2014 Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 1001 - 1250 of 1250
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2214
Justia Opinion Summary: Lewis was injured in an automobile accident and her health plan paid $180,000 for her medical treatment Lewis filed a tort suit against the driver (her son-in-law), represented by Georgia lawyer Lashgari, and obtained…
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2871
Justia Opinion Summary: Beard pleaded guilty in 2005 to possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). Because the offense involved at least 50 grams, he was sentenced to the statutory minimum of 10 years. In 2008,…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1229
Justia Opinion Summary: Aljabri, born in Jordan, married a U.S. citizen in 1997 and became a lawful permanent resident in 2000. In 2003, he sought naturalization under 8 U.S.C. 1430. USCIS conducted an interview and then delayed for nine years.…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1747
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1984, Richardson was convicted of armed robbery and murder. A Chicago Police Department firearms examiner testified that rounds fired at the scenes of two 1980 Chicago shootings came from the same gun, and…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3415
Justia Opinion Summary: The Brotherhood represents Norfolk employees who work to ensure that railways remain clear, safe, and navigable. The collective bargaining agreements entitle Brotherhood members to an investigation before Norfolk takes…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3504
Justia Opinion Summary: McMahon apparently did not pay a 1997 utility bill. In 2011, LVNV purchased the debt, then $584.98. LVNV retained a collection agency, Tate, which sent a letter that said nothing about when the debt was incurred or the…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3901
Justia Opinion Summary: Golden purchased automobile insurance from State Farm. The mandatory liability portion of her policy provided that State Farm would defend the insured against a third-party lawsuit using attorneys chosen by State Farm.…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1335
Justia Opinion Summary: While at Big Muddy, inmate Roberts broke his hand in a fight. He claims that he received inadequate treatment and that he filed an “emergency” grievance and received no response. Defendants claim there was no grievance.…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1899
Justia Opinion Summary: Snyder was involved in a fistfight with another town council member. He was convicted of battery. The court imposed a sentence of six months suspended and six months of home detention, but later determined that Snyder…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2131
Justia Opinion Summary: Deputy Stanley pulled over Hille for an expired vehicle registration sticker. The Secretary of State’s record was different than the date on the sticker. Stanley was unable to resolve the discrepancy at that time and let…
Date: March 11, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2602
Justia Opinion Summary: Thomas sought disability benefits in 2009, based on sciatica, diabetes, angina, a trigger thumb in her left hand, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was morbidly obese. Thomas saw a consultative examiner, who…
Date: March 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3233
Justia Opinion Summary: Pittman, a pretrial detainee, stated, during intake, that he had no major medical problems, no thoughts about killing or injuring himself, no previous suicide attempts, and no psychiatric history. Weeks later he stated…
Date: March 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3701
Justia Opinion Summary: A Milwaukee police officer submitted an affidavit and application for a warrant to search for heroin, guns, items affiliated with heroin or guns, and other evidence that could be used to demonstrate control over the…
Date: March 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1734
Justia Opinion Summary: Huff was driving and Seaton was the passenger in a car with Ohio license plates that was stopped in Illinois, as recorded by Officer Reichert’s dashboard camera. Huff provided his driver’s license, insurance, and…
Date: March 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2505
Justia Opinion Summary: Chen, a citizen of China, entered the U.S. in 2004 as a nonimmigrant. He overstayed and sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. He admitted removability, 8 U.S.C.…
Date: March 7, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3787
Justia Opinion Summary: From 1993-1999 the Hallahans ran a fraudulent scheme that bilked investors out of more than $1,000,000. In 2000, they pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. 371, 1341 & 1344, and conspiracy to…
Date: March 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2278
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Buechel was incarcerated at FCI-Greenville federal correctional institution, where he contracted Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, (MRSA), a staph infection resistant to certain antibiotics. Buechel…
Date: March 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1340
Justia Opinion Summary: Torres-Chavez was convicted of conspiring with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 846; possession with intent to distribute cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1); and three counts of using a cellular…
Date: March 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1592
Justia Opinion Summary: Law enforcement officers used file‐sharing software to discover that Poulin had been downloading and transmitting child pornography in the basement of his mother’s house. He pled guilty to receipt of child pornography,…
Date: March 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3006
Justia Opinion Summary: Kerr shot his wife’s lover at point‐blank range, turned himself in, was convicted of first degree intentional homicide, and was sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole after 21 years. His petition for…
Date: March 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3363
Justia Opinion Summary: Woodard was the director of a non‐profit grant organization, Gideon’s Gate, which provided educational and tutoring services to children. The Department of Education, not satisfied with Gideon’s performance, stopped…
Date: March 4, 2014
Docket Number: 11-1565
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, Brown was sentenced to life imprisonment based on his criminal history. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting an argument that the court…
Date: March 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2745
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and was sentenced to 60 months in prison. He possessed the gun in Indiana. To convict him the prosecution had to prove that the gun…
Date: March 3, 2014
Docket Number: 11-2706
Justia Opinion Summary: After guerillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) kidnapped her father and killed her uncle, petitioner fled Colombia. After entering the U.S. legally on a tourist visa, she and her family overstayed…
Date: March 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3639
Justia Opinion Summary: Kingsley was a pretrial detaineel. A deputy noticed a sheet of yellow paper covering the light above Kingsley’s bed and ordered him to take it down. Kingsley refused, stating that he had not put the paper there. When…
Date: March 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3281
Justia Opinion Summary: Debenedetto was arrested for transmitting threatening communications (18 U.S.C. 875(c)). The district court ordered a mental competency evaluation. After a hearing, the court determined that Debenedetto suffered from…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1142
Justia Opinion Summary: Bryant, riding his bike on a Chicago street, was stopped by police officers, searched without a warrant, and arrested for possessing a controlled substance. He was arraigned in September, 2010. He was released after the…
Date: February 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3830
Justia Opinion Summary: Peters was a passenger in a Scion on I-70 in Indiana, traveling behind a Denali. Both cars displayed Ohio license plates. The cars aroused the suspicion of Officer Borgman, who followed the Denali and enlisted Deputy…
Date: February 27, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2460
Justia Opinion Summary: Moore applied for Social Security disability benefits, alleging that she became disabled in 2007. An ALJ concluded that Moore suffered from a number of severe impairments, including migraine headaches, asthma, morbid…
Date: February 26, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2125
Justia Opinion Summary: Hunter, Adams, Gill, and Bostic were charged (with 10 others) in a multi-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of 1000 grams or more of substances containing a detectable…
Date: February 26, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3172
Justia Opinion Summary: The police saw Johnson with a gun. He threw it away, but the police recovered it and charged him as a felon-in-possession. Prosecutors charged that at least three of his convictions were for “violent felonies” under the…
Date: February 25, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3689
Justia Opinion Summary: The claimant alleges that Father Hanser, a former pastor at a Catholic Parish in Brookfield,Wisconsin, sexually abused him in the late 1970s when he was seven years old. In 2007 the claimant participated in a voluntary…
Date: February 24, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1361
Justia Opinion Summary: Castaldi, involved in fraudulent schemes since high school, operated a Ponzi scheme that collapsed in 2008. Net losses to investors and the IRS totaled about $40 million. When the scheme was near collapse, Castaldi…
Date: February 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1680
Justia Opinion Summary: Chaib, born in France in 1957, married an American, immigrated, and became a citizen in 1991. In 2008, Chaib began work at a maximum security prison. During her probationary period, Chaib alleged, training officer Van…
Date: February 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1757
Justia Opinion Summary: A.H.’s Greensburg, Indiana school has a policy: Hair Styles which create problems of health and sanitation, obstruct vision, or call undue attention to the athlete are not acceptable….. Each varsity head coach will be…
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2515
Justia Opinion Summary: Ruhl and Serio were convicted of the first-degree murder of Neubauer in separate trials in Illinois. After exhausting his state court remedies, Ruhl sought federal relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254, alleging that his…
Date: February 19, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1992
Justia Opinion Summary: When basketball legend Michael Jordan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, Sports Illustrated produced a special commemorative issue devoted exclusively to Jordan’s remarkable career.…
Date: February 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1615
Justia Opinion Summary: Before 1992, Chicago police officers received pension credit for time worked for the Cook County Sheriff’s Department. In 1992, the Retirement Board began denying pension credit to retiring officers for prior service…
Date: February 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1790
Justia Opinion Summary: Charlie has Type 1 diabetes, managed with an insulin pump, a personal diabetes manager, and a continuous glucose monitor. Before Charlie entered kindergarten, his parents worked with the school district to develop a “504…
Date: February 19, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2187
Justia Opinion Summary: Carter, a police officer for 13 years, was with other officers outside a residence while a Tactical Enforcement Unit went inside to check for threats to the officers who would perform a search. Carter was taking Colonix,…
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3794
Justia Opinion Summary: Shannon pled guilty to possessing child pornography (18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(4)) and received a sentence of 46 months’ imprisonment followed by a lifetime of supervised release. About 13 months after he began his supervised…
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2653
Justia Opinion Summary: Greving has lived and farmed in southeastern Wisconsin since 1971. In 2003 he began contracting to sell his grain to Northern Grain, an Illinois-based grain buyer. Northern Grain claimed that Greving repudiated several…
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3762
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Prado of the Chicago Police Department, while on duty, funneled towing business to certain tow truck companies in exchange for bribes. After an FBI investigation, Prado was indicted on three counts and pled…
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1807
Justia Opinion Summary: The Halims own named WR Property Management. The company’s predecessor had contracted to buy natural gas from CES for the Halims’s 41 Chicago-area rental properties. CES delivered, but the company stopped paying and owed…
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2353
Justia Opinion Summary: Dachman was indicted on and pled guilty to 11 counts of wire fraud for stealing funds elderly individuals had invested in his sleep‐related illness‐treatment companies. By selling shares in those companies, he had raised…
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2525
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), Molton was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment, which is substantially higher than the advisory guidelines range of 63 to 78 months.…
Date: February 18, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2569
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, defendant faxed tens of thousands of unsolicited advertisements, violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227. After defendant’s insurer intervened, a second proposed class action settlement…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1376
Justia Opinion Summary: Over 40 years, Rachuy accumulated almost 30 convictions, mostly for fraud. In a recent scheme, he “purchased” six vehicles by writing bad checks drawn on bank accounts that he knew were closed or had no funds. He was…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3036
Justia Opinion Summary: More than 13 years ago, lawyers around the country began class actions challenging the installation of fiberoptic cable on property without landowners’ consent. The cases began to settle on a state-by-state basis,…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3399
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrews, a white woman, started working at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in 1999. In 2002 she filed a discrimination claim, which settled. Stewart, a black man, then an associate manager, told Andrews that if he became…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3517
Justia Opinion Summary: Pineda was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and was sentenced to 115 months of imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting arguments that the trial court…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1301
Justia Opinion Summary: Sanders pleaded guilty to possessing more than 50 grams of cocaine base with intent to distribute. The district judge found that he possessed more than 500 grams of cocaine or cocaine base and calculated an offense level…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2182
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Perry shared child pornography with an internet group. A search of his apartment uncovered discs containing hundreds of child pornography images. Perry pleaded guilty to violations of 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(1) and…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2199
Justia Opinion Summary: Phillips worked at CTA as a trucker for 22 years, until, in 2010, he visited CTA’s onsite health services department to report that his fingers went numb at work and to initiate a workers’ compensation claim. CTA had a…
Date: February 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1087
Justia Opinion Summary: Portis called 911 because Boyce was “going crazy” and had a gun. The operator said, “He has a gun?” Portis responded, “I think so.” The operator said, “Come on,” Portis said, “Yes!” twice. To “Did you see one?” Portis…
Date: February 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1717
Justia Opinion Summary: Richard worked for GPI for 25 years until his 2009 death. He had a basic life insurance policy through GPI’s health and welfare plan and paid for an optional supplemental life insurance policy through GPI for several…
Date: February 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1531
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson pled guilty to failure to register as a sex offender, and the sentencing memorandum requested an enhancement for committing a sex offense on the basis that Johnson sexually assaulted his former girlfriend, S.W.…
Date: February 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1298
Justia Opinion Summary: Agent Lombardi received a tip from a confidential informant that he had seen “Cap” in possession of cocaine. The CI, who was familiar with cocaine distribution and had previously provided information that resulted in an…
Date: February 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1464
Justia Opinion Summary: Until 1998, Vanaria was employed by the Cook County Probation Department. He was terminated following investigation of allegations that he had sought sexual favors in exchange for looser conditions of probation. In 2002…
Date: February 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1491
Justia Opinion Summary: Riney was found in the vicinity of a shooting, immediately after the incident occurred, and matched the general description of the shooter. When he exited his car and walked away from the officers, they saw what they…
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1260
Justia Opinion Summary: Williams pleaded guilty to misusing social security numbers, 42 U.S.C. 408(a)(7)(B), identity theft, 18 U.S.C. 1028(a)(7), making a false statement to an IRS agent, 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(2), and aggravated identity theft, 18…
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3192
Justia Opinion Summary: Alforookh manages and operates restaurants under franchise agreements with IHOP. He created companies to hold the franchises, including A&F. Alforookh and A&F are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Their primary…
Date: February 6, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3428
Justia Opinion Summary: Officers arrived at Helman’s residence to execute warrants for his arrest. They hoped for a peaceful surrender. Helman exited the home and spoke with officers. In response to questions as to whether he was armed, Helman…
Date: February 6, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1350
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of robbing three banks, Johnson was sentenced to 220 months’ imprisonment. At trial Prince told the jury that he and Johnson had planned and executed the robberies together. Williams testified that Prince asked…
Date: February 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3837
Justia Opinion Summary: An employee benefits plan sued a medical college that provides patient care in clinics and hospitals and an affiliated children’s hospital, with which it had provider agreements, alleging ERISA violations and breach of…
Date: February 5, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3929
Date: February 5, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1178
Justia Opinion Summary: Wourms, age 16, was killed in a crash; he was driving erratically when an officer, warned by a 911 call from Wourms’ mother that her son was drunk and “going crazy,” turned on his emergency lights to signal him to pull…
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1874
Justia Opinion Summary: A large group of African-American police officers and firefighters sued the City of Indianapolis, alleging that the examination process it uses to rank candidates for promotion in the police and fire departments has a…
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3498
Justia Opinion Summary: Trying to avoid a traffic stop, Alexander lost control of his car and landed in a snow bank. Opening the door, Officer Honzel smelled “fresh raw cannabis.” Honzel called in a drug-sniffing dog, which alerted to the car’s…
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1480
Justia Opinion Summary: EAR, a subchapter S corporation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the years before its petition, EAR made federal income tax payments on behalf of its shareholders; eight of the payments in the two years preceding its…
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1511
Justia Opinion Summary: In November, 2005, Rooni and others went hunting. They shot three deer, which they took to a DNR post in a gas station for registration. While DNR employees tagged the deer, Rooni went inside. DNR agent Biser arrived and…
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1939
Justia Opinion Summary: The Indiana War Memorials Commission requires a permit for even small gatherings at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Monument Circle in Indianapolis and at several other monuments. Smith and his young son were…
Date: February 4, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2435
Justia Opinion Summary: KBP is a Polish entity, formed to develop a business park near Krakow. Plaintiffs are KBP shareholders and defendants are either current or former shareholders. The plaintiffs alleged a fraudulent scheme to loot the…
Date: February 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2728
Justia Opinion Summary: Chhibber, an internist, operated a walk‐in medical office on the south side of Chicago. For patients with insurance or Medicare coverage, Chhibber ordered an unusually high volume of diagnostic tests, including…
Date: February 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1496
Justia Opinion Summary: Wells purchased a nine‐millimeter Ruger pistol. Jackson, who had multiple felony convictions, took the pistol from Wells’ home. Jackson’s possession of the gun was illegal, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). A few weeks later, Jackson…
Date: January 31, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3763
Justia Opinion Summary: Executing an arrest warrant for Wilson, officers talked to people who had seen Wilson enter a particular house. The officers were invited inside to talk with the owner, Rawls, who gave them permission to look around to…
Date: January 31, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2878
Justia Opinion Summary: ComEd closed its Zion nuclear power plant in 1998. A decommissioned nuclear must be “decommissioned” and not be dangerously radioactive. Decommissioning is supervised by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which requires…
Date: January 30, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3738
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Adkins of attempting to possess heroin with intent to distribute and of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 90 months. In a separate case, Adkins pled guilty to receipt of child…
Date: January 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2555
Justia Opinion Summary: Zayas worked at the Hospital as an ultrasound technician from 1999 until her discharge, at age 55, in 2011. Griesman, Zayas’ supervisor, was responsible for hiring and terminating Zayas and, before firng her, had warned…
Date: January 30, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3251
Justia Opinion Summary: In a previous suit, an Illinois county claimed that a mortgage services company (MERSCORP) and banks doing business with it violated an Illinois statute that requires every mortgage to be recorded with the county in…
Date: January 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3625
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1971 Milwaukee County provided its employees with health insurance under an ordinance that stated that the “county shall participate in the payment of monthly premiums” and extended coverage to retirees. In 1993, the…
Date: January 29, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3648
Justia Opinion Summary: IMCC loaned Harbins $60 million to buy Georgia land to construct a shopping center. In addition to a mortgage, IMCC obtained a guaranty from Chivas, providing that if IMCC “forecloses … the amount of the debt may be…
Date: January 29, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1494
Justia Opinion Summary: Officers executed a search warrant at a house Vela had rented and recovered 101 marijuana plants. A co-conspirator was at the house with a loaded gun. At Vela’s home, officers recovered 112 grams of cocaine, a loaded…
Date: January 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1445
Justia Opinion Summary: Beverly’s mother, Sarah, was diagnosed with end‐stage heart failure. Beverly lived with Sarah and acted as her primary caregiver; she administered insulin and other medication, drained fluids from her mother’s heart, and…
Date: January 28, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1488
Justia Opinion Summary: Jordan was released from federal prison in 2011 and began serving a three-year term of supervised release with conditions that Jordan could not leave the judicial district without permission, associate with a felon or…
Date: January 27, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3722
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1983 Bitler leased gas stations to Marathon. The Environmental Protection Agency adopted new regulations so that that underground petroleum tanks and pipes at the gas stations had to be removed, upgraded, or replaced,…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3705
Justia Opinion Summary: The Railroad owns the Corwith Rail Yard in Chicago and, until 2010, used an independent contractor, RTS, to operate Corwith. Teamsters Local Union 705 represented RTS employees, who were covered by the union’s…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1233
Justia Opinion Summary: Two convicted sex offenders challenged aspects of Wisconsin’s statutory scheme of sex offender registration, notification, and monitoring as violating the constitutional prohibition against enacting ex post facto laws.…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1329
Justia Opinion Summary: Stenson was convicted of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. The district court imposed a two‐level obstruction of justice sentencing enhancement, finding that Stenson willfully committed…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1500
Justia Opinion Summary: Indianapolis requires adult bookstores to remain closed between midnight and 10 a.m. every day and all day Sunday. Other retail businesses are not subject to the restrictions. Indianapolis contended that closure would…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 13-3898
Justia Opinion Summary: A number of suits have challenged the accuracy of the warning label on Pradaxa, a prescription blood-thinning drug manufactured by Boehringer. The litigation is in the discovery stage. The district judge presiding over…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1195
Justia Opinion Summary: Fields sued two Illinois prosecutors, charging them with due process violations (42 U.S.C. 1983), malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. He claimed that they coerced…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1613
Justia Opinion Summary: Beginning in 1998, consumer class actions were filed against Trans Union alleging violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681, by selling consumer information to target marketers and credit and insurance…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2297
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs received letters from defendants that stated: Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2699
Justia Opinion Summary: Scott alleged that Westlake repeatedly called her cell phone using an automated dialer in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227, and sought, for herself and a putative class, statutory damages…
Date: January 23, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2823
Justia Opinion Summary: The Aurora School District fired Green from his position as a teacher. His union refused his requests to pursue a grievance under a collective bargaining agreement and to represent him in a suit under the Illinois…
Date: January 22, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2472
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2002–2003, Cheek sold marijuana and crack cocaine to a drug dealer, Eason. While Cheek was in prison in 2004, his associate supplied the drugs. After his release, Cheek went back to selling drugs. He was…
Date: January 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1386
Justia Opinion Summary: Foley was convicted of three counts of producing child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography, one count of taking a child across state lines for the purpose of a sex act, and one count of possessing…
Date: January 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1625
Date: January 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1761
Justia Opinion Summary: In Wisconsin, Register of Deeds is an elected position. If a vacancy occurs mid-term, the governor may appoint an interim Register for any unexpired portion of the term. The Marinette County Register announced her…
Date: January 22, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2467
Justia Opinion Summary: Off-duty Officer Macon argued with Richardson about Macon’s former girlfriend. Macon fired his gun at Richardson but missed. When on-duty officers arrived, Macon said that Richardson had struck him with a baseball bat.…
Date: January 21, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3684
Justia Opinion Summary: Drain sold a rifle, stolen from an FBI vehicle and engraved “Law Enforcement Use Only,” to a government informant. Police went to Drain’s home to arrest him on charges of dealing cocaine. They observed drug…
Date: January 21, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1347
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011 Whitlow pled guilty to two counts of distribution of five or more grams of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), crimes he committed before the effective date of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, 124…
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1786
Justia Opinion Summary: Nash pleaded no contest to sexual assault of a child. He and his attorney signed and filed a form, acknowledging the 20-day period for filing a notice of intent to pursue post-conviction relief, which allows a defendant…
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1468
Justia Opinion Summary: DEA agents arrested Washington at the home of a suspected drug dealer they had been investigating and seized approximately 1.765 kilograms of cocaine from the residence. Washington admitted that he was attempting to…
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 13-8024
Justia Opinion Summary: About 150 property owners in a village near the Mississippi River claim that defendants’ refinery leaked benzene and other contaminants into the groundwater. They sued, alleging nuisance and related torts. The district…
Date: January 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2452
Justia Opinion Summary: Contractors Cargo, engaged in heavy-haul operations, commissioned Empire Bucket to fabricate a steel deck to be used with Cargo’s specialized rail freight car for transporting oversized loads. A third party designed the…
Date: January 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2501
Justia Opinion Summary: New Energy operated a South Bend ethanol plant. In bankruptcy, it proposed to sell assets by auction, which was held in 2013. A joint venture, New Energy, submitted the winning bid of $2.5 million. New Energy, the…
Date: January 15, 2014
Docket Number: 13-8029
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court certified a class of waiters, bartenders, and other tipped employees at defendant restaurants. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 203(d), and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law their employer is…
Date: January 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2307
Justia Opinion Summary: Reed, a trackman with NSR, experienced a bout of severe abdominal pain while working. He claimed that the company was reluctant to provide medical treatment and pressured him into signing a statement that he had not been…
Date: January 14, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2836
Justia Opinion Summary: After selling guns to a confidential informant, the defendant was prosecuted as a felon in possession of firearms. The purchases provided evidence of guilt, although the $1200 that the defendant had received from the…
Date: January 13, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1251
Justia Opinion Summary: Under surveillance, Cureton sold crack cocaine to a confidential informant who used recorded bills. A marked bill was found in Cureton’s wallet during a warrant search of Cureton’s home. Cureton’s fingerprints were found…
Date: January 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1525
Justia Opinion Summary: Pierce claimed that she injured her lower back in 2004 while moving cases of glassware at her waitressing job. She quit her job and sought medical treatment. An MRI showed signs of disc degeneration. She received…
Date: January 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1708
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004 Spurling began working for C&M as a packer assigned to the third (night) shift. In 2009, she began to experience decreased consciousness and alertness, for which she received several disciplinary warnings.…
Date: January 13, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1811
Justia Opinion Summary: Valdez pled guilty to possessing heroin with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and admitted responsibility for 700 grams of heroin. Given the amount of heroin he acknowledged, he faced a statutory…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2808
Justia Opinion Summary: Walczak, hired as a teacher in the Chicago Public School system in 1970, obtained tenure and taught continuously until her school’s new principal placed her in a performance remediation program during the 2007–2008…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3263
Justia Opinion Summary: Kovacs received a bankruptcy discharge of her debts in 2001. weeks later, the IRS notified her that it had applied part of her 2000 tax refund to her outstanding tax debts from tax years 1990 to 1995. Kovacs’s attorneys…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2594
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004 GEA, a German company, agreed to sell a subsidiary, DNK, to Flex‐N‐Gate, a U.S. manufacturer for €430 million. The contract required arbitration of all disputes in Germany. The sale did not close. GEA initiated…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2622
Justia Opinion Summary: Spencer pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g). The district court concluded that he is an armed career criminal and sentenced him to the 15-year minimum term, 18 U.S.C. 924€. He denied…
Date: January 9, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3549
Justia Opinion Summary: Chavarria, born in Mexico, became a legal permanent U.S. resident in 1982. In 2009, Chavarria pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine. One year later, the Supreme Court decided Padilla v. Kentucky, imposing a duty on…
Date: January 9, 2014
Docket Number: 11-3864
Justia Opinion Summary: Jones acknowledged participating in the armed robbery of the Guaranty Bank in Milwaukee as a getaway driver, but the government agreed to drop that charge and the charge in a second bank robbery, and to prosecute him…
Date: January 9, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3269
Justia Opinion Summary: After the end of World War II, holders of public and private bonds issued in Germany demanded repayment. Germany had suspended payment on many bonds during the 1930s, but some were not due until the 1950s or 1960s. A…
Date: January 9, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1308
Justia Opinion Summary: Alpine was an irrigation business owned by Robert from 1961 until it closed in 2009. Alpine was in arrears on pension fund payments to the Union. After a Joint Arbitration Board awarded it $56,269.97, the Union sought to…
Date: January 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2000
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1981, a drug dealer (TJ) was shot to death in his Chicago home; the gunmen stole a necklace and ring with the initials “TJ” written in diamonds. Witnesses did not know the gunmen and provided general descriptions. On…
Date: January 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2619
Justia Opinion Summary: Woodridge enacted an ordinance that imposes a $30.00 booking fee on any person subject to a custodial arrest and collects the fee without any hearing. It does not offer an opportunity to challenge the deprivation or seek…
Date: January 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2771
Justia Opinion Summary: An asbestos survey showed that the Kankakee building contained 2,200 linear feet of asbestos‐containing insulation around pipes. The owner hired Origin Fire Protection, to modify its sprinkler system. O’Malley, who…
Date: January 8, 2014
Docket Number: 12-3696
Justia Opinion Summary: Alexander and Rogers, African‐American women who formerly worked as cocktail waitresses for Casino Queen, claimed race discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act…
Date: January 7, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1666
Justia Opinion Summary: Currie pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 846, and possessing a firearm following a felony conviction, in violation of 18 U.S.C.…
Date: January 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1187
Justia Opinion Summary: If an owner of Illinois real estate does not timely pay county property taxes, the county may “sell” the property to a tax purchaser. The tax purchaser does not receive title to the property, but receives a “Certificate…
Date: January 7, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2424
Justia Opinion Summary: Acevedo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess heroin with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). The drug quantity was at least a kilogram, and the district court imposed the statutory minimum of 120 months’…
Date: January 3, 2014
Docket Number: 12-2249
Justia Opinion Summary: Gaines questioned the roadworthiness of two different trucks that his employer of five years (K-Five) assigned him. Management took steps to address his concerns, but the trucks never reached the level of safety sought…
Date: January 3, 2014
Docket Number: 13-2276
Justia Opinion Summary: Flores, an alien who returned to the U.S. without permission following removal, was charged with illegal reentry and other crimes arising from his armed drug dealing. Flores, who maintained that U.S. law did not apply to…
Date: January 2, 2014
Docket Number: 12-1050
Justia Opinion Summary: Darif, a citizen of Morocco, married Kirklin, a U.S. citizen and by virtue of the marriage was admitted into the U.S. as a conditional permanent resident in 2001. It was later determined that he had paid $3000 for the…
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