to 24 months if disability prevented him from performing the duties of his regular job. After 24…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2984
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Townsend’s Pontiac was stolen by means of breaking a window. The car was seen at a bank 15 miles away. Two armed men stepped out, wearing gloves, dark clothes, and masks. The attempted robbery failed; they fled…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1135
Justia Opinion Summary: Brown and Wilson began working as nurses at Advocate-Christ in 2005. Both are African-American. In 2008, the plaintiffs and 10 other nurses delivered a Petition for Change in Labor Practices to their human resources…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1274
Justia Opinion Summary: Pelletier admitted during a job interview with the FBI that he had pornographic pictures of children on his home computer, which he claimed were related to research. The admission occurred in an unlocked polygraph room,…
Date: November 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2848
Justia Opinion Summary: Omni, a technology consulting agency, hired Messier to work as a temporary programmer for Thrivent pursuant to an agreement between Omni and Thrivent. After leaving Omni and Thrivent, Messier had a difficult time finding…
Date: November 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3781
Justia Opinion Summary: Plowman was a local government official in Indianapolis when he accepted a bribe from an undercover FBI agent. He was videotaped discussing payment for “taking care of” a zoning variance. The agent gave Plowman $5,000.…
Date: November 20, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1516
Justia Opinion Summary: Vrljicak arrived in the U.S. from Serbia under a work visa, which expired September 30, 2009.He did not leave and was in unauthorized status on July 14, 2010, when he applied for asylum on the ground that his native land…
Date: November 20, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2592
Justia Opinion Summary: Holloway was arrested without a warrant and detained. Although Holloway had a probable cause determination the day after his arrest and an initial appearance in front of a judicial officer within three days, he was…
Date: November 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3228
Justia Opinion Summary: Ray was convicted of reckless homicide and reckless endangerment, arising from a retaliatory shooting that left an 11-year-old girl dead and two others injured. At trial, the state called Detective Phillips to describe a…
Date: November 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3602
Justia Opinion Summary: Iain and Norene were married in Chicago in 1993. They lived in Seattle until 1998 when they moved to Australia. Their eldest child was born in the U.S. in 1997; two younger children were born in Australia. Although…
Date: November 14, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1302
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to seven counts of violation of child pornography laws, 18 U.S.C. 2251(d)(1), 2252(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(4), and was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment, followed by supervised release for the rest…
Date: November 13, 2012
Docket Number: 09-1031
Justia Opinion Summary: During unrelated civil litigation against Illinois Department of Corrections officials, Eichwedel, an inmate, pro se, filed motions that the district court denied as “frivolous.” The state revoked six months of…
Date: November 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-8029
Justia Opinion Summary: The underlying suits arise from alleged defects in Kenmore-brand Sears washing machines sold in periods beginning in 2001 and 2004. One asserted a defect that causes mold; the other asserted a defect that stops the…
Date: November 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2577
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on a scheme that involved purchasing large quantities of cell phones, defaulting on payment, and shipping them for resale, Natour was convicted of four counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, 18…
Date: November 9, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1703
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson, an African-American woman, age 67, worked for 16 years as a legal assistant at the U.S. Attorney’s Office until her voluntary retirement in 2007.Weeks before her retirement, Johnson had a verbal altercation with…
Date: November 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2006
Justia Opinion Summary: Porter, a civilian police department employee, worked the “auto desk,” where employees process information about towed, stolen, repossessed, or recovered vehicles, 24 hours per day, seven days a week. In 2005 she was…
Date: November 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2574
Justia Opinion Summary: Hible was charged with conspiracy involving distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine; distribution of cocaine; and distribution of crack cocaine (21 U.S.C. 841, 846). The government filed notice under 21 U.S.C. 851 that…
Date: November 7, 2012
Docket Number: 10-1687
Justia Opinion Summary: American citizen-civilians, employees of a private Iraqi security services company, alleged that they were detained and tortured by U.S. military personnel while in Iraq in 2006, then released without being charged with…
Date: November 7, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1821
Justia Opinion Summary: A chiropractor pleaded guilty to defrauding health insurers and to money laundering and was sentenced to 70 months (the bottom of the guidelines range) and to pay restitution of almost $2 million. At the guilty-plea…
Date: November 6, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1738
Justia Opinion Summary: Milwaukee police officers were investigating gunshots heard near an intersection and learned that one person had been shot in the leg and was recovering at a hospital. An officer approached a backyard shared by two…
Date: November 2, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3801
Justia Opinion Summary: Sanchez testified that he, José, and friends were outside of José’s house when three unmarked police cars pulled up. Officers demanded to know what the men were doing and ordered them to empty their pockets for a…
Date: October 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2317
Justia Opinion Summary: Nunez illegally entered the U.S. in 1992. In 1998, his father’s I-130 Petition on Nunez’s behalf was approved. In 1999, Nunez was convicted of misdemeanor battery. Nunez contends that, on that date, he was illegally…
Date: October 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2173
Justia Opinion Summary: Lynch was injured while working at a jobsite as a mechanic for Metropolitan Rail (Metra), when the top rail of a chain-link fence he was installing fell and struck him on the back of his neck and shoulders. In his suit…
Date: October 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1013
Justia Opinion Summary: The Flukers, father, son, and daughter, operated various fraudulent, Ponzi-like schemes that duped victims into investing millions of dollars. By the time the overall scheme ended in 2007, the Flukers had already…
Date: October 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2150
Justia Opinion Summary: White created a website to advance white supremacy and included a statement that “everyone associated with the Matt Hale trial has deserved assassination for a long time.” The site also included information related to…
Date: October 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3784
Justia Opinion Summary: Anderson, a U.S. Postal Service worker, suffers from asthma. While he is virtually symptom-free outside of the workplace, his asthma regularly flared up at his job as a part-time mail processor. Between 2002 and 2009,…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2860
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Dunne filed a discrimination complaint under 30 U.S.C. 815(c)(2), with the Mine Safety and Health Administration, a division of the Department of Labor, claiming that had terminated his employment for engaging…
Date: October 23, 2012
Docket Number: 10-2467
Justia Opinion Summary: On December 23, 1980, police found a body in a ditch and another nearby; both had been shot in the head. Months later, an informant implicated Pamela Thompkins; she was arrested and confessed to assisting her former…
Date: October 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2464
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011 Indiana prohibited state agencies from providing state or federal funds to any entity that performs abortions or operates a facility where abortions are performed ( 5-22-17-5.5(b)). The Hyde Amendment already…
Date: October 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2760
Justia Opinion Summary: Before selling 13.4 grams of crack cocaine to a police informant in 2010, Ousley had five felony drug convictions. Departeingthe scene of the transaction, Ousley initially eluded officers and abandoned his vehicle.…
Date: October 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3418
Justia Opinion Summary: The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, runs a number of youth detention facilities. Jamal, age 16, had a history of mental illness and was known to have attempted suicide at least three times when he arrived at one…
Date: October 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3707
Justia Opinion Summary: Adams was sentenced, in Illinois, to 180 days in jail plus three years’ probation for a 1981 armed robbery; he committed a second robbery while on probation. He was convicted of robbery and aggravated battery. Paroled in…
Date: October 19, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1737
Justia Opinion Summary: Racine County Human Services Department caseworker Wagner removed Thor, a 12-year-old, from his parents’ home and placed him into protective custody. Thor suffers from cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, and is…
Date: October 19, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1878
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a black Muslim inmate of an Illinois Federal Correctional Institution, was attacked by Mexican inmates. Later, locked in his cell, defendant attacked another Mexican inmate, kicking and stomping him with…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3554
Justia Opinion Summary: Blue, a bus driver insured under Hartford group disability plans, stopped working because of chronic headaches in 1998; Hartford approved short-term disability (STD) benefits. Blue was diagnosed with sphenopalatine…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3754
Justia Opinion Summary: Fleishman began working for Continental in 1984 as a trial attorney defending workers’ compensation claims. Izzo oversaw the attorneys. Beginning in 2003, Fleishman suffered a series of medical problems related to a…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1088
Justia Opinion Summary: Four-year-old Jaquari died from asphyxiation by an elastic band from a fitted bed sheet. That day, his mother, Harris, disciplined her sons for leaving the apartment while she out doing laundry. The state argued that…
Date: October 18, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2260
Justia Opinion Summary: Quinn pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(4)(B), and was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment with supervised release for life, subject to conditions. His plea agreement contains a promise…
Date: October 17, 2012
Docket Number: 10-1634
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1989, Cruz entered the U.S. without inspection. In 2005 a Notice to Appear issued, initiating removal proceedings. Cruz applied for cancellation of removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1229b(b), which gives the Attorney…
Date: October 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3452
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff owns properties in a mixed rural/suburban area in central Illinois and lives in a house on one parcel. The other parcels, about 190 acres and near the house, were zoned agricultural and very close to a hog…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2576
Justia Opinion Summary: Lam, a citizen of Senegal, entered the U.S. on a visitor’s visa in 1994. In 1995, he adjusted his status to that of student, and in 2000, he adjusted his status to become a lawful permanent resident based on marriage to…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2809
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Illinois enacted Hospital Provider Funding Legislation imposing a tax on hospital providers, except for certain categories of exempt hospitals, for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, 305 ILCS 5/5A-2(a). The Centers…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1076
Justia Opinion Summary: Carroll and Kelliher worked at Merrill Lynch. Carroll lodged a complaint that led to the firing of two employees. Restructuring followed and a supervisory position opened. Although Carroll did not apply, she felt…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: 12-8020
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010-2011 several hundred plaintiffs filed 10 lawsuits in Illinois state courts against Abbott, for personal injuries they allege were caused by Depakote, a prescription. Plaintiffs moved the Supreme Court of Illinois…
Date: October 15, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2260
Justia Opinion Summary: Turbo blowers are used in waste water treatment plants to maintain the oxygen dissolved in the water at a level needed by the aerobic bacteria that break down organic waste into carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water. In…
Date: October 15, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3851
Justia Opinion Summary: After a long history of arrests for drunken driving and other offenses, Duron-Ortiz, a citizen of Mexico who entered the U.S. illegally in 1989, was served a Notice to Appear by the Department of Homeland Security. He…
Date: October 12, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3685
Justia Opinion Summary: McInnis, a law-school graduate who has never been licensed to practice, filed a pro se complaint accusing his employer, the Department of Education, of violating federal law (Whistleblower Protection Act, 5 U.S.C. 1211…
Date: October 12, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1223
Justia Opinion Summary: Klene, a citizen of the Philippines, applied for U.S. citizenship. USCIS denied the application after concluding that Klene’s marriage to a U.S. citizen had been fraudulent. Klene asked a district court for relief under…
Date: October 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3687
Justia Opinion Summary: USA Cleaning is a proprietorship with fewer than 10 employees that provides janitorial services to a cement plant owned by Essroc. After an inspection of the plant the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration…
Date: October 11, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1918
Justia Opinion Summary: Owens, a Chicago zoning inspector, was convicted of two counts of federal program bribery, 18 U.S.C. 666(a)(1)(B), for accepting two $600 bribes in exchange for issuing certificates of occupancy for four newly…
Date: October 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1166
Justia Opinion Summary: In his 40s, Kastner had worked as a truck driver and as a delivery manager. Having suffered injuries following a fall and subsequent heavy lifting at work, he suffered from a degenerative disc disorder and pain in…
Date: October 5, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2039
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2004 until 2010 Gaona’s brothers and others sent cocaine and marijuana from El Paso, Texas, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where associates would receive the drugs. Family or close friends of participants would then wire…
Date: October 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1896
Justia Opinion Summary: While working at an animal shelter, Povey injured her wrist moving a dog. She had surgery and underwent physical therapy. Jeffersonville’s Human Resources Director explained that the shelter did not have light duty…
Date: October 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2128
Justia Opinion Summary: Smith, Evans, and Swanson were indicted for bank robbery and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Evans was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Swanson pleaded guilty and…
Date: October 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3384
Justia Opinion Summary: Pavlov, a citizen of Bulgaria, entered the U.S. in 2000 on a nonimmigrant visa and did not depart when it expired. In 2006 applied for asylum. The application included false assertions that he had entered in 2005, that…
Date: September 28, 2012
Docket Number: 08-3690
Justia Opinion Summary: Four defendants were convicted of conspiring to defraud the U.S. by impeding the functions of the IRS and of related fraud and tax offenses in connection with abusive trusts promoted by two Illinois companies. Although…
Date: September 27, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2095
Justia Opinion Summary: The Illinois inmate’s suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleged that his cell was infested with mice and cockroaches, that a window pane was missing and rain came in through the window, and that a warden had seen the conditions,…
Date: September 26, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3391
Justia Opinion Summary: Gruenberg, who has accrued 230 misconduct reports since his incarceration for burglary in 1999, seized a set of keys from a prison guard and swallowed them. He was taken to a hospital, where an x-ray showed that the keys…
Date: September 26, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3725
Justia Opinion Summary: Four defendants were convicted of: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 846 (Count One); attempted possession with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of…
Date: September 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1600
Justia Opinion Summary: Haight purchased an insurance policy that included underinsured motorist coverage for the named insured (him) and any family members. After his teenage daughter Nicole was injured while riding in a car driven by an…
Date: September 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1683
Justia Opinion Summary: Spears created and sold counterfeit documents, including fake Indiana driver’s licenses and handgun permits. He was convicted of aggravated identity theft, producing a false identification document and unlawfully…
Date: September 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3710
Justia Opinion Summary: Bontrager filed a putative class action complaint challenging Indiana’s $1,000 annual limit for dental services covered by Medicaid, 42 U.S.C. 1396. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, holding that…
Date: September 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1564
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, the Leibovitch family was traveling along the Trans-Israel highway near Kalkilya through an area bordering the West Bank. Agents of the Palestine Islamic Jihad crossed from the West Bank into Israel and fired…
Date: September 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3194
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, CSI entered into a contract with Sunrise to install carpets, countertops, flooring, and wall tiles at a new condominium within the geographical jurisdiction of the union’s Local 13. Though CSI was not a…
Date: September 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3665
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs had a Home Depot credit card issued by Citibank. In 2005, Krahenbuhl, who also had a Citibank-Home Depot credit card, contracted with plaintiffs to build a log cabin for speculative resale. A log cabin package…
Date: September 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3577
Justia Opinion Summary: The company, S.C. Johnson & Son, was injured by a bribery and kickback scheme involving a dishonest employee and transportation companies with which it had contracts and filed a tort lawsuit in Wisconsin state court. The…
Date: September 21, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1871
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004 the defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Because of the amount of crack involved, his base offense level was 36. U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(c)(2). The judge reduced the level to 33 because the…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1813
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, an explosion occurred at a metal processing plant in Manchester, Georgia owned by GSMC, which had obtained insurance through Continental, covering damage to the plant. Continental made some payments to GSMC, but…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3619
Justia Opinion Summary: For several years Chapman, now 46, lured kids as young as 12 to his home with marijuana and alcohol and filmed them, usually through “peepholes,” engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He pleaded guilty to producing…
Date: September 18, 2012
Docket Number: 10-1974
Justia Opinion Summary: Chicago police officers arrested plaintiffs for disorderly conduct at a 2005 antiwar demonstration. The plaintiffs brought claims for First Amendment retaliation, Fourth Amendment false arrest, Fourteenth Amendment…
Date: September 18, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2144
Justia Opinion Summary: Naficy began working for IDHS in 1996. According to Naficy, her co-worker and eventual supervisor, Bailey, mocked her accent and suggested that Naficy should not have been promoted because she is Iranian. Naficy filed…
Date: September 17, 2012
Docket Number: 10-2912
Justia Opinion Summary: Charged with possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), Dowell plead guilty in return for the government’s agreement to withdraw an information…
Date: September 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3398
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued her ex-husband for battery and related torts, claiming that he beat and raped her while they were still married. The district judge dismissed the suit, ruling that it was malicious. She was proceeding in…
Date: September 14, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3794
Justia Opinion Summary: Robers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 371, based on his role in a mortgage fraud scheme; Robers signed mortgage documents seeking loans based on inflated income and assets and on his claim…
Date: September 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2950
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, plaintiffs were inmates at the Indianapolis jail, which was operated by CCA under contract with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department. They claimed that the jail provided inadequate medical care and exposed…
Date: September 14, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1149
Justia Opinion Summary: After agreeing to cooperate with authorities investigating his drug-distribution conspiracy, Schwanke received a death threat from his coconspirator, fled to the Philippines, and stayed for four years. Later he pleaded…
Date: September 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1002
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on two robberies, two weeks apart, with nearly identical “modus operandi,” Williams and Austin were convicted of armed bank robbery and use of a firearm in a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. 2113(a), (d), 924(c)(1)(A).…
Date: September 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1957
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005 brokers sued Merrill Lynch under 42 U.S.C. 1981 and Title VII raising claims of racial discrimination and seeking to litigate as a class. They alleged that the firm’s “teaming” and account-distribution policies…
Date: September 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2508
Justia Opinion Summary: The tax court found underpayment of $8,553 on Brown’s 2005 income tax and assessed a penalty of $1,171, based on failure to include income realized upon cancellation of a $100,000 whole life insurance policy, issued in…
Date: September 11, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3077
Justia Opinion Summary: Doyle was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for distributing heroin that resulted in the death of Ward. At trial, the government presented two expert witnesses. During direct examination of Dr. Burch, the St.…
Date: September 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2408
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Bell protested Operation Iraqi Freedom in Chicago. President Bush was at a luncheon at a nearby club. After one protestor was arrested, handcuffed, and placed in a squadrol, Bell and two others, banner in hand,…
Date: September 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3693
Justia Opinion Summary: The Center broadcasts advertisements, maintains a website, publishes a weekly e-mail newsletter, produces a bi-weekly radio show, and engages in other forms of mass media communications. Its tax exempt status under…
Date: September 10, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1039
Justia Opinion Summary: A suit on behalf of a 14-year-old, eighth grade boy alleged that the failure of the public school district to prevent sexual abuse by a female teacher violated the student’s rights under Title IX of the federal Education…
Date: September 7, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1774
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, the airline established guidelines that address accommodating employees who, because of disability, can no longer do essential functions of their current jobs, even with reasonable accommodation. The guidelines…
Date: September 7, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1164
Justia Opinion Summary: Filus, a 50-year-old former truck driver, has twice applied for disability benefits under the Social Security Act, claiming that back problems have left him incapable of gainful employment. An administrative law judge…
Date: September 7, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1391
Justia Opinion Summary: Robinson pleaded guilty in 2005 to possessing 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). A recidivism enhancement raised the minimum prison term to 20 years, the term imposed by the district court. Three…
Date: September 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2853
Justia Opinion Summary: Beatty injured his back on the job at Olin’s manufacturing plant. At the direction of Olin’s medical department, he was evaluated by his physician, who instructed him to remain off of work for a week. He gave that…
Date: September 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3426
Justia Opinion Summary: Turner was convicted on four counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements to the FBI stemming from a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois of salaries paid to but not earned by a team of janitors…
Date: September 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3446
Justia Opinion Summary: Home Federal agreed to lend up to $95.5 million to finance construction of a new ethanol production plant. When the developer of the plant ran into serious trouble finishing the project, the bank did not disburse the…
Date: September 5, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3130
Justia Opinion Summary: After a lengthy federal investigation (Operation Dead Eye) into a drug organization headed by Hicks, 29 defendants were charged with drug-related offenses. Jones pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50…
Date: September 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3009
Justia Opinion Summary: Betker was shot twice during a late-night police raid on his home. The officer who shot him was part of a tactical unit executing a no-knock search warrant secured by Officer Gomez, who obtained the warrant after…
Date: September 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3588
Justia Opinion Summary: Knight was owner and CEO of Knight Industries, which owned other companies. Bank had provided credit ($34 million) to the companies, which, in 2009, filed bankruptcy petitions. Chatz was appointed trustee and was…
Date: September 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3618
Justia Opinion Summary: Harley-Davidson had a licensing agreement with a subsidiary of DFS and received notice that the companies had merged. Harley-Davidson did not exercise its right to terminate, but later discovered that DFS had sold…
Date: September 5, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3818
Justia Opinion Summary: Todd attempted to purchase claims against a collection agency (Franklin) from Fletcher. He then sued Franklin. The district court dismissed the complaint, ruling that the assignment was void because Todd was using it…
Date: September 5, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1107
Justia Opinion Summary: Couch was employed as a truck driver by B&B, a private company that has Highway Contract Route contracts with the Postal Service. While Couch was making a delivery to a postal facility in Illinois, a U.S. Postal Service…
Date: September 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2261
Justia Opinion Summary: Elusta sued tChicago and police officers for excessive force, false arrest, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He first retained Cerda and De Leon, who conducted discovery and obtained a settlement offer…
Date: September 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3291
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, George, a vice president of JA, discovered that money withheld from his pay was not being deposited into his retirement account and health savings account. He complained to JA’s accountants and executives,…
Date: September 4, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3389
Justia Opinion Summary: Griffin, a high school freshman, was told to go home for dress code violations. Bell, a police officer, accompanied Griffin and twice removed Griffin’s hat. Bell claims that Griffin struck Bell in the face. A second…
Date: August 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2721
Justia Opinion Summary: Tapia entered the U.S. illegally in 1992. He was removed to Mexico in 1997 following conviction for a hit-and-run accident. Tapia did not seek review, but reentered illegally and was again removed. He reentered again and…
Date: August 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3358
Justia Opinion Summary: Hoppe is a tenured professor of Philosophy at Lewis University. She lost the privilege of teaching aviation ethics after the new chair of the Aviation Department, Brogan, deemed her unqualified because she had no formal…
Date: August 31, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3478
Justia Opinion Summary: During tax years at issue, State Farm filed consolidated returns for life insurance and non-life subgroups. The IRS determined deficiencies. State Farm responded that, using a revised method for calculating alternative…
Date: August 31, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1130
Justia Opinion Summary: Liu, a 50-year-old citizen of China, came to the U.S. in 2000 on a nonimmigrant visa, after protesting the loss of his job at a state-owned factory. He overstayed and, in removal proceedings, requested asylum,…
Date: August 31, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1755
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff taught sixth-grade at a public school and met with a student’s parents about a threat the student had made against another student. He met the parents again after seeing the student beating another student. The…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1933
Justia Opinion Summary: Park hoped to become a dental surgeon when she enrolled at the Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) in 2006. After one year at the school, Park began to experience a series of serious setbacks, including several…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2400
Justia Opinion Summary: After seeing Tebbens soliciting funds in an intersection using a fireman’s boot, Chicago Police Officer Mushol determined that Tebbens possessed firefighter identification, but was not a firefighter. Seeing Tebbens…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2458
Justia Opinion Summary: Medina first entered the U.S. illegally, at age 16, in 1982. He was deported after two 1989 convictions, one for selling or transporting cocaine and the other for attempted robbery. He returned and was convicted of…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2951
Justia Opinion Summary: Chapman was convicted of six counts of forging checks (18 U.S.C. 513(a)) that were made payable to the IRS and given to him by a client who had hired Chapman to resolve a tax dispute. The Seventh Circuit affirmed,…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3044
Justia Opinion Summary: Javell, the owner of a mortgage brokerage, and Arroyo, Javell’s employee and loan processor, were convicted of two counts of mortgage-based wire fraud (18 U.S.C. 1343) based on their actions in procuring a fraudulent…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3776
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Resurrection sought to rezone property around Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago to allow further development of the campus. Plaintiffs own property within 250 feet of the property and objected to the rezoning. In…
Date: August 30, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3918
Justia Opinion Summary: Trinity terminated Dr. Assaf’s employment in 2009t. Assaf filed suit for breach of contract. While the case was pending, Assaf negotiated with Trinity’s new CEO, Tibbitts, Apparently without attorneys, Assaf and Tibbitts…
Date: August 29, 2012
Docket Number: 09-1031
Justia Opinion Summary: During unrelated federal civil litigation against Illinois Department of Corrections officials, Eichwedel, an inmate proceeding pro se, filed motions for sanctions that the district court denied as “frivolous.” The state…
Date: August 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1473
Justia Opinion Summary: Capeheart is a tenured Justice Studies professor at Northeastern Illinois University and an outspoken critic of the university on a number of issues, including its failure to hire more Latino professors and its…
Date: August 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2473
Justia Opinion Summary: Grigsby and coconspirators executed two bank heists, stealing more than one-half million dollars from the bank where Grigsby worked as a teller. Grigsby was indicted on two counts of entering a federally insured bank for…
Date: August 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2949
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, a Union Pacific train derailed in Oklahoma causing extensive damage to both the railroad and the train’s cargo. Kawasaki, K-Line, and Union Pacific sought damages, alleging that Plano’s steel injection molds…
Date: August 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3527
Justia Opinion Summary: Winters pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute large quantities of drugs. The plea agreement provided that the government would recommend a base offense level of 32. But at sentencing the…
Date: August 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3608
Justia Opinion Summary: Carter and Willis robbed a couple at gunpoint, taking the couple’s vehicle and their belongings. One of the stolen cell phones was enabled with a GPS tracking feature. Police were able to monitor find and arrest them the…
Date: August 29, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3911
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Hall was convicted in state court of murdering his stepson. Shortly after his verdict came down, Hall discovered that one of his jurors had a son that was a fellow inmate of his. Before his trial, the juror’s…
Date: August 28, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3524
Justia Opinion Summary: Schorsch enrolled in a long-term disability plan in 1991, but apparently never received a summary plan description or explanation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C.1132. In 1992 she was in an…
Date: August 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1208
Justia Opinion Summary: Martin was the Sheriff of Gallatin County from 1990 until his conviction on 15 counts: marijuana distribution, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, witness…
Date: August 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3589
Justia Opinion Summary: Claiming anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies, insomnia, vertigo, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and plantar fasciitis, Farrell, then 33 year old, applied for disability insurance benefits.…
Date: August 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3716
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(5)(B), 2251(a), and was sentenced to 420 months, reserving the right to appeal the legality of the search…
Date: August 28, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3834
Justia Opinion Summary: A class of persons required to register on the state’s online sex and violent offender database sued the Indiana Department of Correction, alleging that failure to provide any procedure to correct errors in the registry…
Date: August 27, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3955
Justia Opinion Summary: Feldman worked the day shift at Olin. Because of fibromyalgia and sleep apnea, his doctors had advised him to work regular day positions, without rotation and overtime. When Olin realigned its workforce, causing…
Date: August 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3799
Justia Opinion Summary: The target witness learned in 2009 that the IRS had opened a file on him, and that an IRS special agent and DOJ tax division prosecutor were assigned to investigate whether he used secret offshore bank accounts to evade…
Date: August 27, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1805
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant gave an informer for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration $477,020 for 32 kilograms of what he thought was cocaine. After arresting him officers searched his apartment, with assistance and written…
Date: August 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2656
Justia Opinion Summary: After the corporate office of Steak N Shake restaurants tried to require one of its franchisees to adopt a new policy for menu pricing and promotions, the franchisee sued Steak N Shake in a declaratory judgment action…
Date: August 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3373
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were convicted of sex crimes and completed their sentences years ago, but remain in state custody as civil detainees under Illinois’ Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, 725 ILCS 207/1-99. They filed…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2589
Justia Opinion Summary: Sklena and Sarvey were floor traders in the Five-Year Treasury Note futures pit at the Chicago Board of Trade. Sklena was a “local,” authorized to trade only on his own behalf; Sarvey was a “broker” and could trade for…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3000
Justia Opinion Summary: More than 50 times, 2002-2005, May, a pipefitter at Chrysler’s plant, was the target of racist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic graffiti. Messages included: “Otto Cuban good Jew is a dead Jew,” and “fuck Otto Cuban…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1497
Justia Opinion Summary: Kimani, a citizen of Kenya, entered the U.S. in 2000 on a visitor’s visa, overstayed, and, three years later, married a citizen. She applied for a visa on his behalf, and he filed a corresponding request for adjustment…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1594
Justia Opinion Summary: Elizabeth, a citizen of the Philippines, married John, a U.S. citizen, in 2003 in the Philippines. The State Department issued a nonimmigrant K-3 visa pending action on John’s request for her permanent residence as the…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2338
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of fraud, tax, and money laundering offenses, Swanson failed to appear for his sentencing hearing, but was apprehended as a fugitive in Seattle the next month. His presentence report recommended a four-level…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2353
Justia Opinion Summary: Holocaust survivors and heirs of other Holocaust victims sued, alleging that defendant banks participated in expropriating property from Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Invoking subject-matter jurisdiction under the…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2387
Justia Opinion Summary: Holocaust survivors and heirs of other Holocaust victims sued, alleging that the Hungarian National Bank and Hungarian National Railway participated in expropriating property from Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2495
Justia Opinion Summary: Howard and Brown ended their romantic relationship. Howard alternated between attempts to reconcile and attempts to harm Brown. Howard sent letters begging see their son, but hired someone to throw acid in her face and…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2669
Justia Opinion Summary: Coleman was fired from the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Coleman was told that his position had been eliminated by budget cuts; he contends that his politics were the real cause for his discharge and a…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2792
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiring to make and sell false identification documents, such as documents identifying the bearer as a permanent resident of the U.S., 18 U.S.C. 1028(a)(1), (2), (f). His guidelines…
Date: August 22, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1138
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, 64 years old, was discharged at age 18 or 19, soon after joining the Navy, because of mental illness. Sexually abused by his parents and others as a child, he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder, panic…
Date: August 21, 2012
Docket Number: 10-1682
Justia Opinion Summary: Miller, a Fund beneficiary, fell from a ladder and was injured. He hired attorney Darr on a contingent fee basis to sue the person who was supposed to hold the ladder. The Fund advanced $86,709.73 in medical and…
Date: August 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1533
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Hill was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1); use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. 924(c); and possession of a firearm by…
Date: August 21, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2658
Justia Opinion Summary: Freeman and Garner were caught in a sting operation that used known drug associates as cooperating informants. Freeman and Garner showed up at the appointed time and place for the staged drug transaction in a minivan…
Date: August 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1121
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of robbery and forgery in state court, filed a state court motion challenging his sentence. The motion was denied, as was his request for appointed counsel. The federal district court rejected a…
Date: August 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1695
Justia Opinion Summary: Brown was convicted in 2000 of being a felon in possession of a gun, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), for which the maximum sentence is normally 10 years in prison. Following a remand, the district court applied the Armed Career…
Date: August 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1708
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Vince P, wrote, recorded, and distributed a song entitled Stronger. The title comes from a line in its refrain that draws from an aphorism coined by Friedrich Nietzsche: “what does not kill me makes me stronger.”…
Date: August 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2328
Justia Opinion Summary: Reeves was arrested for his role in a heroine distribution ring. Prior to trial, the government informed the court and Reeves that it would seek an enhancement (21 U.S.C. 851) of any sentence resulting from a guilty…
Date: August 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2624
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeranek, a beneficiary of the Humana Plan, was hospitalized in 2006. Three days later, she was admitted at Nu-Roc Nursing Home. She was 88 years old and suffered from a variety of maladies that required her to use 14…
Date: August 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3034
Justia Opinion Summary: Multiemployer pension plans are created by collective bargaining agreements to provide benefits to employees of different firms. When an employer withdraws from an MPP, the plan remains liable to employees who have…
Date: August 20, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1657
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a pretrial detainee in a Wisconsin county jail, was subjected to a pat down and strip search by defendant, a guard. He sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming that the guard spent five to seven seconds…
Date: August 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2662
Justia Opinion Summary: Lemke met a woman while working as a serviceman in her home, pursued her, and eventually left threatening telephone messages for her. He also left threatening messages with the woman’s attorney and with men who shared…
Date: August 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2762
Justia Opinion Summary: Swanson hired ISF for steel fabrication work on an Indiana construction project. ISF hired Central to perform steel erection work. ISF and Central signed a subcontract in which Central agreed to procure insurance and…
Date: August 17, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2820
Justia Opinion Summary: Levin worked as an Illinois Assistant Attorney General from 2000, until his termination in 2006. Levin was over the age of 60 at the time of his termination and believes he was fired because of his age and gender. He was…
Date: August 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3224
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, attorneys White and Beaman, assisted securities broker-turned-real estate investor Seybold with a plan to buy, rehabilitate, and then sell, or refinance and rent, residential and commercial properties in Marion,…
Date: August 16, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3582
Justia Opinion Summary: El-Gazawy a citizen of Jordan, entered the U.S. in 1990 as a non-immigrant, overstayed, and failed to appear for special registration in 2003, required by the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System program. In…
Date: August 15, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3124
Justia Opinion Summary: WR sought to develop a medical office building by executing a long-term ground lease to a developer, who would design, finance, construct, and own the facility, leasing space to WR. WR requested proposals, describing a…
Date: August 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2202
Justia Opinion Summary: Thompson was murdered in 2001. Carter was 16 years old and Thompson was 19. No fingerprint, DNA, or physical evidence connected the murder to Carter, or to anyone else. Detectives picked up Carter and took her to the…
Date: August 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2646
Justia Opinion Summary: Castillon was indicted for fraudulently using credit and gift card accounts for purchases totaling $139,063.23: conspiring to violate 18 U.S.C.1029(a)(2) and (3), (intentionally using an unauthorized access device, and…
Date: August 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3305
Justia Opinion Summary: ITT is a for-profit corporation that runs “ITT Technical Institutes” throughout the country, including Lathrop, California. Halasa was the Lathrop Campus’s College Director for six months in 2009. ITT says that Halasa…
Date: August 14, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3469
Justia Opinion Summary: Laguna immigrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1967, and became a lawful permanent resident. In 2001 he was convicted of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle, with other related offenses. Because those…
Date: August 13, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3004
Justia Opinion Summary: Thi and Danh operated a Wisconsin nail salon, encouraged customers to pay with debit cards, and used a hidden camera to record them typing personal identification numbers into a keypad. They stored the numbers in…
Date: August 10, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3687
Justia Opinion Summary: Cotts was injured in 2004 while incarcerated. He complained of intense pain, and was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia, two inches in diameter, pushing into his groin. Cotts visited the health unit 16 times and stated…
Date: August 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1661
Justia Opinion Summary: The DEA received information about cocaine trafficking at a muffler shop. The agency identified Vargas as a suspect and used Rojo, a confidential informant, to pose as a drug dealer from Mexico, giving detailed…
Date: August 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2741
Justia Opinion Summary: The Church holds a festival, open to the public, without charge, and obtains a Chicago permit to close portions of streets to vehicles. For the 2008 festival, the parish used a team of paid security guards and volunteer…
Date: August 10, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3810
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a citizen of Colombia, illegally entered the U.S. in 1982. In 1985, he was convicted of drug offenses, 21 U.S.C. 846 and 841(a)(1), was sentenced to five years in prison; in 1987 he was deported to Colombia.…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3787
Justia Opinion Summary: The collapse of investment manager Sentinel in 2007 left its customers in a lurch. Instead of maintaining customer assets in segregated accounts as required by the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1, Sentinel pledged…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2238
Justia Opinion Summary: Nicholson was a sales associate for Pulte, a national homebuilder. When she failed to make her sales quotas for several months in a row, Pulte put her on a performance-improvement plan and later fired her when her sales…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2318
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, TIN hired Pagel as an outside salesman. The position allows flexibility in scheduling sales calls. In 2006, Pagel began reporting to Kremer and was, for the first time, given performance evaluations. Kremer…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3227
Justia Opinion Summary: VRichards, an Indiana inmate, had complained since January 2008 about abdominal pain and blood in his stool; physicians in the prison system assured him that he was fine. In October 2008 they sent him to a hospital,…
Date: August 9, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3905
Justia Opinion Summary: EAR, a seller of manufacturing equipment, defrauded creditors by financing non-existent or grossly overvalued equipment and pledging equipment multiple times to different creditors. After the fraud was discovered, EAR…
Date: August 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2201
Justia Opinion Summary: Garvey was convicted of four counts of distributing methamphetamine. The evidence at trial included testimony from a crime lab analyst, Nied, who testified that four plastic bags recovered from controlled buys at…
Date: August 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3369
Justia Opinion Summary: Wehrs alleged that his stock broker, Wells, violated federal securities and state laws by executing unauthorized trades on Wehrs’s account, causing significant losses. Wells never answered the complaint or appeared in…
Date: August 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3539
Justia Opinion Summary: Alexander, a criminal defense attorney, alleged that a local prosecutor, McKinney, conspired with FBI agents to manufacture false evidence and bring trumped-up charges of conspiracy to commit bribery against him.…
Date: August 8, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3767
Justia Opinion Summary: Magnus was hired by the church in 2006 to work evenings and weekends. When the church was unwilling to accommodate her request to not work weekends, so that she could be with her daughter, who otherwise resided in an…
Date: August 8, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2205
Justia Opinion Summary: Walsh is a nationwide builder; superintendents have discretion over hiring and pay of hourly workers. Walsh has rules against racial discrimination but superintendents are generally in charge. Plaintiffs worked for Walsh…
Date: August 7, 2012
Docket Number: 10-2543
Justia Opinion Summary: McDowell, a confidential informant, continued to sell cocaine, unbeknownst to his handler” In an independent investigation, the DEA developed a cooperating source: “Jose,” a member of a Mexican cartel who supplied…
Date: August 6, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3243
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff found a $20 parking citation on his windshield and initiated a class action, claiming that the inclusion of personal information, such as his driver's license number, address, and weight, violated the Driver's…
Date: August 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1577
Justia Opinion Summary: Toliver is serving a life sentence for the 1992 murder of Tina Rogers. His habeas corpus petition, 28 U.S.C. 2254, asserted that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective because counsel did not call two…
Date: August 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2457
Justia Opinion Summary: Saucedo’s tractor-trailer was stopped because its paper registration plate appeared to be expired. Trooper Miller confirmed that the plate had expired, advised Saucedo that he would conduct a safety inspection, and…
Date: August 6, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3416
Justia Opinion Summary: Reibel sexually molested his girlfriend’s three-year-old daughter and took pornographic photos of her. He pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2251(a) and received…
Date: August 6, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1083
Justia Opinion Summary: Mosley was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated arson and was sentenced to consecutive prison terms of 60 years on the murder charge and 15 years on the arson charge. After exhausting post-conviction remedies…
Date: August 6, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1943
Justia Opinion Summary: Three named plaintiffs in a class action suit to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 216(b) and parallel state laws appealed the district court’s decertification of the classes. Proceeding as individual…
Date: August 6, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2680
Justia Opinion Summary: Hare pled guilty, during trial, to being part of a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy and was sentenced to 292 months in prison. He claims that his counsel had failed to tell him of a pre-trial plea offer involving…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 10-1437
Justia Opinion Summary: In a 1998 attempt to kill a member of a rival gang, gang members shot and killed Jacqueline Brenaugh, when she peered out of her apartment window After being arrested, Coleman admitted serving as an accomplice. The…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2928
Justia Opinion Summary: Quality owns dozens of restaurants in several states. To refinance its debt, Quality created subsidiaries (plaintiffs-borrowers) and made a deal with Captec Financial and GE Capital for 34 separate loans totaling $49…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3088
Justia Opinion Summary: Garvey and four coconspirators engaged in a scheme to steal lawnmowers, tractors, trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles, and trailers along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border and then transport and sell the stolen items. Thomas and…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3292
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004 Caterpillar hired Hanson as a supplemental assembler. Under the plant’s collective bargaining agreement, supplemental employees work 40 hours per week on a temporary but indefinite basis. They are not entitled to…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3420
Justia Opinion Summary: Scruggs worked for Carrier since 1986. In 2004, Scruggs’s mother was moved to a nursing home. He sought intermittent leave to assist in her care and submitted Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. 2601, certification…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3502
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Rann was convicted of two counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to consecutive terms of 12 years for each sexual assault conviction and 15 years on…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3566
Justia Opinion Summary: ProLink and GPS compete, manufacturing and selling GPS-based golf course distance measurement and course management products. GPS owns the 518 patent for a player positioning and distance finding system and sued ProLink…
Date: August 3, 2012
Docket Number: 12-2069
Justia Opinion Summary: Since at least the late 1990s, the U.S.EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) have worked on a remedial plan for the Fox River. One of companies that was designated as a “potentially responsible…
Date: August 2, 2012
Docket Number: 10-1858
Justia Opinion Summary: Guzman, seven-and-a-half months pregnant, home alone, in bed, heard the doorbell and knocking. She walked toward the door. Sergeant Bonnstetter of the Chicago Police Department burst through the door. Officers wearing…
Date: August 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1172
Justia Opinion Summary: West was convicted of second degree sexual assault of a child (Wis. Stat. 948.02(2)) and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment followed by six years’ extended supervision. He claimed that his constitutional right to a…
Date: August 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2729
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Lox received medical treatment from Dr. Baylor and incurred a debt. Lox failed to pay. His debt was referred to CDA, a debt collection agency. CDA attempted to collect Lox’s debt was through dunning letters,…
Date: August 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3190
Justia Opinion Summary: Flava, which specializes in production and distribution of videos of black men engaged in homosexual acts, obtained a preliminary injunction against myVidster, an online social bookmarking service by which people refer…
Date: August 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3822
Justia Opinion Summary: After being rejected for a mortgage because Hall had a bankruptcy and their joint income was too low, Phillips and Hall applied with Bowling, a mortgage broker, under the “stated income loan program.” Bowling prepared an…
Date: August 2, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3914
Justia Opinion Summary: A Wisconsin inmate checked out two books from the prison library, and purchased, with the prison’s permission, a copy of To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton (the founder of the Black Panthers).…
Date: August 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2246
Justia Opinion Summary: Rivas, a citizen of Mexico, entered the U.S. in 1970 as a lawful permanent resident. In 2009, DHS charged Rivas with removability because of a 1980 conviction for statutory rape. At his hearing Rivas argued that the…
Date: August 1, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3643
Justia Opinion Summary: Marinov, a citizen of Bulgaria, entered the U.S. in 2005 as a nonimmigrant exchange visitor and remained beyond the date authorized. He applied for asylum. He was charged with removability under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(1)(B).…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1230
Justia Opinion Summary: Aschermann suffers from degenerating discs and spondylolisthesis and had lumbar fusion operations in 2002 and 2004. Until 2003 she worked as a sales representative. Back pain left her unable to perform its duties.…
Date: July 30, 2012
Docket Number: 10-3178
Justia Opinion Summary: Winforge claimed that defendants breached a hotel development agreement between the parties, causing delay and costs that caused Winforge to default on the separate construction loan agreement between the parties.…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1369
Justia Opinion Summary: Mortier was a major marijuana distributer with a network of street-level sellers around Madison, Wisconsin. He disappeared in 2004, and the District Attorney’s Office opened a John Doe proceeding to determine whether a…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1990
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, defendant, a Mexican citizen, illegally entered the US. Between 1994 and 2005, he was convicted of multiple crimes, including theft and drug offenses, and was deported twice. In 2009, he was convicted in state…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2256
Justia Opinion Summary: Dooley lied about her marriage status and income to obtain Social Security benefits and food stamps. While employed at a hospital, she stole credit cards and identification documents from approximately 100 patients, then…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2506
Justia Opinion Summary: An investigator downloaded child pornography videos from an internet protocol address registered to Miller and searched Miller’s home. Miller told agents that they might find child pornography. The search yielded…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2790
Justia Opinion Summary: Travelers sought a declaratory judgment that they had no duty to defend their insured, Rogan Shoes, in an Illinois state court class action for violations of the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, 15…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3313
Justia Opinion Summary: Industrial grease, propelled in a jet with enough energy to penetrate and pass through the human body like a bullet, hit and disabled a worker at a steel rolling mill. At trial the jury found that the accident was caused…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3719
Justia Opinion Summary: While officers were following a vehicle in which Jones was riding as a passenger, Jones threw a handgun out the window. The driver pulled over and officers obtained consent to search from both Jones and the driver. Jones…
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3854
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a 27-year-old Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty to being in the U.S. after being deported, 8 U.S.C. 1326(a), and was sentenced to 71 months, the top of the 57-71 month guidelines range. The Seventh Circuit…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 10-2922
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs alleged that the school district practice of holding high school graduation ceremonies and related events at a Christian church rented for the occasion violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment…
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2065
Justia Opinion Summary: Joseph purchased the BP franchise in 2006 for $400,000. In 2009, Sasafrasnet purchased BP’s interests in the land and a Dealer Lease and Supply Agreement, becoming lessor and franchisor. The DLSA authorizes Sasafrasnet…
Date: July 25, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2895
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sought to develop a rapid, self-administered test to determine a person’s HIV status. The development process included collection of human blood and saliva samples. Plaintiff sued the United States under the…
Date: July 24, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2507
Justia Opinion Summary: Kirkland was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and based on a finding that he had five “violent felony” convictions, including two drunk driving offenses, the district court sentenced him under…
Date: July 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1826
Justia Opinion Summary: The Union established two funds for its members—a Pension Fund and a Health & Welfare Fund. DLF entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Union, under which DLF agreed to be bound to all Collective Bargaining…
Date: July 23, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2224
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Willis and Owens, 14 and 16 years old, respectively, were arrested outside of Willis’s home for allegedly dealing drugs. They claim that after being transported to the police station, they were subjected to a…
Date: July 23, 2012
Docket Number: 12-1806
Justia Opinion Summary: Wheeler filed a complaint alleging that prison officials and the prison’s medical provider, Wexford, have refused to provide effective care for his golf-ball-size hemorrhoids, leaving him in excruciating pain, 42…
Date: July 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-1182
Justia Opinion Summary: The sheriff’s department ran a supervision program for non-violent pretrial defendants to reduce jail overcrowding and provide supervised employment, job training, and substance abuse treatment. Passananti was deputy…
Date: July 20, 2012
Docket Number: 11-3284
Justia Opinion Summary: Shideler suffers osteogenesis imperfecta, “brittle bone disease.” In 2006, at age 48, he applied for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, 42 U.S.C. 423(d), alleging an onset date of 1995. His date last insured…
Date: July 19, 2012
Docket Number: 11-2075
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, hired in 2003 by Northwestern University, was denied tenure in 2007 and fired in 2008. The district court dismissed her sex discrimination suit under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, finding that only the denial of…
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