2014 Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 501 - 1000 of 1250
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3473
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a former laborer, applied for social security disability benefits, claiming he was unable to work a full 40-hour week because of acute lower back pain that radiates into his right leg. He has had various…
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1158
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003 defendant, a member of the “Concord Affiliated” Gary street gang, was convicted of two counts of having distributed at least 50 grams of crack cocaine. 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). Although the jury acquitted him of…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3255
Justia Opinion Summary: Charged with four counts of transporting child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(1); and one count of possessing child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(5)(B)McLaughlin pled guilty to one count of transporting child…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1902
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to using the telephone to facilitate his possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 843(b), and was sentenced to 24 months of probation. The sentencing judge imposed 18 conditions…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1938
Justia Opinion Summary: A strike against the hotel began in 2003, but apparently escalated in 2008, when the union pursued a more aggressive strategy. It began engaging in secondary activity by targeting organizations that had made arrangements…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1976
Justia Opinion Summary: Charged with committing four drug-related robberies of Milwaukee pharmacies; having used a firearm in connection with the robberies; and having possessed a controlled substance with intent to distribute, defendant was…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2204
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Marr’s father founded Equipment Source, which sold used forklifts. Marr managed sales and daily operations, advertising online and selling online or by phone. In 2002, his father opened a merchant account at…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3010
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, General Warehouse, an employer obligated to contribute to the Central States Pension Fund on behalf of certain employees ceased to have an obligation to the Fund, which led to a complete withdrawal, incurring…
Date: July 29, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1159
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on a tip that Gutierrez was involved in drug trafficking, officers went to his home with a certified narcotics canine and knocked at the front door. They saw movement inside, but no one answered the door. The…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3380
Justia Opinion Summary: The government sued to enforce tax assessments against the Zabkas and tax liens against their property and against property of partnerships to which they had transferred assets. The district court ruled that the…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3383
Justia Opinion Summary: The Educational Rate Program, a subsidy program authorized by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, is implemented by the FCC, which established USAC, a private non-profit corporation, to administer the Program. USAC…
Date: July 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3350
Justia Opinion Summary: Gamesa contracted with Minnesota-based Outland Renewable Energy to provide maintenance for Gamesa wind turbines. Iberdrola operated Gamesa-made turbines at the Cayuga Wind Farm in Illinois. While servicing a Cayuga…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1901
Justia Opinion Summary: A warrant was issued for Ball’s arrest based on an affidavit prepared and signed by Indianapolis detective Jones. Law enforcement had been investigating a drug trafficking gang, the Detroit Boys, and had obtained…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2466
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, Carter went to Stegemiller’s home because Stegemiller had filed a small claims case against his mother. Carter asked to discuss the case, then forced his way into Stegemiller’s home, started to strangle her, and…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2635
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 the McDonalds opened a J.P. Morgan Bank investment account and a brokerage account with its affiliate, J.P. Morgan Securities (JPMS). Different contracts governed the accounts. The Bank managed the money in the…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2930
Justia Opinion Summary: Dewitt’s eye problems began in 2007 during his first incarceration at an Indiana Department of Corrections facility. Dewitt submitted the first of many Requests for Healthcare to Corizon stating something was wrong with…
Date: July 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3849
Justia Opinion Summary: Yang, a citizen of China, entered the U.S. in 1998, as a tourist. In 2000, he married a U.S. citizen, who filed an I-130 visa petition and application for adjustment of status on Yang’s behalf, but withdrew her petition…
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 10-3814
Justia Opinion Summary: Gibson, sued former manufacturers of white lead carbonate pigments, which were used, before the federal government banned them in the 1970s, in paints, including paints applied to residences. Gibson claimed negligence…
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3426
Justia Opinion Summary: Brandner, an orthopedic surgeon, belongs to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is no longer able to perform surgery, but does consultations and other medical endeavors that do not require fine motor…
Date: July 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3651
Justia Opinion Summary: Sobaleva, a citizen of Belarus, entered the U.S. on a valid student visa. She applied for asylum, contending that the Belarusian government persecuted her for her political opinion before she left and likely would do so…
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2610
Justia Opinion Summary: The Child Status Protection Act, 8 U.S.C. 1153(h), allows adult children of lawful permanent residents to maintain child status if their parent filed a visa petition on their behalf while they were under 21 and prevents…
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3745
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008 Schane suffered a job-related injury while working for YRC. He drew workers’ compensation benefits until he returned to work in 2009. Schane was medically cleared for light-duty work only, and with no light work…
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3124
Justia Opinion Summary: Fellowes filed a breach-of-contract suit against Changzou Fellowes, a business established in China, under the international diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. 1332(a)(2). Without discussing subject-matter jurisdiction,…
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1602
Justia Opinion Summary: Bormes, an attorney, tendered the filing fee for a lawsuit via pay.gov, which the federal courts use to facilitate electronic payments. The web site sent him an email receipt that included the last four digits of his…
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1839
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Matthews, an African-American woman, applied for two open positions in Waukesha County: Economic Support Specialist and Economic Support Supervisor. She was not hired, and filed suit, alleging that she was…
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2300
Justia Opinion Summary: Idento makes robotic milking machines in the Netherlands. BouMatic, LLC, based in Wisconsin, entered into an agreement for purchasing and reselling those machines in Belgium. BouMatic claims that Idento breached the…
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2368
Justia Opinion Summary: A patrolman pulled over Mohamed for running a red light. Upon searching Mohamed’s van, he found 1,170 packs of Newport-brand cigarettes not bearing Indiana tax stamps. He was charged under the Contraband Cigarette…
Date: July 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3154
Justia Opinion Summary: Murphy had a stroke in April 2007. Before leaving the hospital, Murphy was examined by Dr. Mayer, who noted a past history of headaches and diminished fluency in speech. Murphy started seeing a physical therapist but did…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3743
Justia Opinion Summary: Locke and co‐conspirator engaged in real estate fraud. Locke’s presentence report recommended a 16-point addition to the offense level, calculating a loss of $2,360,914.51 based on all of the properties underlying 15…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3554
Justia Opinion Summary: The Ho-Chunk Nation, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, operates casinos in Wisconsin and nets more than $200 million annually from its gambling operations. Cash Systems, one of three businesses involved in this case,…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1235
Justia Opinion Summary: Bell was employed as a substance abuse counselor at an Indiana maximum security prison. An investigator, looking for security breaches, discovered that night-shift employees were having sex on Bell’s desk and told her…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2332
Justia Opinion Summary: ABA Retirement, a not‐for‐profit corporation created by the American Bar Association to provide its members and their employees with a retirement plan qualified to take advantage of income tax benefits, created master…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2818
Justia Opinion Summary: Massuda invested $4,000,000 in Concessions, Inc., which was part owner, with Tony Rezko, of a group of Panda Express restaurants. Rezko, who controlled several companies, hoped to expand the business. Rezko was indicted…
Date: July 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3084
Justia Opinion Summary: Spitz, a freelance copywriter, developed a plan to market “pet safe plants” to the burgeoning pet supplies market. She pitched the idea to Amerinova, a company that develops and licenses plant varieties. Although…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2040
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Sheth, a cardiologist, pled guilty to a single count of healthcare fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1347. As agreed by Sheth, the district court entered an order of criminal forfeiture for cash and investment accounts then…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3350
Justia Opinion Summary: A tip identified Smith as a possible cocaine dealer. With a search warrant, agents arrived at his apartment to discover 806.5 grams of powder cocaine, 148.6 grams of crack cocaine, 603.4 grams of marijuana, and a loaded…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3620
Justia Opinion Summary: Townsend, a prisoner at the Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI), sued GBCA officials for civil rights violations. Townsend suffered from significant mental illness and engaged in disruptive behavior, including…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3571
Justia Opinion Summary: Late on a Sunday night, gunshots were fired in northwest Chicago neighborhood. Numerous 911 callers reported from 5 to 9 shots. A dispatcher told officers to check the intersections at Wabansia and Karlov and at Armitage…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3782
Justia Opinion Summary: Jewel Foods employed Reeves as a bagger from 1997 until his dismissal in 2005. Reeves has Down syndrome and received vocational tutoring from Jewel; a social service agency sent a job coach to work with Reeves. Jewel’s…
Date: July 17, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1273
Justia Opinion Summary: Baptist is a native of Belize who entered the U.S.as a lawful permanent resident in 1988.In 1992, Baptist pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to probation. In 1995, Baptist was…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1410
Justia Opinion Summary: Jonassen kidnapped his 21-year-old daughter from her Missouri home and took her to an Indiana motel, where he held her against her will and sexually assaulted her. On the third day, she escaped and ran naked from the…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3184
Justia Opinion Summary: Mosley was convicted in 2008 of distributing cocaine base (crack), 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). Following his release from prison, while on supervised release, he was arrested by local police for dealing cocaine, possessing…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3481
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1952 an Illinois owner granted a pipeline operator an easement for two pipelines across the parcel. The first was built immediately; the second, if built, had to be within 10 feet of the first. The contract says that…
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1176
Justia Opinion Summary: Wang, a citizen of China was smuggled into the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1999, then age 21. Within two days, authorities discovered him and took him into custody. He was personally served with a notice to appear in the New…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3751
Justia Opinion Summary: Indiana Code 31-11-6-1 specifies that a marriage may be solemnized (performed) by certain public officials or religious officials designated by religious groups and criminalizes purported marriage solemnization by…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3800
Justia Opinion Summary: The linkage of the Mississippi River system to the Great Lakes and the effort to control weeds in southern aquatic farms by importing Asian carp, a voracious non-native fish, have combined to create a situation in which…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1279
Justia Opinion Summary: On February 28, 2007, Barriera barricaded himself in his bedroom. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia years earlier, but had not been taking his medicine regularly. His mother (Wilson) feared he might harm himself.…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1323
Justia Opinion Summary: Harden pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine under a written plea agreement. With Harden’s consent, the court instructed a magistrate judge to conduct a Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11…
Date: July 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2955
Justia Opinion Summary: Coyomani, a citizen of Mexico, entered the U.S. without inspection in 1997. In 2000, he was convicted in Illinois state court of domestic battery and of resisting a peace officer. DHS placed Coyomani in removal…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1912
Justia Opinion Summary: Tank, who was born in India, worked for T-Mobile as a vice president. After two investigations relating to his treatment of colleagues, he was fired. Tank filed suit alleging discrimination, retaliation, and disparate…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2054
Justia Opinion Summary: After exhausting the EEOC process, Carlson brought sex discrimination and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, against her employer, CSX, a railway company, and brought a related…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2379
Justia Opinion Summary: King was in police custody awaiting a probable cause determination in 2007. After being rapidly tapered off his psychotropic medication by jail medical staff, complaining of seizure-like symptoms, and being placed in an…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2520
Justia Opinion Summary: Burzlaff bought a “Stallion” motorized tricycle from Thoroughbred Motorsports in 2009 for $35,000. When Burzlaff reported the first problems to Thoroughbred, the company instructed him to take his vehicle to a Ford…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2854
Justia Opinion Summary: E.Y., a child, was diagnosed with diplegic cerebral palsy. His mother alleges that E.Y.’s illness resulted from medical malpractice by the federally-funded Friend Family Health Center, where she received her prenatal…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2964
Justia Opinion Summary: Yurt suffers from a psychotic disorder which causes him to experience auditory hallucinations and bouts of uncontrollable rage. He also has obsessive compulsive disorder, moderately severe chronic obstructive pulmonary…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3398
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1994 Hartman’s father gave him a muzzle-loading rifle that was designed to use black powder as a propellant. The gun ignited newer, pelletized propellants erratically. In 2008, Hartman installed a kit on his gun. The…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3609
Justia Opinion Summary: Beardsley was 49 years old when she fell and injured her knee. She had worked as a machine operator, assembler, inspector, and cashier. After the injury, she applied for disability insurance benefits and supplemental…
Date: July 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3718
Justia Opinion Summary: Moeser was a commercial loan officer at a Milwaukee bank and, in 2004, prepared a presentation on behalf of co-conspirator Woyan for a $790,000 construction loan. Woyan operated PARC, which planned to build townhouses.…
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2653
Justia Opinion Summary: Sanchez, a citizen of El Salvador, entered the U.S. without inspection in 1989. Sanchez is now 47, married to a lawful permanent resident, and has four children, all U.S. citizens. Sanchez sought asylum and withholding…
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2977
Justia Opinion Summary: Following the 2010 census, and pursuant to state law, Chicago sought to reapportion its 50 aldermanic wards, 65 ILCS 20/21-36. The City Council conducted hearings to solicit the views of citizens and, in 2012, approved…
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3576
Justia Opinion Summary: Shuffle makes consumer grade automatic card-shuffling equipment. Wolff distributes casino grade gaming equipment. In 2010 the two signed a letter of intent that Shuffle, with financial assistance from Wolff, would…
Date: July 7, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3750
Justia Opinion Summary: The Hallahans engaged in fraud, 1993-1999, relating to purported tanning businesses, that bilked investors out of more than $1,000,000. They pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. 371, 1341,…
Date: July 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1290
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004 Fox was charged with the sexual assault and murder of his three-year-old daughter. Detectives coerced a confession and delayed testing of DNA evidence, leaving Fox imprisoned for eight months, separated from his…
Date: July 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1481
Justia Opinion Summary: Hutt worked for Solvay Pharmaceuticals as a sales representative, 2001-2007. Her supervisor, who had recruited her to Solvay from a different company, gave her satisfactory ratings in most categories, but repeatedly…
Date: July 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3136
Justia Opinion Summary: On March 28, 2008, while Salata was cleaning property owned by Weyerhaeuser, she slipped and fell, claiming loose floor tiles were the cause. On March 8, 2010, Salata filed suit. The parties attempted voluntary…
Date: July 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3660
Justia Opinion Summary: Illinois law bars persons convicted of certain crimes from holding public office, 10 ILCS 5/29-1-5. Parker sought to run for a seat on the Peoria school board. The state’s attorney sought to bar Parker, who had been…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2536
Justia Opinion Summary: Estrada, a Mexican citizen, entered the U.S. in 1996, at age 20, and has not left; he is married and has five children, all U.S. citizens. He was denied cancellation of removal, 8 U.S.C. 1229b(b), for failure to…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1013
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of more than 100 grams of heroin with intent to distribute it, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(i), and was sentenced to 97 months in prison. The sentence was at the top of the…
Date: July 3, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1103
Justia Opinion Summary: Bokhari is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Pakistan. While living in Wisconsin, Bokhari allegedly conducted a fraudulent scheme with his brothers, bilking a nonprofit entity that administered the E‐Rate Program, a federal…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3695
Justia Opinion Summary: Chychula and her codefendants engaged in a fraudulent investment scheme, involving more than 60 investors who lost almost $4.5 million. The scheme lasted several years and took various forms, including investment in…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1474
Justia Opinion Summary: Arrellano was convicted of one count of conspiring to possess heroin and cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 846, and two counts of using a cell phone to facilitate that conspiracy, 21 U.S.C.…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1803
Justia Opinion Summary: Anderson alleges that he was sexually abused by priests and other employees of the Catholic Church in the 1950s and 1960s and that, as a result of the abuse, he requires continuous psychological counseling and spent most…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1821
Justia Opinion Summary: Med‐1 buys delinquent debts and purchased Suesz’s debt from Community Hospital. In 2012 it filed a collection suit in small claims court and received a judgment against Suesz for $1,280. Suesz lives one county over from…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1992
Justia Opinion Summary: Jennifer’s seven-year-old daughter, Liza, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor that is almost always fatal. Jennifer learned that marijuana oil might be beneficial; some medical evidence supports the belief. The legal…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2007
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010 Price was a full-time tenured Chicago Public Schools teacher who was working in a program to improve the class-room teaching skills of other teachers. In all of her evaluations, she was rated excellent or…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2756
Justia Opinion Summary: Gambino filed a state lawsuit to clear his title to three properties, claiming that defendants (including Koonce) used forged deeds and other fraudulent documents to improperly gain title. An Illinois state court found…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3607
Justia Opinion Summary: Townsend applied for social security disability benefits and supplemental security income in 2003, at age 44, claiming that she had become incapable of full‐time gainful employment in May 2002 when she had stopped…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1532
Justia Opinion Summary: Purchasers of organic asphalt roofing shingles in many states sued IKO and affiliated firms, contending that it falsely told customers that the shingles met an industry standard (ASTM D2250 and that compliance had been…
Date: July 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2764
Justia Opinion Summary: Pollock was convicted of aggravated stalking and was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. After an alleged attack on his next girlfriend, he was charged with battery, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated…
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3198
Justia Opinion Summary: Beavers was a Chicago alderman from 1983-2006, when he began serving as a Cook County Commissioner. He was the chairman of each of his three campaign committees and the only authorized signor for each committee’s bank…
Date: June 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3406
Justia Opinion Summary: Breedlove pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and firearms offenses. Before his sentencing hearing, Breedlove filed a “Notice of Ineffective Counsel,” complaining of a conspiracy between his counsel, co-defendants and the…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2045
Justia Opinion Summary: The Gagnards built a house in Los Altos, California, then sold the home to Goldman in January, 2004. Since then, Goldman has sued the Gagnards and those involved with the construction and sale of the house in various…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3787
Justia Opinion Summary: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. 18002, provides $5 billion to reimburse employers and their proxies for outlays on early retirees’ medical care. WEA, which administers health-care programs on…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1182
Justia Opinion Summary: Garrett was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of crack cocaine and sentenced to 190 months in prison. The Seventh Circuit affirmed his conviction, but vacated the sentence. The district…
Date: June 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2358
Justia Opinion Summary: Stein ran legitimate companies for which he maintained bank accounts. In need of capital for construction projects, he approached his Wiley, a part-owner of currency exchanges, and proposed that Stein write checks from…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2052
Justia Opinion Summary: A Regional Transmission Organization is a voluntary association primarily of utilities that either own electrical transmission lines that comprise a regional electrical grid or generate electricity that is transmitted to…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2245
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2253
Justia Opinion Summary: Parmalat, a large Italian food and dairy company, entered bankruptcy in Italy and Bondi was appointed “extraordinary commissioner,” the equivalent of a bankruptcy trustee. In 2004 Bondi instituted, in New York, a…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2914
Justia Opinion Summary: West Side Christian Church applied to the City of Evansville, Indiana, for a permit to set up its “Cross the River” display, consisting of 31 six-foot tall decorated crosses on four blocks of public Riverfront. After…
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3229
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson was charged with distributing crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), and being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g). The panel of prospective jurors consisted of 33 people: 16 male,…
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3245
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Alexander was 55 years old and weighed 138 pounds. He had a limp and suffered from emphysema. Jones was 33 years old and weighed 230 pounds. Jones and Harris were using crack cocaine at Alexander’s Indianapolis…
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2340
Justia Opinion Summary: Freed and Weiss were the sole managing members of a legal practice, CLG. Freed claims to have provided CLG’s operating capital through loans of $12 million. Under the partnership agreement between the two, Freed was…
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2669
Justia Opinion Summary: After his transactions with a large-scale supplier of crack were witnessed and recorded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which was investigating the supplier, Goree admitted purchasing cocaine. He was…
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3059
Justia Opinion Summary: Spaine was a seasonal employee from 2008 until 2011, helping low-income and disabled persons register for housing assistance. Spaine alleges that she was harassed and unfairly disciplined because of her race and that she…
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3786
Justia Opinion Summary: Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula Winery began selling a spiced apple wine called “Hallowine” in 1998. Sales were brisk, and Door Peninsula expanded operations to Illinois later that year. Illinois River Winery began selling…
Date: June 24, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1053
Justia Opinion Summary: Gienapp worked at Harbor Crestnursing care facility. In January 2011 she told Chattic, its manager, that she needed leave to care for her daughter, who was being treated for thyroid cancer. Chattic granted leave under…
Date: June 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2533
Justia Opinion Summary: Officers Mitchell and Bowersock responded to a 911 call by Bumgarner late on a Saturday night in 2008. They learned that Bumgarner and Hawkins had been drinking and got into a heated argument. Hawkins was alleged to have…
Date: June 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3373
Justia Opinion Summary: Farmer learned that a man (Allen), a casino employee, had used a company credit card without authorization. Using an alias, Farmer contacted Allen by cell phone and threatened to inform management unless Allen paid him.…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3240
Justia Opinion Summary: Indiana pawnbrokers must obtain license from the state’s Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). Saalwaechter, owns Fares Pawn in Evansville, Indiana. He applied for a license in 2009, but DFI denied his application,…
Date: June 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3253
Justia Opinion Summary: Groves was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of ammunition by a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and the district court sentenced him to the statutory maximum of 240 months in prison, 120 months…
Date: June 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2893
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, the Michigan City Area Schools hired Nichols as a temporary, substitute janitor. Nichols worked at Joy Elementary School without incident. He then went to Springfield Elementary School as a replacement until a…
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1692
Justia Opinion Summary: Montanez sued the City of Chicago and Officers Fico and Simon, alleging that Fico used excessive force while arresting him for drinking on a public way and Simon failed to intervene. He sustained minor injuries and…
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2035
Justia Opinion Summary: Henderson has been an inmate since 1995. He was diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes 1999-2000. He received medical treatment. In 2009, he suffered diabetic hypoglycemia and tremulous convulsions and was taken…
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2475
Justia Opinion Summary: Chicago Officer Brown submitted a probable cause affidavit, stating that confidential informant “Doe” had stated that a felon, known to Doe as “T.Y.,” possessed a semiautomatic and a .38-caliber revolver; that Doe had…
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2519
Justia Opinion Summary: The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is composed of industry members, academicians, design professionals, and government officials. Its standards provide guidelines for…
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2870
Justia Opinion Summary: Valley, age 29, posed on the Internet as a teenage boy and persuaded more than 50 underage girls to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves and convinced at least one of those girls to meet for sex. While…
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3195
Justia Opinion Summary: Mendoza convicted of drug conspiracy and other drug offenses, was sentenced to multiple terms of life imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Mendoza then petitioned for relief under 28 U.S.C. 2255, claiming that he…
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1452
Justia Opinion Summary: The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) allows civil claims against foreign governments for acts of state-sponsored terrorism, 28 U.S.C. 1605A. A 1985 EgyptAir hijacking by Abu Nidal terrorists, supported by the…
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1641
Justia Opinion Summary: Baker was convicted of criminal sexual assault. He was released in 1986 and within months, had kidnapped and sexually assaulted other women. Baker was released again in 2000, but returned to custody for an aggravated…
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2369
Justia Opinion Summary: Benhoff entered into online chats with undercover agents on a file-sharing network over which he traded files containing child pornography. FBI agents obtained a warrant for Benhoff’s home and found 6,544 images and…
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3121
Justia Opinion Summary: A couple, driving through Madison, saw a man in a Jeep holding what appeared to be a handgun pointed at the ceiling of the Jeep. They called the police. Asked whether the driver was threatening anyone, the caller…
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3467
Justia Opinion Summary: Newman and Misleveck escaped from a Wisconsin prison. Misleveck stole a shotgun and ammunition. They stole a car and kidnapped its driver. Newman kept control of her for five hours while Misleveck drove. They released…
Date: June 17, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1024
Justia Opinion Summary: Halim, a citizen of Indonesia, came to the U.S in 2000. After his visa expired, he stayed without applying for legal residency. In 2005, DHS detained Halim and initiated removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(1)(B).…
Date: June 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3765
Justia Opinion Summary: Castro, a citizen of Mexico, entered the U.S. without inspection when he was 14 years old. He was convicted of 11 offenses while he was in the U.S. between 1979 and 2001, six times for drug trafficking-related offenses.…
Date: June 16, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1128
Justia Opinion Summary: Arthur Conan Doyle published his first Sherlock Holmes story in 1887 and his last in 1927. Because of statutory extensions of copyright protection culminating in the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act, American copyrights…
Date: June 16, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1284
Justia Opinion Summary: Daoud, an 18-year-old American citizen, had an email conversation with undercover FBI employees posing as terrorists who responded to messages that he had posted online. Daoud planned “violent jihad” and discussed his…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 05-1362
Justia Opinion Summary: The National Labor Relations Board found that HH3 Trucking had committed unfair labor practices and ordered back pay for its workers. HH3 failed to comply. The NLRB petitioned for judicial enforcement. HH3 did not reply…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1300
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 Huang, a systems and software engineer, had worked for CNA commercial insurance for eight years. In March, Huang was transferred to a new, four-member team. CNA required every member of Huang’s team to be on…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3490
Justia Opinion Summary: The government claims that McGill spent most of his free time in his apartment and rarely socialized except with Elliott, who had befriended McGill in 2006 after they met through an acquaintance who shared their sexual…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1370
Justia Opinion Summary: The Latin King gang operated under a constitution that included an elaborate governing hierarchy. Zambrano had the highest post, Corona, 2000 to 2008. Several defendants had the next-highest position, Regional Inca, and…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1668
Justia Opinion Summary: According to the 2010 Census, Hazel Crest was 85.2% black and 10.2% white, but had no black supervisory police officers until 2005. Garofalo and Peers, both white, were sergeants on the police force and were among four…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2046
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to using the mail to implement a fraud consisting mainly of a Ponzi scheme involving real estate, 18 U.S.C. 1341. Between 2006 and 2011 the scheme raised more than $21 million from 267 investors;…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3845
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant pleaded guilty to a federal drug offense and was sentenced to 144 months in prison (his guidelines range was 188 to 235 months). He appealed. His lawyer filed an Anders brief to which the defendant did not…
Date: June 12, 2014
Docket Number: 14-1313
Date: June 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3057
Justia Opinion Summary: Trump Tower Chicago is a 92-story building with 486 residential condominium units, 339 hotel condominium units, retail space, a health club, ballrooms, meeting rooms, restaurants, a hair salon, and other facilities. When…
Date: June 9, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3303
Justia Opinion Summary: Petty was arrested on the suspicion that he, along with another person, shot and killed Counsel and wounded two others. Petty was identified as the shooter and was indicted for murder, but was found not guilty. After his…
Date: June 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2658
Justia Opinion Summary: The Chippewa County Highway Department employed Kvapil as a seasonal employee, 2006-2008. When he was hired, Kvapil completed a New Employee Orientation for Limited Term Employees Form that advised him of work rules.…
Date: June 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2916
Justia Opinion Summary: Purham ran a crack cocaine distribution ring in Quincy, Illinois. With the help of his brother he continued to manage the conspiracy while incarcerated following a 2006 felon-in-possession conviction. Purham talked to…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3020
Justia Opinion Summary: Volpendesto’s career in organized crime ended at the age of 87. Wheelchair-bound and in poor health, he was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit arson, arson, and use of a destructive device in…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2627
Justia Opinion Summary: Clark committed six armed bank robberies in the Milwaukee area in 2008-2010. On October 8, 2010, Milwaukee police officers who knew that Clark was wanted attempted to pull him over. He fled and was apprehended after a…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1876
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Whitfield applied for an electrician position at Navistar’s plant. Navistar hired 16 electricians while Whitfield’s application was pending. The written job description required that an applicant have either…
Date: June 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2224
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2005-2008, Arojojoye and seven codefendants operated an identity theft and bank fraud operation that resulted in over a million dollars in losses to financial institutions and adversely impacted people whose…
Date: June 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2133
Justia Opinion Summary: A 2006 class action against Pella, a window manufacturer, alleged that certain windows had a design defect that allowed water to enter behind exterior aluminum cladding and damage the wooden frame and the house itself.…
Date: May 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1767
Justia Opinion Summary: One defendant in consolidated appeals was convicted of child sexual abuse. His conditions of supervised release, imposed for life, included a ban on possession of legal or illegal material that “contains nudity” and the…
Date: May 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3510
Justia Opinion Summary: Clay’s supervised release began in May 2013, after he served a seven-year sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and using a gun during a drug-trafficking crime. In June, Clay fled on foot during…
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1382
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Iroanyah obtained first and second mortgage loans of $192,000 and $36,000. The Disclosure Statement for each displayed the repayment schedule, including the number of payments, the amount due for each, and the…
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2292
Justia Opinion Summary: Bunn, who is legally blind, quit his job at a Dairy Queen franchise and sued the franchisee under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12112. Bunn believed that the employer failed to accommodate his disability…
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2949
Justia Opinion Summary: Averhart, formerly a guard at the Cook County Jail, was suspended without pay in 2001 and fired in 2003. She had filed an EEOC charge of discrimination in 2000 and was investigated for smuggling drugs and contraband to…
Date: May 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1529
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1971 Cannon was convicted of murder. He was paroled and was a general in the El Rukn street gang when he became involved in a second murder and was arrested by the Chicago Police Department’s Violent Crimes division.…
Date: May 20, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1715
Justia Opinion Summary: Arnold, a former officer of two corporate defendants, held significant stock in each. In 1999, Arnold sued both in Illinois state court, claiming shareholder oppression. In 2006, the parties allegedly agreed to settle,…
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 08-4320
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were convicted of engaging in a sophisticated tax-fraud conspiracy that caused a loss of income-tax revenue to the government exceeding $60 million. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences…
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1870
Justia Opinion Summary: Fuqua, a computational linguist, was hired by SVOX in 2009 to help market linguistic products. A few months later, SVOX approached Fuqua with a new employment contract that contained an inventions assignment clause that…
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2033
Justia Opinion Summary: Huon, a lawyer representing himself, sued his former employer Johnson & Bell, and its attorneys, for intentional discrimination based on race (Asian) and national origin (Cambodian) in violation of Title VII of the 1964…
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2160
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant sold crack cocaine to his nephew, who was a paid DEA informant and who recorded the transaction and turned over 22 grams of crack purchased with $1250 of DEA money. Based on the recording, agents obtained a…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2958
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008 the Kathreins challenged Evanston’s Affordable Housing Demolition Tax under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Tax required a property owner seeking to demolish any residential building to pay the greater…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2990
Justia Opinion Summary: DEA task force members went to Beltran’s two-unit residence. Ramirez came to the front porch. He did not speak English well but had the building owner (Beltran) on the phone; he gave the phone to an agent. Beltran…
Date: May 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3147
Justia Opinion Summary: Campbell worked at the Forest Preserve District’s Cermak Family Aquatic Center. In 2010, a security camera recorded him having sex with a coworker in the center’s office. Weeks later, the FPD fired him. Nearly two and a…
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3158
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs challenged Wisconsin’s campaign-finance law in light of the Supreme Court decision, Citizens United (2010), alleging that laws concerning groups that spend money for political speech independently of…
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3330
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, employees of Antioch, participated in an employee stock ownership, plan (ESOP). In 2003, Antioch borrowed money to buy back all stock except the stock owned by the ESOP. The buy-out left Antioch bankrupt and…
Date: May 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2098
Justia Opinion Summary: Ogletree ran a tax preparation service. Robtrel and Larryl provided Ogletree with birth dates and social security numbers of individuals unlikely to file tax returns; Ogletree filed false returns using that information…
Date: May 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3005
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2272
Justia Opinion Summary: A psychiatrist, called 911 to report that Sutterfield had just left her office, indicating that she had received some bad news, and had remarked, “I guess I’ll go home and blow my brains out.” She informed officers that…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2468
Justia Opinion Summary: The Union represents a bargaining unit at PPG’s plant. PPG informed the Union in April 2009 that it wanted to modify the collective bargaining agreement to reduce labor costs. That CBA states that a party seeking to…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3005
Justia Opinion Summary: PepperBall is a projectile ball filled with a pepper-spray-like irritant. Police departments, private security firms, and comparable organizations are its primary consumers. Advanced Tactical brought a trademark…
Date: May 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2675
Justia Opinion Summary: Northern, operated by VanDuinen, was a general contractor on public construction projects, legally required to obtain surety bonds. Hanover was Northern’s bonding agent and required Northern to enter into an Indemnity…
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1833
Justia Opinion Summary: Avila pleaded guilty in Wisconsin state court repeated sexual assault of an eight-year-old child, producing child pornography and 16 counts of possessing child pornography and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Avila’s…
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2879
Justia Opinion Summary: Hernandez picked up a red bag in an alley. Chicago Officers Varchetto and Pierri, patrolling in an unmarked car, saw him pick up the bag and run up the alley. He saw the officers and dropped the bag. As the officers…
Date: May 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2924
Justia Opinion Summary: Peterson’s victim, 10-year-old M., claimed that when he was seven years old he slept over at Peterson’s house and that Peterson abused him sexually. Although he regularly saw Peterson after that, M. did not report the…
Date: May 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1792
Justia Opinion Summary: Georgieva and her husband Dimitrov, Bulgarian citizens, were admitted to the U.S. in 2002 under the visa waiver program and timely requested asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against…
Date: May 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2798
Justia Opinion Summary: Seven years after Plyler installed a Whirlpool microwave oven and eight hours after using that oven, a houseguest woke him because of a fire in the microwave. Firefighters extinguished the fire. Plyler claims that he…
Date: May 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3658
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 Hnin, from the country of Myanmar, began working at TOA’s metal stamping plant. All TOA associates, including Hnin, receive a handbook with a statement that TOA normally employs progressive discipline and…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1384
Justia Opinion Summary: Lomanto worked as a U.S. Postal Service custodian in a “bid job,” with a fixed schedule, awarded on a seniority basis under a collective bargaining agreement. In 2005, Lomanto started working as a temporary maintenance…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1456
Justia Opinion Summary: Holder was an Illinois correctional officer since 2006. His wife began to suffer from mental health problems relating to opiate dependency. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to 12 work…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3844
Justia Opinion Summary: After drinking vodka, Ford rode with Grace to Ford’s home. The men passed 15-year-old Hodge, sitting next door. Ford and Hodge greeted each other. Inside Ford’s house, Ford said, “I can’t stand that mother fucker. I’ll…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2896
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1983, Birkelbach founded Birkelbach Investment Securities (BIS) and served as its president. Birkelbach was registered as a general securities representative and principal, a municipal securities representative and…
Date: May 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2142
Justia Opinion Summary: Until the early 1970s, CBS (formerly Westinghouse) manufactured electrical capacitors at a Bloomington plant, using insulating fluid containing PCBs, which are carcinogens to humans and wildlife. CBS deposited defective…
Date: April 30, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2786
Justia Opinion Summary: Olson shared a cell with Russell for about a week in 2007. Olson approached Sergeant Schneider and stated: “[M]y celly, Russell, has twice tried to swing off on me and I want him moved … I fear he’s gonna try to do it…
Date: April 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1238
Justia Opinion Summary: Haldar, an Indian citizen, came to the U.S. in 1999 and has been a permanent resident since 2006. He founded GVS-Milwaukee, a Hare Krishna religious society and, from 2004 to 2007, GVS sponsored 25 applicants for…
Date: April 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2197
Justia Opinion Summary: The underlying suit began 28 years ago and has been to the Supreme Court three times. Defendants who did not settle prevailed and applied for costs under 28 U.S.C. 1920 and were awarded most of what they sought after a…
Date: April 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2600
Justia Opinion Summary: A 13-year-old girl reported that she had been molested by Carroll, her father’s co-worker, when she was eight years old. Detective Spivey presented a search warrant affidavit in which he explained his 16 years of…
Date: April 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1314
Justia Opinion Summary: Lee was convicted of first-degree reckless homicide plus two counts of armed robbery, based on evidence that he and Thomas traveled to Meyers’s residence in Oshkosh, to collect a drug debt. Four people were present when…
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2363
Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs invested $3 million in a multi‐use real‐estate project in Caseyville, Illinois, called Forest Lake, having previously worked with the developers. Their agreement with the developers promised a…
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2733
Justia Opinion Summary: Candidates for Chicago mayor, city treasurer, or city clerk must submit signatures from 12,500 “legal voters of the city” to have their name printed on the ballot, 65 ILCS 20/21-28(b). This number is just under 1% of the…
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3324
Justia Opinion Summary: Macon runs group homes for disabled individuals and has a policy requiring any employee who “witnesses, is told of, or has reason to believe an incident of abuse or neglect … has occurred” to report the incident. A 2009…
Date: April 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3466
Justia Opinion Summary: Brothers Patrick and Thomas each owned one‐third of the stock of Commercial Light, a Chicago electrical contractor. Between 1982 and the 2008 sale of the company, Thomas was the CEO, board chairman, and president. The…
Date: April 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1306
Justia Opinion Summary: Hall, the debtor in bankruptcy, is a former distributor of asbestos products. Tens of thousands of asbestos claims were filed against Hall, which had $10 million remaining in insurance coverage from one of its insurers,…
Date: April 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2018
Justia Opinion Summary: Banks sued her former employer, the Board of Education, and her former supervisor, Gonzales, alleging race discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and related violations of…
Date: April 23, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3108
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, a jury found Stevenson guilty of various counts relating to his possession of crack cocaine in connection with a Chicago drug ring. The district court treated the Guidelines as mandatory, found that he qualified…
Date: April 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2114
Justia Opinion Summary: Hill formed Blythe Corporation to acquire vacant lots in Chicago and was Blythe’s sole owner and employee. Blythe entered into a contract with Flawless Financial, which was to acquire the lots; Blythe agreed to pay legal…
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1015
Justia Opinion Summary: Chicago police officers arrested Venson for possession of a controlled substance and solicitation of an unlawful act, and he spent 19 days in jail. After a preliminary hearing resulted in the dismissal of charges for…
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3178
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on a real estate financing fraud scheme during the housing bubble, Brunt, Farano, Murphy, and Scullark were charged with mail and wire fraud; Brunt and Scullark with money laundering and Farano with theft of…
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3193
Justia Opinion Summary: Wisconsin’s Act 10 significantly changed Wisconsin public‐sector labor law: it prohibited government employers from collectively bargaining with their general employees (not public safety employees) over anything except…
Date: April 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1578
Justia Opinion Summary: Bryant, a cocaine‐running “general” in the Black P. Stones gang, was indicted in 2007 for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine and 500 grams or more of cocaine; possession of 500 grams or more of…
Date: April 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1607
Justia Opinion Summary: Saldana entered the U.S. at age 7, became a lawful permanent resident at 20, but was charged with removability at 34, in 2003, for committing an aggravated felony, 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), and a controlled-substance…
Date: April 16, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2552
Justia Opinion Summary: The petitioner uses two names (Tarsem Singh and Simranjit Singh) and has used different birth certificate translations, listing birthdates that differ by as much as four years. He has passports showing both identities…
Date: April 15, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3690
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998 Ambrose was charged with predatory criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/12-14.1(a)(1)), based on his alleged sexual penetration of his five-year-old daughter and her friend. In 1999, the state successfully sought…
Date: April 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2399
Justia Opinion Summary: Rymtech, a mortgage reduction program, purported to provide financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure. Daniel, its Vice President, recruited homeowners to place their properties in the program and instructed…
Date: April 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2843
Justia Opinion Summary: South Bend police responded to a report that Davis was being held against her will at the Henderson house. Winfield showed Sergeant Wolff text messages from Davis. Wolff confirmed that the woman sending the texts was in…
Date: April 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2899
Justia Opinion Summary: Conrad, the “Banana Lady,” a self‐employed singer and dancer, performs in a giant banana costume. After performing a “singing telegram” at a credit union trade association event, she sued, charging infringements of…
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3375
Justia Opinion Summary: Aurora hired Gosey as a chef’s assistant in 2008. In September 2009 she applied for an open position as food-services manager at the hospital. The job posting stated a preference for someone with “five to seven years of…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1163
Justia Opinion Summary: Bey and three others conspired to rob Associated Bank, where one of them (Thompson) worked. Bey gave Schoenhaar a pellet gun for use in the robbery and waited in a getaway car with Gregory, while Schoenhaar entered the…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1697
Justia Opinion Summary: VLM, a Canadian agricultural supplier, sold frozen potatoes to Illinois Trading, a reseller. VLM sued Illinois Trading for $184,000 owed on the contract, with counts based on the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act,…
Date: April 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1799
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: 14-8006
Justia Opinion Summary: A class action complaint, filed in state court, alleged that Pushpin acted as an unlicensed debt collector in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and filed 1100 Illinois small‐claims suits, all fraudulent, but…
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3678
Justia Opinion Summary: Bryn Mawr Chicago nursing home, a Medicaid provider, is subject to Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) inspections. In 2010, IDPH inspected the facility following allegations that a resident had been sexually…
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2553
Justia Opinion Summary: Since 1994, Harper has served as Fulton County Treasurer, an elected position with a four-year term. The 21-member County Board sets salaries for elected officials. From 1983–2002, the County Treasurer and County Clerk…
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2799
Justia Opinion Summary: May and Collier sold crack cocaine to an FBI informant three times. For each sale, May and the informant discussed quantity and price and May told the informant to pick up the cocaine at Collier’s house. May instructed…
Date: April 8, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2939
Justia Opinion Summary: Cabrera entered the U.S. without inspection in 2001. After a 2009 arrest, he applied for withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. 1231 saying that he feared return to Mexico because of threats and mistreatment by his wife,…
Date: April 7, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2685
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2008 to 2011, Valdovinos obtained cocaine from Mexico and delivered it to Gonzalez’s Chicago house. At Gonzalez’s direction, others picked up the cocaine, sold it, and returned to pay Valdovinos. In 2010 Gonzalez…
Date: April 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2548
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 Donelli’s family rented a house from the elderly Viguses. Donelli falsely told the Viguses that her minor daughter would receive a $750,000 settlement because of a car accident with an oil company employee. She…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3317
Justia Opinion Summary: In the 1990s, Specht founded Android Data Corporation, and registered the “Android Data” trademark. The company ceased principal operations in 2002, but the mark remained registered to it. Five years later, Google Inc.…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2420
Justia Opinion Summary: An inmate challenged his conviction, alleging that he was made to wear visible shackles at trial. The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded for a new trial, reasoning that the “sight of a shackled litigant is apt to make…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2912
Justia Opinion Summary: More than 10 years ago, Vitrano pled guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm while subject to a domestic abuse injunction and was sentenced to 30 years in prison under the Armed Career Criminal…
Date: April 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2153
Justia Opinion Summary: After she was unable to sell her Henderson, Kentucky house, Hargis solicited Vashaun to burn it down for a payment of $10,000, so that she could collect a settlement from her insurance company. White burned down the…
Date: April 1, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3888
Justia Opinion Summary: Hicks led a large organization that distributed crack cocaine in Chicago. He oversaw acquisition, processing, and packaging with help from Coprich, Williams, and others. Once processing was complete, Hicks sold the…
Date: April 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1326
Justia Opinion Summary: Davis, in prison following a guilty plea, sought federal collateral relief more than a year had expired, 28 U.S.C. 2244(d) had expired. He claimed equitable tolling, asserting that his mental limitations excused untimely…
Date: April 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1768
Justia Opinion Summary: Reid and Sears were at-will employees at NACA, a national not-for-profit corporation that helps potential homeowners facing discriminatory or predatory lending. As mortgage consultants, they were licensed under 12 U.S.C.…
Date: April 1, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2442
Justia Opinion Summary: Jyotsnaben Patel was admitted to the U.S. in 1992 as a nonimmigrant visitor; her husband, Pravin, entered illegally six months later. They applied for asylum and were charged with removability: Jyotsnaben because she had…
Date: March 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2432
Justia Opinion Summary: Malone owned a cattle feedlot. He cared for cattle, including some owned by GLS, and worked as an agent of GLS to buy cattle. Anderson was president of GLS, which was owned by others. GLS’s cattle were collateral for its…
Date: March 31, 2014
Docket Number: 14-8004
Justia Opinion Summary: A business that manages commercial real estate and its owners were sued in a purported class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227, for having paid a “fax blaster” (Business to Business…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1321
Justia Opinion Summary: As a mortgage broker, Chandler was able to falsify documents, close fraudulent loans, and judge what a house would appraise for after cosmetic work. In 2005, Causey and Rainey founded a construction company to make…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2302
Justia Opinion Summary: Carmody worked for the University of Illinois for 25 years until he was fired for reasons involving a security breach of the university’s email system. The breach was connected to a state court lawsuit Carmody was…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3050
Justia Opinion Summary: Sandoval, a Mexican citizen, illegally entered the U.S. in the 1990s. After five illegal reentries and removals, Sandoval again attempted to re-enter and, in 2005, was convicted of attempted illegal entry by means of…
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1390
Justia Opinion Summary: Grady told Wolf that he wanted to blow up a Planned Parenthood clinic, then drove to a gas station and put some gas in his van and a smaller amount in a bottle. He drove to the clinic, broke a window with a hammer,…
Date: March 27, 2014
Docket Number: 14-8003
Justia Opinion Summary: Motorola and its foreign subsidiaries buy LCD panels and incorporate them into cellphones. They alleged that foreign LCD panel manufacturers violated section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1, by fixing prices. Only…
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1742
Justia Opinion Summary: Bass worked as a custodian. In 2002, she was assigned to work at a single-story elementary school. In 2003 a second story was added. A male was responsible for cleaning the second floor. In 2008–09, the District…
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1103
Justia Opinion Summary: Morales operated IPS to defraud small businesses. His sales agents contacted business owners and offered to collect on bad checks for a small commission. The agents would tell the owners that they worked for another…
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1560
Justia Opinion Summary: Batson went to Live Nation’s Chicago box office and purchased a non‐refundable ticket to see a popular band. He later realized that the ticket price included a $9 parking fee for a spot he did not want. Believing that…
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2145
Justia Opinion Summary: Walker was involved in a mortgage fraud scheme involving at least 10 loans and seven Chicago-area properties. Walker served as both a fraudulent buyer and seller and used his then‐girlfriend as a straw purchaser in some…
Date: March 25, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2822
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Finkl, a Chicago steel producer, initiated termination of its defined benefit pension plan under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, apparently anticipating merger with another company. The Plan was…
Date: March 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1656
Justia Opinion Summary: Through Amusements Inc., owned by Szaflarski, a criminal enterprise distributed “video gambling devices” to bars and restaurants. The machines allow customers to deposit money in return for virtual credits and are legal…
Date: March 20, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3557
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, a joint venture formed between llcs, TABFG and NT Prop, to trade securities. TABFG was responsible for trading and was comprised of three individual traders. NT Prop was to fund the venture, and included two…
Date: March 20, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2713
Justia Opinion Summary: Houston, age 44, was caught with more than 1,000 pornographic images of children on his computer; he pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(1), (a)(5)(B). The probation…
Date: March 20, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3027
Justia Opinion Summary: The major political parties in Marion County, Indiana followed a tradition of “slating” candidates that have the financial and organizational backing of party leadership in the primaries. Indiana enacted an…
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1278
Justia Opinion Summary: Sentinel specialized in short-term cash management, promising to invest customers’ cash in safe securities for good returns with high liquidity. Customers did not acquire rights to specific securities, but received a pro…
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2141
Justia Opinion Summary: While R. was an investigator for Mexico’s Federal Agency of Investigation, he arrested hundreds of suspects and repeatedly testified against drug traffickers. Drug organizations tried to kill him. The Agency repeatedly…
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2498
Justia Opinion Summary: Abair emigrated from Russia in 2005 and married an American citizen. Abair owned an apartment in Moscow. After her divorce, Abair sold the apartment and deposited the proceeds with Citibank Moscow. She signed a contract…
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2706
Justia Opinion Summary: Target Guest Cards only permit purchases only at Target. Target Visa Cards are all-purpose credit cards that can be used anywhere. Target used different underwriting criteria and agreements for the cards. Between 2000…
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2732
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Johnson pled guilty to possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing a gun in furtherance of a drug crime and was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment, departing from the 120-month mandatory…
Date: March 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2115
Justia Opinion Summary: The employees of the Chicago poultry processing plant are represented by a union. Before beginning work, they are required to put on a sterilized jacket, plastic apron, cut‐resistant gloves, plastic sleeves, earplugs,…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2532
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009 Betty and Wayne submitted a tax return on behalf of a Betty Phillips Trust, signed by Betty, who was listed as the trustee, claiming income of $47,997. A second return on behalf of a Wayne Phillips trust, was…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1954
Justia Opinion Summary: Days after the collective bargaining agreement expired, a bargaining-unit employee asked the Labor Board to conduct a decertification election. Neither the company nor the union opposed the request. In the election 19…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3396
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of distributing more than 50 grams of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), White was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment. He filed an unsuccessful collateral attack under 28 U.S.C. 255. After the Sentencing…
Date: March 13, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2902
Justia Opinion Summary: Thomas, an Indiana prisoner, sued prison officials and medical personnel at the Pendleton Correctional Facility under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for deliberate indifference to his epilepsy in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The…
Date: March 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2130
Justia Opinion Summary: Tian, a 48‐year old Chinese citizen, was admitted to the U.S.in 2001, on a non‐immigrant visa, to participate in an international exchange program. He overstayed and, in 2007, was questioned during an investigation of…
Date: March 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2272
Justia Opinion Summary: The general contractor of a Wisconsin construction project, hired Harsco to supply scaffolding. Krien, injured in a fall when a plank on a scaffold on which he was standing, broke, sued Harsco. The parties settled his…
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1348
Justia Opinion Summary: McMillan, a law student, posted an ad on craigslist entitled “sell me your teenage daughter” that solicited sexual acts for pay. Investigator Andrews of the Benton, Illinois, police department saw the ad while working…
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1011
Justia Opinion Summary: L has lived in the U.S. since 1987 and was a victim of armed kidnapping and sexual assault, in 2006, because of her brother-in-law’s drug dealings. Drugs were subsequently found in her garage and, although she accepted a…
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1143
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Shields, an Illinois prisoner was lifting weights and ruptured the pectoralis tendon in his left shoulder. Although he received some medical attention, he did not receive the prompt surgery needed for effective…
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1377
Justia Opinion Summary: Beginning in 2007, Mississippi Valley agreed to sell cattle to Swift, planning to fulfill that agreement in part with cattle it had received from J&R. Mississippi Valley was merely the holder of J&R’s cattle, not the…
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1686
Justia Opinion Summary: Crompton began working as a railroad conductor for BNSF in 2001. In 2011, he was working on BNSF 5695, travelling from Paducah, Kentucky, to Centralia, Illinois. Before the train departed on the day at issue, a BNSF…
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