2013 Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 501 - 1000 of 1255
Date: July 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2143
Justia Opinion Summary: Zivkovic, a Serbian, was admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident in 1966. In 1976, he pleaded guilty to burglary and received a sentence of two to six years. In 1978, he was convicted of attempted rape and…
Date: July 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2700
Justia Opinion Summary: U.S. Marshals knocked on Sabo’s trailer door attempting to locate a fugitive, Sabo’s stepson. When Sabo opened the door, they noticed a strong odor of marijuana. Sabo denied that his stepson was there. Asked whether he…
Date: July 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2925
Date: July 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2981
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009 the Fire Protection District passed an ordinance under which it took over fire alarm monitoring for all commercial properties in the District. Private alarm companies that had previously provided that service…
Date: July 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3820
Justia Opinion Summary: Adeyeye, a native of Nigeria, moved to the U.S. in 2008. He requested several weeks of unpaid leave so he could travel to Nigeria to lead his father’s burial rites. He explained that his participation in the funeral…
Date: July 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3874
Justia Opinion Summary: Robinson, the subject of an anonymous tip to Chicago police, was asleep on his grandmother’s living room sofa when officers conducted an early-morning search of her apartment, looking for evidence that Robinson was…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2737
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant remained in the driver’s seat of his vehicle during a staged drug transaction involving an undercover officer. His loaded gun was found in a secret compartment in the vehicle, at a distance from where defendant…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2855
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Taylor was convicted on eight counts for initiating inappropriate relationships with children. After trial, Taylor’s retained attorney withdrew. With new counsel, Taylor moved for a new trial, alleging a variety…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2999
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a pretrial detainee in a maximum-security tier of Chicago’s Cook County Jail, sued a guard, Anderson, under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that Anderson failed to protect him from an attack by other inmates.…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3473
Justia Opinion Summary: Brock was convicted of three counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and was sentenced to a 15-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C.…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2028
Justia Opinion Summary: A.M., a 14-year-old girl, told a worker at a children’s center that she had been sexually abused for three years by Nania. A.M. had babysat for Nania’s twin daughters for several years. Officers searched Nania’s home…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2043
Justia Opinion Summary: Estremera was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine plus possessing a firearm despite an earlier felony conviction and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed in 2007. Estremera sought…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3663
Justia Opinion Summary: Stern represented Allen in a discrimination suit, after which they became romantically involved. Allen and her husband had separated and had executed a settlement agreement awarding Allen $95,000, to be paid in…
Date: July 30, 2013
Docket Number: 13-1262
Justia Opinion Summary: Green sued under the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. 1606, claiming that U.S. Cash Advance misstated her loan’s annual percentage rate. The lender requested arbitration under the loan agreement, which referred to…
Date: July 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1524
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Zambrano, a lawful permanent U.S. resident, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, an aggravated felony that made him deportable. He served four years of probation. Until 1996, permanent resident…
Date: July 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2673
Justia Opinion Summary: Elliot, which provides construction and maintenance services, owns and leases bucket trucks. In 1996, Elliot entered into a lease with TECO, a manufacturer of such trucks, agreeing agreed to hold TECO harmless from…
Date: July 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1256
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, insured under employer health plans, filed a proposed class action alleging that health-insurance companies violated Wisconsin law by requiring copayments for chiropractic care. The insurance code prohibits…
Date: July 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3326
Justia Opinion Summary: At age 43 Townsend robbed a bank, pretending to have a gun; 36 days later he robbed a payday lender while carrying a gun. He pleaded guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. 2113(a) and was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment, the…
Date: July 26, 2013
Docket Number: 13-1166
Justia Opinion Summary: After working at the company for four months, Benes charged his employer with sex discrimination. The EEOC arranged for mediation in which, after an initial joint session, the parties separated and a go-between relayed…
Date: July 25, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3183
Justia Opinion Summary: Blake was indicted for conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 846 and retained attorney Fabbri, not knowing that Fabbri was under investigation. Trial was set for January 9, 2007, within the 70 days…
Date: July 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2511
Justia Opinion Summary: Mary, who has both U.S. and Irish citizenship, attended college in Ireland.She and Derek lived together in Ireland for 11 years, but never married. Their son was born in Illinois. The three returned to Ireland 11 days…
Date: July 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2585
Justia Opinion Summary: An Illinois judgment creditor may, without court action, require a third party to freeze property of a judgment debtor until a court determines whether the creditor has a valid claim, by serving the third party with a…
Date: July 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2596
Justia Opinion Summary: Bathula and her husband, Reddy, citizens of India, separately applied for asylum, claiming that their family had been subjected to persecution at the hands of a local criminal group after Reddy testified against its…
Date: July 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2792
Justia Opinion Summary: Mire’s business, the Indianapolis Somali House of Coffee, served as a place where people could get and use khat. Government agents received a tip, after which Mire and Rafle were indicted for conspiracy to possess with…
Date: July 24, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1628
Justia Opinion Summary: Shaw and two others were charged with aggravated battery after King was beaten to death outside a Fort Wayne motel. Shaw denied participating in the beating, but the other defendants, in exchange for prison sentences of…
Date: July 24, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2099
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, the taxpayers filed petitions for redetermination based on IRS notices of deficiency. The cases were consolidated for trial. With respect to Seven W, a calendar-year taxpayer, the Tax Court rejected a deficiency…
Date: July 24, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2502
Justia Opinion Summary: Lambert, an African-American was hired as a laborer at a Peri distribution yard in 2003. Lambert claims that co-workers and supervisors often made sexually and racially offensive comments. He complained regularly, but…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1503
Justia Opinion Summary: Walsh and Martin, principals of a futures and foreign currency trading company that acted as a “futures commission merchant” and as a “forex dealer member,” used customer funds for personal expenses, then concealed the…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1586
Justia Opinion Summary: Buban participates in union politics as part of the dissident “Teamsters for a Democratic Union,” and served as secretary-treasurer of his local from 2004 to 2006. He lost his bid for reelection in 2006, after an…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1969
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Hedstrom married Kotter, a real estate agent. The marriage lasted two years, but the two were on good terms when Hedstrom died. There is no evidence that Hedstrom lacked mental capacity. In 2006 Hedstrom…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2471
Justia Opinion Summary: FH-T joined the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in 1982 at age 15, while Eritrea and Ethiopia were engaged in a 30-year war. The EPLF refused to let him leave. For nine years he worked in communications and as a…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2568
Justia Opinion Summary: A Wisconsin state prison inmate filed suit, 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming that prison officials retaliated against him for speaking up about two guards allegedly assaulting him. He was placed in segregation and forbidden to…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2575
Justia Opinion Summary: Gray filed returns for tax years 2001 through 2004 after the IRS notified her in 2006 that it planned to assess her tax liability on its own. The IRS accepted Gray’s calculations, but imposed statutory penalties for late…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3125
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Quintana and his friends lured a woman into a van. Quintana restrained the woman, while his friend sexually assaulted her. The victim escaped by jumping nude out of the moving van. Quintana was arrested and…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3523
Justia Opinion Summary: Gray filed returns for tax years 2001 through 2004 after the IRS notified her in 2006 that it planned to assess her tax liability on its own. The IRS accepted Gray’s calculations, but imposed penalties for late filing…
Date: July 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3603
Justia Opinion Summary: Clark, the owner and president of an East St. Louis Illinois company, was charged with making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(3). Clark’s company had entered into a hauling services subcontract with…
Date: July 22, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2860
Justia Opinion Summary: Bauer served as an officer in investment companies, on the pricing committee, and as chief compliance officer, implementing policies to prohibit employees from trading on nonpublic information regarding the securities…
Date: July 19, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2897
Justia Opinion Summary: Smego agreed to civil commitment under the Illinois Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. During intake, he was seen by Mitchell, a dentist who found that 12 of his teeth had cavities. Throughout 2006, Smego’s…
Date: July 19, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1232
Justia Opinion Summary: PFG and Acuvest had an agreement (later terminated) under which guaranteed Acuvest’s customers that Acuvest would conform its conduct to CEA mandates. Acuvest advised Prestwick with respect to an investment on which it…
Date: July 19, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1809
Justia Opinion Summary: Maxwell was arrested after selling 2.9 grams of crack cocaine, 2.8 grams of powder cocaine, and five ecstasy pills to a confidential informant. The arresting officer searched Maxwell and found two straws and a bag hidden…
Date: July 18, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3352
Justia Opinion Summary: Blackout performs asphalt paving work and other construction services and had contracts with the Chicago Transit Authority that were terminable at will. The CTA informed Blackout that it would not do business with the…
Date: July 17, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2781
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1968 French founded a successful manufacturing firm that he sold, in 1996, for about $200 million. French executed interlocking irrevocable trusts to benefit his four children upon his death. In 2004 he moved the…
Date: July 17, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3487
Justia Opinion Summary: Ten years ago Certco had one food-distribution warehouse; it now has four. As the new warehouses grew, jobs at the original Madison site dwindled. Certco staffed the three new locations with non-union labor, paid them…
Date: July 17, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3652
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1982 Hobbs was working as a photographer on a Russian cruise ship where he had a brief affair with a Russian waitress. Based on the experience, he wrote a song, “Natasha” about an ill-fated romance between a man from…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1917
Justia Opinion Summary: Luevano works as a greeter at Wal-Mart. She complained to her supervisor that a male co-worker was repeatedly harassing her. The supervisor refused to act. The harassment continued. Luevano unsuccessfully complained to…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1926
Justia Opinion Summary: Hobgood was the subject of repeated, intensive investigations that resulted in disciplinary proceedings and termination of his employment with the Illinois Gaming Board, though another state agency ultimately ordered…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2275
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2341
Justia Opinion Summary: Amicas agreed to a merger for $5.35 per Amicas share. Shareholders sued in Massachusetts state court, contesting the adequacy of a proxy statement used to seek approval. A preliminary injunction stopped the vote. The…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2702
Justia Opinion Summary: McDonough is an engineering firm that frequently does design jobs for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The Illinois Procurement Code provides that, absent required signatures, a contract of the type in…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3187
Justia Opinion Summary: The Federal Highway Administration and the Indiana Department of Transportation decided to complete an Indiana segment of I-69, which will eventually run from Canada to Mexico. Environmentalists opposed the route and…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3425
Justia Opinion Summary: Wright met with an individual who was secretly cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Chicago Police Department as a confidential informant and was wearing a wire. The CI told Wright that…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 13-1273
Justia Opinion Summary: Almy lives in Indiana. He began working for Kickert School Bus Line in 2000, at a terminal located in Illinois. He picked up children at private schools in Illinois and took them to homes in Indiana, drove charter trips…
Date: July 16, 2013
Docket Number: 13-1367
Justia Opinion Summary: The pro se plaintiff filed a qui tam suit against the university and nine chemistry professors, charging that they defrauded the United States in violation of several federal statutes by obtaining federal grant money on…
Date: July 15, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3471
Justia Opinion Summary: Heron and his friend, Hamilton, worked as truck drivers. Hamilton invited Heron to accompany him on a trip, involving delivering furniture to San Diego, then picking up marijuana for delivery on their way east. They…
Date: July 15, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3163
Date: July 15, 2013
Docket Number: 13-1401
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers stopped a car in which Smith was a passenger. Smith fled on foot. When police captured him, they found him with a plastic bag containing 9.9 grams of crack. Two weeks later, Smith sold $60 worth of crack…
Date: July 12, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2635
Justia Opinion Summary: Gao, from Fujian in southeastern China, entered the U.S. without inspection in 2005 with the goal of earning money to send home to his family in China. Shortly after he arrived Gao’s wife (in China) gave birth to the…
Date: July 12, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2734
Justia Opinion Summary: Almutairi served in the Kuwaiti Air Force in1990, when Iraq invaded. Almutairi joined a resistance group. Iraqi soldiers captured him and for nine days he was brutally tortured. Almutairi cracked under the pressure and…
Date: July 12, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2934
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Kermon charged Gutierrez with public intoxication and resisting arrest. According to Gutierrez, he was walking home from work, minding his own business, when Kermon, who never identified himself as a police…
Date: July 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1502
Justia Opinion Summary: On May 10, 2011, Harmon was indicted Harmon for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, attempting to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, and using a telephone to…
Date: July 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2566
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Zheng, under the legal age for marriage in China, became pregnant by her boyfriend, who also was under age. The government family planning officials took Zheng to a hospital, where she underwent an abortion.…
Date: July 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3492
Justia Opinion Summary: The Palomars filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7. The trustee reported that the estate contained nothing that could be sold to obtain money for unsecured creditors. A discharge of dischargeable debts was entered and the…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2883
Justia Opinion Summary: Thompson, convicted of a gun crime based entirely on the testimony of Chicago police officers, claimed that the officers planted a gun in the vicinity of his stop and arrest to fabricate a case. While he was imprisoned,…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1525
Justia Opinion Summary: Sroga filed a 54-page complaint under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against employees of Chicago Public Schools and the Board of Education, alleging that they got him fired from his job as an instructor. The district court dismissed…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2595
Justia Opinion Summary: Pulungan tried to acquire 100 Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T riflescopes, for export to Saudi Arabia and transship to Indonesia. He did not secure an export license, but later claimed that he was buying small lots, not to avoid the…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: 13-1351
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011 Wisconsin reduced subsidies for the Wisconsin Care Program, which funds grants for organizations administering programs for disabled persons who live in group homes. The plaintiffs are developmentally disabled…
Date: July 10, 2013
Docket Number: 13-2373
Justia Opinion Summary: Simpson, convicted of drug offenses, was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment, which the district court found to be the statutory minimum, 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A). The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Simpson’s collateral…
Date: July 9, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3904
Justia Opinion Summary: Police saw Rabin carrying a holstered gun on his hip in public. He was handcuffed and detained for about 90 minutes while officers sought to confirm the validity of his carrying license. None of the detaining officers…
Date: July 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1592
Justia Opinion Summary: Bey was convicted of conspiring to possess heroin with intent to distribute and aiding and abetting distribution of heroin, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 846, based on his involvement in a heroin transaction in which the buyer…
Date: July 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3008
Justia Opinion Summary: Akram, her mother, and her younger sister were citizens of Pakistan. Akram’s mother married Siddique, a U.S. citizen, in 2005 when Akram was 18 years old. The marriage occurred outside the U.S.; Siddique requested K…
Date: July 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3105
Justia Opinion Summary: After accumulating a fortune in the technology business, Patel became a hedge fund manager. He formed a fund, and Sitara to serve as the fund’s investment adviser, and named himself managing director of Sitara. His…
Date: July 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3562
Justia Opinion Summary: Peele worked for the Portage Police Department as a detective. In 2007 he supported Charnetzky’s Democratic primary campaign to become mayor. Charnetzky lost. Peele spoke to a local reporter and criticized Sheriff Lain…
Date: July 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1026
Justia Opinion Summary: Between 1994 and 1999 Commonwealth Edison modified five Illinois coal-fired power plants that had been operating on August 7, 1977, and were, therefore, grandfathered against a permitting requirement applicable to any…
Date: July 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2008
Justia Opinion Summary: ITT is a for-profit institution with more than 140 locations and offers post-secondary education. Leveski, who worked at the ITT campus, alleged, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3730(b)…
Date: July 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2365
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Kevin and his wife Marjorie moved to Indiana, to manage car dealerships owned by Savoree. In 2007 Savoree proposed selling the dealerships to the couple through a series of stock purchases to be financed by a…
Date: July 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2977
Justia Opinion Summary: An employee benefit plan, providing healthcare benefits, believed that Walgreens fraudulently overcharged it and other insurance providers by filling prescriptions for generic drugs with a dosage form that differed from,…
Date: July 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3052
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wehrles were struck by drunk-driver Barth. Robert Wehrle’s injury claim exceeded $750,000 and his wife's claim exceeded $1.5 million. Barth’s auto insurance policy included a $100,000 per-person liability limit. Each…
Date: July 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3398
Justia Opinion Summary: Ryan failed to pay federal income taxes 2006-2010 and owed $136,898.93. In 2011, the IRS recorded a tax lien, 26 U.S.C. 6326. Ryan filed a voluntary Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, 11 U.S.C. 1301. He had personal…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 10-2173
Justia Opinion Summary: Five died after using heroin distributed by a narcotics trafficking organization; five defendants pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute in excess of one kilogram of heroin, 21…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1491
Justia Opinion Summary: Turley is serving a life sentence in an Illinois state prison. Between January 7, 2008, and October 4, 2010, administration 25 times placed the prison on lockdown, confining prisoners to their cells without yard time;…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3320
Justia Opinion Summary: In the 1980s, the owners bought the Cottonwood seasonal campground in Cedar Grove, Indiana. Each of 50-80 campsites has a water spigot and sewer hookup for recreational vehicles. The property also has two restrooms with…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1835
Justia Opinion Summary: Vaughn was the leader of a heroin distribution conspiracy in Beloit, Wisconsin. Tips from heroin users led police to one of Vaughn’s distributors, who was arrested with 70 bags of heroin on his person. The distributor…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2616
Justia Opinion Summary: Ferraro suffered serious burns after falling asleep next to the power adapter of her newly purchased laptop computer. She filed a product liability suit, alleging a design defect that allowed the power adapter to…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2632
Justia Opinion Summary: Taylor, convicted of murder in Illinois state court, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. In his habeas corpus petition, Taylor claimed that his counsel operated with a conflict of interest by jointly representing him…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3168
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Hill filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. 2241, arguing that the district court had erred in deeming him a career offender when calculating his sentence in 1999. The Seventh Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. 2255(e)…
Date: July 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3818
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to gun and drug offenses and was sentenced to 270 months in prison: 240 months for those offenses, with classification as an armed career criminal, 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1)), plus 30 months for…
Date: July 1, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1282
Justia Opinion Summary: Vitrano pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and possessing a firearm while under a domestic abuse injunction, 922(g)(8)(B). The prosecution argued that, under the Armed Career Criminal…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1633
Justia Opinion Summary: The 1987 Public Utilities Act, 220 ILCS 5/8-403.1, was intended to encourage development of power plants that convert solid waste to electricity. Local electric utilities were required to enter into 10-year agreements…
Date: June 27, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3637
Justia Opinion Summary: The Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. 901, originally included a “15-year presumption” that total pulmonary or respiratory impairment of a coal worker with 15 years of experience in the mines was due to pneumoconiosis…
Date: June 27, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3788
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011 Miller pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm. The prosecution contended that a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1), was required…
Date: June 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1902
Justia Opinion Summary: From 1981 to 1989, Schultz worked painting equipment, floors, walls, ceilings, and pipes at AMC company plants. In 2005 he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He died 2006. His wife sued paint companies,…
Date: June 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2190
Justia Opinion Summary: FBI agents Freeman and Howell investigated the Hinds, who worked for Indiana criminal defense attorney Alexander, for bribery of witnesses, including Kirtz. They equipped Kirtz and Chrisp with recording devices for a…
Date: June 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2976
Justia Opinion Summary: Pro-Pac, a packaging business, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006, then filed an adversary proceeding against WOW, a logistics service provider, for aiding and abetting a Pro-Pac employee’s breach of fiduciary duty.…
Date: June 25, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3889
Justia Opinion Summary: Muratovic admitted to planning, with co-conspirators, robbery of a truck that he believed would carry drug money from Illinois to California, by following the truck and robbing it at a rest stop after a passenger exited.…
Date: June 24, 2013
Docket Number: 13-1045
Justia Opinion Summary: Seitz and Welter were partners in Wasco, a property management company. Greg was also a police officer. Elgin’s police chief confronted Greg with the emails showing that Greg had used the Law Enforcement Agencies Data…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3597
Justia Opinion Summary: Spehar, hired by CMGT to assist in finding financing for its business, sued CMGT over a dispute related to this agreement and obtained a $17 million default judgment against CMGT, which had no assets. Spehar Capital…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2424
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Singh fled India to escape police officers allegedly trying to kill him. In 1997 he was charged as removeable. He sought asylum based on his religion and political beliefs and withholding of removal and…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2913
Justia Opinion Summary: A 1952 collective bargaining agreement still governs aspects of the employment of some members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, including the attendance and leave policy. In 2003 the Union Pacific…
Date: June 19, 2013
Docket Number: 10-1658
Justia Opinion Summary: Swanson purchased a lakeside home, next to the home of Whitworth, the elected mayor of Chetek. Swanson obtained a permit for “remodel-repair” and began work, including installation of a three-foot high fence between his…
Date: June 18, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1124
Justia Opinion Summary: Loffredi’s securities brokerage firm offered investments in certificates of deposit, mutual funds, and Treasury bills. Instead of actually purchasing investments requested by customers, Loffredi diverted their money to…
Date: June 18, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2964
Justia Opinion Summary: Union members, working at Navistar’s Indianapolis engine-manufacturing plant, were represented by a union and were subject to a collective-bargaining agreement. They claim that on unidentified dates they were laid off,…
Date: June 17, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3411
Justia Opinion Summary: During a crack cocaine deal between a confidential informant and a known crack dealer (Blake), a concealed video and audio recording device captured Gulley, Blake’s driver, getting into the CI’s car and exchanging a bag…
Date: June 17, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1559
Justia Opinion Summary: Serrano pled guilty to attempted first degree murder and possession of cannabis in exchange for a total sentence of 15 years in prison. In an unrelated case, Villanueva pled guilty to first degree murder in exchange for…
Date: June 14, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2790
Justia Opinion Summary: Richards was followed from the scene of a controlled drug buy conducted by an undercover officer and surveillance. Although the car did not commit any traffic violations, an officer stopped him, searched the car, and…
Date: June 14, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3881
Justia Opinion Summary: Findlay and his uncle, Howey, live on adjacent lots. Findlay found a surveillance camcorder set up near the property line and called the Sheriff’s Office to file an abandoned property report. Howey had set up the camera…
Date: June 13, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1560
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1987, Kenseth underwent surgical gastric banding, covered by her insurer. About 18 years later Dr. Huepenbecker, advised another operation for severe acid reflux and other problems resulting from the first surgery.…
Date: June 13, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3463
Date: June 13, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2870
Justia Opinion Summary: Milwaukee police officer Cates sexually assaulted Lemons while responding to her 911 call and was convicted of violating the woman’s civil rights while acting under color of law, 18 U.S.C. 242. Cates reported problems…
Date: June 11, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2218
Justia Opinion Summary: A former Illinois state prison inmate filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 in 2001, alleging that he was subjected to improper strip searches intended to humiliate him in retaliation for his grievances complaining about the…
Date: June 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1035
Justia Opinion Summary: Atkinson filed suits against Kenray. Kenray filed a separate action against Hoosier, seeking insurance coverage for Atkinson’s claims. Atkinson and Kenray settled their suits. Kenray agreed to entry of judgments in favor…
Date: June 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3231
Justia Opinion Summary: Natale,a vascular surgeon, was compensated by Medicare for repairing a patient’s aortic aneurysm. Another doctor reviewed the post-surgical CT scan, which did not match the procedure Natale described in his operative…
Date: June 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3414
Justia Opinion Summary: Indiana police recovered $ 574,840, cash in a search of the home of Johnson, a suspected drug dealer, and turned the money over to the federal government. The Justice Department filed forfeiture proceedings under 18…
Date: June 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3515
Justia Opinion Summary: Hitchcock worked for Angel Corps, which performs non-medical care services. Upon learning that Hitchcock was pregnant, her supervisor questioned Hitchcock about whether she would return to work after giving birth,…
Date: June 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3568
Justia Opinion Summary: The federal government sought forfeiture of cash seized in searches of an apartment, vehicles, and storage units, possessed or occupied by Unsworth and Pillsbury, who were suspected of drug trafficking. The state court…
Date: June 10, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3351
Justia Opinion Summary: Munoz pled guilty to distributing and possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, but fled to Mexico before sentencing. After five years he was found and extradited. The district court sentenced him to 181 months,…
Date: June 10, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3588
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson filed an employment discrimination claim against Chicago public schools. The district court granted her motion to proceed in forma pauperis and set a date for a status hearing, warning Johnson that failure to…
Date: June 7, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3620
Justia Opinion Summary: Control of most of the U.S. electrical grid is divided among Regional Transmission Organizations, voluntary associations of utilities that own interconnected transmission lines. Power plants and other electrical…
Date: June 7, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2405
Date: June 7, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2485
Justia Opinion Summary: Prince was the general contractor for construction of an apartment building. Rybaltowski was an employee of a waterproofing company. His boss took Rybaltowski to the project site to perform an unpaid demonstration of the…
Date: June 4, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2480
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant’s sentence, under the heading “additional imprisonment terms,” states that the “defendant is to be turned over to the proper immigration authorities for deportation proceedings upon completion of term of…
Date: June 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2522
Justia Opinion Summary: Since entering the U.S. from Mexico in 1993, Garcia-Segura has had arrests. He was first removed in 2003 after serving two years in jail for possessing cocaine. Less than two months later, he was arrested in the U.S. for…
Date: June 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3324
Justia Opinion Summary: Weaver sold methamphetamine on credit to two buyers, who paid off their debts by selling the drugs to their own customers. Weaver pleaded guilty to conspiring with those buyers to possess and distribute methamphetamine,…
Date: June 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3581
Justia Opinion Summary: The petitioner, a Chinese citizen, entered the U.S. in 2001, at the age of 18, and applied for asylum on the ground that if returned to China she would be punished for having refused to marry a Communist Party official.…
Date: June 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3756
Justia Opinion Summary: Gomberg briefly represented Goyal in 2004 settlement negotiations with a former employer over his claims of retaliation for whistle-blowing and gave Goyal’s employer notice of an attorney lien on any settlement or…
Date: May 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2717
Justia Opinion Summary: Bitsin, a citizen of Bulgaria, entered the U.S. in 2005. Before his visitor’s visa expired, Bitsin applied for a student visa, assisted by an attorney recommended by the college. Bitsin claimed that he believed that he…
Date: May 31, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2979
Justia Opinion Summary: SAMS contracted with Environs to provide architectural services for construction of a Homewood Suites hotel in Fort Wayne. Environs was to be paid a flat fee of $70,000. The contract stated: The Owner [SAMS] agrees that…
Date: May 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2849
Justia Opinion Summary: A federal prisoner serving a term for unarmed robbery and confined in a two-person cell in the prison’s segregation unit because of a fight he’d had with another inmate, strangled his cellmate. He was convicted of…
Date: May 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3132
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Farmer of armed bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. 2113(a),(d), and 2, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A)(ii). Several days after the trial, an alternate juror contacted…
Date: May 29, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3269
Justia Opinion Summary: Beginning in 2003, Schmitz convinced financial institutions and others to lend him money, ostensibly for real estate development, by stating that he was the beneficiary of a multi-million dollar trust fund whose assets…
Date: May 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1182
Justia Opinion Summary: While proceeding to the Stateville prison cafeteria, Navejar spoke to other inmates in their cells. Officer Iyiola ordered him to get out of the line because prison rules forbid inmates from stopping to speak to other…
Date: May 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1470
Justia Opinion Summary: Harris was a registered representative with an affiliated broker of MetLife and sold insurance, annuities, and other financial products. Investigations by the Illinois Securities Division, MetLife, and the IRS revealed…
Date: May 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3372
Justia Opinion Summary: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission served administrative subpoenas on Worth, a precious metal wholesaler, Mintco, a precious metal dealer, and DSD, a depository that stores precious metals, seeking documents…
Date: May 28, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3154
Justia Opinion Summary: Martin made images and videos depicting child pornography available on a file-sharing network. A search of his home uncovered hundreds more images and several videos of child pornography on computers. Martin pleaded…
Date: May 28, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3900
Justia Opinion Summary: Earl was convicted of intentional homicide, jailed, and placed for five days onto “suicide watch” segregation where he was dressed in a “suicide-proof gown,” kept in continuous light for 24 hours, and constantly…
Date: May 24, 2013
Docket Number: 10-3425
Justia Opinion Summary: Ramos was arrested in 2007 and charged with residential burglary. After an Illinois state court acquitted him of that charge, he brought an action under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that Chicago and five police officers…
Date: May 23, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3438
Justia Opinion Summary: Hakim was an Accenture employee for nearly 10 years before being let go as part of a workforce reduction. During part of his tenure with the company, he participated in the company’s pension plan. In 1996, Accenture…
Date: May 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1991
Justia Opinion Summary: Parker was employed as a bank teller, assigned to reconcile temporary checks to temporary check issuance forms. Temporary checks were blank checks kept behind the counter for customer use. Investigation of a 2006 robbery…
Date: May 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2232
Justia Opinion Summary: After pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, defendant was sentenced to 168 months of incarceration, applying a relatively…
Date: May 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3220
Justia Opinion Summary: Morris died after a 2004 collision in Indiana; he was a passenger in Sampson’s vehicle. Sampson was insured by Mid-Century. The Estate made a claim for $50,000, the highest allowable amount. Nuzzo, a citizen of Ohio, was…
Date: May 22, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3358
Justia Opinion Summary: Davenport showed his gun to his friends at a bar. A bar employee observed him and called the police, and Davenport, a felon on probation, was arrested and charged with violating 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). He pleaded guilty and…
Date: May 22, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3531
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant was a member of a six-man gang of thieves that stole trucks and sold the cargoes to fences. The district court ruled that he was a leader or organizer and increased his base offense level by four levels,…
Date: May 20, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3129
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal agents and local police executed a search warrant at Williams’ residence and found five kilograms of marijuana, a handgun, and several scales. Williams moved to suppress, arguing that the warrant was invalid…
Date: May 20, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2320
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband, Sirbu, and wife, Prodan, entered the U.S. as nonimmigrant tourists in 2009 and overstayed their visas. They then filed a timely application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention…
Date: May 20, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2784
Justia Opinion Summary: Elkhart police responded to a report of gunfire at an apartment and were greeted at the door by an obviously intoxicated Bloch. The officers told Bloch to step outside while they checked to see if anyone was injured. The…
Date: May 20, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3079
Justia Opinion Summary: Peoples Bank loaned Debtors $214,044, secured by a mortgage recorded in 2004. In 2008, Debtors obtained a $296,000 construction loan from Banterra, secured with a second mortgage on the same property. Banterra was aware…
Date: May 20, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3413
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a high-speed chase, an assault on an officer, and a four-hour standoff at a hotel, Brown was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by an armed career criminal, bank robbery, interference…
Date: May 20, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3869
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson, sole administrator of the Shirley T. Sherrod Benefit Pension Plan and Trust, sued the Plan’s custodian, Merrill Lynch, alleging that Merrill Lynch refused to abide by his instructions and has exercised control…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3277
Justia Opinion Summary: From 1996 to 2003, Harbaugh worked periodically for Chicago Public Schools as a substitute music teacher. In 2003, she was hired as a “full-time basis substitute,” and tin 2004 she was appointed to a fulltime…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3572
Justia Opinion Summary: Under Illinois law, a candidate for the state legislature seeking placement on the general election ballot without having participated in a primary (or having replaced a candidate who did) must submit a nominating…
Date: May 15, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3098
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2005 to 2008, Collins obtained drugs from the Flores twins in Mexico. They would contact their couriers, who would deliver 20-50 kilograms of cocaine to Collins in the Chicago area, often on “credit.” Collins would…
Date: May 14, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3109
Justia Opinion Summary: Between 2002 and 2005, May, a Chrysler pipefitter, was the target of graffiti in and around the plant’s paint department. Messages stated: “Otto Cuban Jew fag die,” “Otto Cuban good Jew is a dead Jew,” “death to the…
Date: May 10, 2013
Docket Number: 10-2192
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Roux moved in with Roberta and her daughters, seven to 14 years old. In 2003, CC, reported that Roux was sexually molesting her. Although the Illinois DCFS determined the charge to be unfounded, CC was removed…
Date: May 10, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1439
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Brown was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm by a felon. The district court classified Brown as a “career offender” under U.S.S.G. 4B1.1. Brown filed a 28…
Date: May 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2563
Justia Opinion Summary: The petitioner, a Chinese citizen from Fujian Province, entered the U.S. in 1997 and is the mother of two boys born in the U.S. She sought asylum on the ground that she is likely to be forcibly sterilized if returned to…
Date: May 8, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2880
Justia Opinion Summary: Basden was hired as a PTI dispatcher in 2007, subject to an attendance policy that did not differentiate between absences for medical reasons and other absences. Basden had two absentee incidents in 2007. In January…
Date: May 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1206
Justia Opinion Summary: Reynolds and seven others drove to Gary, Indiana, and ambushed Russell, a marijuana dealer, outside his house. Russell turned over $15,000. Reynolds and the others beat and cut Russell, then tied him up, demanding more…
Date: May 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2921
Justia Opinion Summary: Goodwin pleaded guilty to knowingly failing to register and update a registration as a sex offender, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which makes it a felony for a sex offender knowingly to fail…
Date: May 7, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3223
Justia Opinion Summary: Loera was a passenger in a car stopped for traffic violations. The driver consented to a search and the police found cocaine. Arrested, Loera was read his Miranda rights and refused to sign a waiver. Loera stated that he…
Date: May 7, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3208
Justia Opinion Summary: Jacob was convicted of selling an unregistered security, 15 U.S.C. 77e(a), and was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment and $241,630.95 in restitution. He was granted permission to travel to Australia two weeks after…
Date: May 6, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3870
Justia Opinion Summary: Phillips was beneficiary of a life insurance policy purchased by her fiancé, Strang, issued by Prudential. When Strang died, Prudential informed Phillips that the default method of payment was the “Alliance Account…
Date: May 3, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3197
Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Dookeran was hired by Stroger Hospital of Cook County in 2000 subject to biennial reappointment. His 2004 application for reappointment disclosed for the first time that his previous employer had reprimanded him for…
Date: May 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1594
Justia Opinion Summary: Avila applied for adjustment of status based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen in 1999. The couple has two daughters. He has been employed laying countertops since approximately 1997. DHS concluded that Avila was…
Date: May 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3746
Justia Opinion Summary: The CEO and sole shareholder of Zee decided to expand his chemical sales business into the water treatment industry and hired employees who were currently working or had previously worked in the industry. Four employees…
Date: April 30, 2013
Docket Number: 10-3747
Justia Opinion Summary: Smiley was a part-time instructor in the college’s Radio Department from 1994 through January 2009. She is of Palestinian and Lebanese descent. Near the end of the fall 2008 semester, one of the nine students in Smiley’s…
Date: April 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1281
Justia Opinion Summary: Tucker was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin, 21 U.S.C. 841 (a)(1) and (b)(1)(A), the use of which resulted in death, and sentenced to 480 months’ imprisonment. During the trial,…
Date: April 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1965
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a Mexican native, first entered the U.S. illegally before June 1988. He was convicted of receiving stolen property, auto theft, attempting to pass a fraudulent check, selling cocaine, and forgeries, and was…
Date: April 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2037
Date: April 26, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3372
Justia Opinion Summary: Kamlager was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and use of a dangerous weapon in the death of his girlfriend, Wis. Stat. 940.01(1)(a), and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility for extended…
Date: April 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2242
Justia Opinion Summary: Ni came to the U.S. in 2001 from Fujian Province, China. An Immigration Judge ordered him removed in 2003, but he has remained in the U.S., and has started a family. In 2011, following the birth of his second child, Ni…
Date: April 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2316
Date: April 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2460
Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977, the Secretary of Labor protects the health and safety of miners, acting through the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Regulations under the Act…
Date: April 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1855
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, W&S hired Martino, a naturalized citizen born in Italy, as a sales representative. He signed an agreement that prohibited him from engaging in any other business or work for remuneration or profit without…
Date: April 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1241
Justia Opinion Summary: Retirement accounts are exempt from creditors’ claims in bankruptcy, 11 U.S.C. 22(b)(3)(C) and (d)(12). The debtor inherited, from her mother, a non-spousal individual retirement account worth about $300,000. The…
Date: April 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1264
Justia Opinion Summary: A new union of ARC blood collection specialists was elected in 2007 and certified in 2010. During the unionization process, ARC filed repeated objections, ultimately overruled by the National Labor Relations Board,…
Date: April 22, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3055
Justia Opinion Summary: Central States is a multiemployer pension plan for members of the Teamsters union in the eastern half of the U.S. Ready Mix employed Teamsters labor and participated in the Central States plan. In 2007 Ready Mix ceased…
Date: April 19, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1979
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005 Smith was charged with impersonating a police officer and was detained in the Sangamon County Detention Facility pending trial. Because he had a parole hold and a history of problems during a prior detention,…
Date: April 19, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2660
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a putative class action, claiming that fiduciaries for their retirement plans violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. 1001, by continuing to offer employer stock as an investment…
Date: April 18, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3317
Justia Opinion Summary: Collins fled police officers by car and then by foot after he was stopped for speeding. An officer kicked Collins repeatedly and dosed him with pepper spray, but Collins did not stop resisting until another officer…
Date: April 16, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3061
Justia Opinion Summary: Lees was sexually assaulted in her Carthage dorm room by men she believed to be Carthage students. She brought a negligence action against the college, seeking to introduce the opinion testimony of Dr. Kennedy, a…
Date: April 16, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3246
Justia Opinion Summary: Days after a widely-publicized threat by a Florida pastor to burn 200 copies of the Quran on the 2010 anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Conaway posted on Facebook his plans to burn the “holy quaran” and…
Date: April 16, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2536
Justia Opinion Summary: The 401(k) services industry engages in “revenue sharing,” an arrangement allowing mutual funds to share a portion of the fees that they collect from investors with entities that provide services to the mutual funds, the…
Date: April 16, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2893
Justia Opinion Summary: Majors worked at GE’s Bloomington plant for 32 years. In 2000, she suffered a work-related injury to her right shoulder that left her limited to lifting no more than 20 pounds and precluded her from work above shoulder…
Date: April 15, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1277
Justia Opinion Summary: Zitt and Wampler were charged in a multi-count, multi-defendant indictment alleging a heroin conspiracy and substantive counts of distribution, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 846. Zitt was convicted after a jury trial of…
Date: April 15, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2255
Justia Opinion Summary: Stitts was convicted of murder in Indiana state court and sentenced to 60 years’ imprisonment. The district court denied his petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254. Stitts claimed that his trial counsel was…
Date: April 12, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2783
Justia Opinion Summary: Annoreno was an administrator of an internet chat room called “Kiddypics & Kiddyvids,” on which users broadcast live videos of people sexually abusing young children, including infants. The chat room allowed users to…
Date: April 12, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1541
Justia Opinion Summary: Cromwell was fired from his position as a Momence police lieutenant, after an incident of alleged misconduct involving alcohol that was followed by lying and insubordination during the investigation. Cromwell sued,…
Date: April 11, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2377
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999 Irons was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), and 846, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute…
Date: April 10, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3208
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, when the real estate market was strong, Burke, a citizen of Ireland, signed a contract with the developer for the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, to buy a condominium unit and two parking spaces in…
Date: April 10, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2262
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1956, Sister Ephrem of the Most Precious Blood, experienced apparitions of the Virgin Mary, during which, Sister Ephrem claimed, she was told: “I am Our Lady of America.” The Archbishop supported a program of…
Date: April 10, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3592
Justia Opinion Summary: Krieger, age 53, cannot pay her debts. She lives with her mother in a rural community; they have only monthly income from governmental programs. She is too poor to move and her car, more than 10 years old, needs repairs.…
Date: April 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1497
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Terrance Jones guilty of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), and of using a telephone to facilitate possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 843(b). Jones…
Date: April 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1599
Justia Opinion Summary: Westerfield was a lawyer working for an Illinois title insurance company when she facilitated fraudulent real estate transfers in a scheme that used stolen identities of homeowners to “sell” houses that were not for sale…
Date: April 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1713
Justia Opinion Summary: Cloe started working for the City of Indianapolis in 2007 as an Unsafe Buildings/Nuisance Abatement Project Manager. In 2008, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic, incurable neurological disorder that…
Date: April 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2015
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of possessing child pornography, defendant was sentenced to 108 months in prison. The judge increased his base offense level by 15 levels, including a two-level enhancement for actually distributing the…
Date: April 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2118
Justia Opinion Summary: Berg ran a cross-border smuggling scheme that traded American arms for Canadian cannabis. He supplied several bags of cocaine to a dealer who unwittingly resold them to a government agent. Berg confessed to both sets of…
Date: April 9, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3552
Justia Opinion Summary: Davis repeatedly gave false addresses when purchasing guns, six of which were later recovered from persons who could not lawfully possess them. Davis claimed that the guns were stolen, but pleaded guilty to two counts of…
Date: April 8, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1327
Justia Opinion Summary: Allegedly in retaliation for Modrowski’s unwillingness to skimp on building repairs, defendants fired him, withheld $11,000 in wages, had Modrowski jailed, and locked Modrowski out of his personal Yahoo email account.…
Date: April 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1401
Justia Opinion Summary: Steine was a subcontractor for installation of thermal units at a Wal-Mart store in Gas City, Indiana. Steine rented a boom lift from NES. Steine foreman Crager signed a one-page, two-sided NES “Rental Agreement” with a…
Date: April 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1860
Justia Opinion Summary: When Meherg was arrested on an outstanding warrant, police discovered that he had been carrying a firearm and ammunition. Meherg pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after having previously been convicted of a felony,…
Date: April 8, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3902
Justia Opinion Summary: Draiman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, but converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy one day short of two years after his initial filing. That same day Fogel was appointed interim trustee. He became the permanent…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1554
Justia Opinion Summary: After years of paying taxes on wages he received for his work as a carpenter, Scheuneman stopped paying federal income tax in 1998. In 1999, in an effort to prevent the IRS from discovering his income, Scheuneman…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2402
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 Maniscalco hosted a party for a local politician at his Gurnee restaurant. Maniscalco capped the night with celebratory shots of tequila and a trip to McDonald’s, where he encountered Fidel Castro at the…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1104
Justia Opinion Summary: Gomez was convicted of four drug-related crimes and sentenced to four concurrent 84-month terms. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting arguments that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of his possession of…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3202
Justia Opinion Summary: From 1997 through 2009 Sachdeva, the vice president for accounting at Koss, instructed Park Bank, where Koss had an account, to prepare more than 570 cashier’s checks, payable to Sachdeva’s creditors and used to satisfy…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: 09-3985
Justia Opinion Summary: Lisa Williamson and her husband Lance were arrested on a charge that they had stolen someone else’s horse. The facts are disputed, but the horse had apparently been boarded at Lance’s stable, by an agent of its owner,…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: 10-3407
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Stalker was fatally bludgeoned and stabbed following a drug sale. Witnesses led Chicago police to Monroe and three fellow members of the Black P-Stone Nation street gang: Thomas, Curry, and Jackson, who had been…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2134
Justia Opinion Summary: Binns was driving a truck on an interstate highway, transporting parts on behalf of U.S. Xpress. Binns was in the center lane negotiating a curve when he saw, in his mirror, a motorcycle sliding down the right lane.…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1733
Justia Opinion Summary: Dill was charged with possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. 924(c), and possession of…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2261
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Pepper, then 54 years old, applied for Supplemental Security Disability Insurance Benefits, alleging that she became unable to work in November 1998 as a result of numerous physical and mental impairments. The…
Date: April 4, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2945
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, arrested after assaulting a woman and pointing a pistol at her, was convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and sentenced to 188 months in prison. He argued that the pistol was not…
Date: April 3, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1148
Justia Opinion Summary: Warren shot and killed a man in 2002, during a marijuana sale. Although Warren was originally charged in state court with first-degree intentional homicide, he eventually pled no contest to first-degree reckless…
Date: April 2, 2013
Docket Number: 11-2468
Justia Opinion Summary: Lomax pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of distributing crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). By the time he was sentenced in 2011, Congress had enacted the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, 124 Stat. 2372, which increased…
Date: April 2, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3425
Justia Opinion Summary: Following his arrest in 2009, Budd spent 45 days in the Edgar County Jail. In newspaper articles, the sheriff described the jail as not “livable” and violating “acceptable standards.” During his detention, Budd was…
Date: April 2, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1579
Justia Opinion Summary: The law firm represented a potential buyer in the purchase of a drugstore. Buyer and Seller executed the sales contract separately. The firm misfiled the contract executed by Buyer, however, and Seller subsequently…
Date: April 2, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2593
Justia Opinion Summary: For more than two years, members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an organization that violently opposes the existence of Israel, tried to recruit Jabr to join their group. Jabr resisted because he is a member of…
Date: April 1, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1277
Justia Opinion Summary: Burge joined the Chicago Police Department in 1970 and rose to commanding officer of the violent crimes section in the 1980s, but his career was marked by accusations from more than individuals who claimed that he and…
Date: April 1, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3365
Justia Opinion Summary: McDaniel arrived at the emergency room in May, 2001, with a gunshot wound to the head. She died two days later. Her death was ruled a homicide, and Brady, her boyfriend and the father of her child, became a suspect.…
Date: April 1, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1941
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs are correctional officers and were part of a specialized unit, the Special Operations Response Team (SORT) that guarded inmates in the Cook County Jail’s Abnormal Behavioral Observation Unit (ABO). In 2006,…
Date: April 1, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3189
Justia Opinion Summary: During her birth in 2004, the 11-pound baby became lodged in the mother’s pelvis, so that nerves in her shoulder were injured (brachial plexus injury), resulting in a limited range of movement in her right arm A few…
Date: March 29, 2013
Docket Number: 11-1550
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Harris N.A. loaned Acadia money on a revolving basis. Acadia is a limited liability company consisting of members of the Hershey family and three trusts. The loan was personally guaranteed by Loren Hershey, a…
Date: March 29, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3279
Justia Opinion Summary: Although Hall has been a plumber for the City of Chicago since 1995, she was on disability leave from 1999 to 2003 due to a work-related injury. Hall returned to the City’s employ with the limitation that she could not…
Date: March 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1388
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant pleaded guilty to being in the U.S. illegally after having been removed. The judge sentenced him to 84 months in prison. The statutory maximum prison sentence for illegal reentry is usually 2 years, 8…
Date: March 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2555
Justia Opinion Summary: Scott pleaded guilty to distribution of 50 or more grams of crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). His plea agreement, entered under FRCP 11(c)(1)(C), specified a prison term of 192 months; the district court accepted the…
Date: March 29, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3338
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003 the Jacksons obtained a $282,500 home mortgage refinancing loan with a 30-year fixed interest rate of 5.875% from AWL. They used a mortgage broker, MFMS, to apply for the loan. The Jacksons allege that other…
Date: March 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-3297
Justia Opinion Summary: An inmate filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. 2000cc, complaining that officials denied him an accommodation of his religious observances. He…
Date: March 28, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2484
Justia Opinion Summary: Peterson pled guilty to one count of bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. 2113(a), after robbing a bank to pay off a debt with a drug dealer. During Peterson’s sentencing hearing, the district court read from a portion of the…
Date: March 27, 2013
Docket Number: 12-2427
Justia Opinion Summary: Zheng, a native of China, arrived in the U.S. in 1991 and applied for asylum, which was denied. The INS charged him with removability in 1998, but Zheng renewed his request for asylum, asserting that his wife (who…
Date: March 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1899
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a class action on behalf of stock purchasers, alleging that Boeing committed securities fraud under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78j(b), and SEC Rule 10b-5. The suit related to…
Date: March 26, 2013
Docket Number: 12-3029
Justia Opinion Summary: The original named defendants in the case, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act with respect to overtime pay, were JT Packard, the plaintiffs’ employer, and Packard’s parent, Bray. A parent corporation is…
Date: March 25, 2013
Docket Number: 10-3961
Justia Opinion Summary: Westmoreland was convicted first for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and in a second trial, for additional counts stemming from the murder of the wife of his partner in drug-dealing: causing the death of…
Date: March 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1157
Date: March 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1158
Date: March 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1186
Date: March 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1730
Date: March 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1753
Justia Opinion Summary: Companies underwriting workers’ compensation insurance participate in a reinsurance pool administered by the National Workers Compensation Reinsurance Association. Insurers share in the pool’s profit or loss according to…
Date: March 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-1764
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