2017 Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Opinions 1 - 500 of 1058

Mario Lloyd v. Scott Moats
Date: December 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3939
Richard Smego v. Shan Jumper
Date: December 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4273
USA v. Alshawntus Beck
Date: December 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1200
Owens v. Evans  
Date: December 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1645

Justia Opinion Summary: Owens, an Illinois prisoner, brought suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging that 43 prison employees and the Illinois Department of Corrections obstructed his access to courts in violation of the First Amendment. Owens…

Cullinan v. Berryhill  
Date: December 28, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1287

Justia Opinion Summary: Cullinan unsuccessfully sought Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income based on several impairments, most of which arose after she suffered a stroke: anxiety, depression, peripheral blindness in…

Freeman v. Pierce  
Date: December 27, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1229

Justia Opinion Summary: Freeman, charged in Illinois state court with kidnapping and murder, moved to proceed pro se although the state had announced its intent to seek the death penalty. The judge denied his request, finding that he did not…

USA v. Kevin Pettis
Date: December 27, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3919
Thomas McLaughlin v. PNC Bank, National Association
Date: December 27, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4181
Ennin v. CNH Industrial America LLC  
Date: December 27, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2270

Justia Opinion Summary: Ennin, a naturalized American citizen born in Ghana, began working for CNH in 2012 as a supervisor of hourly workers--the only black supervisor at the Lebanon, Indiana facility. Ennin received a written warning for…

United States v. Fox  
Date: December 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2892

Justia Opinion Summary: Fox was convicted of two Hobbs Act robberies. Because he used a firearm to commit the robberies, he was subject to 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)’s mandatory sentencing add-on and was sentenced to 435 months’ imprisonment. The…

James Henderson v. David J. Shulkin
Date: December 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1074
Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co v. Garcia  
Date: December 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1224

Justia Opinion Summary: After the Garcias bought their Lake Station Property in 2004, it was used as an automobile repair shop and a day spa. It previously was used as a dry cleaning facility and contained six underground storage tanks: four…

Bultasa Buddhist Temple of Chicago v. Nielsen  
Date: December 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1813

Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2005, Lee was admitted to the U.S. as a nonimmigrant student's spouse. In March 2006, the Temple sought a nonimmigrant religious worker (R-1) visa for Lee. That petition remained pending in USCIS’s California…

Sebesta v. Davis  
Date: December 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1355

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, before her baby was born, Sebesta had both physical problems and a psychotic break. She had a history of mental illness. A hospital social worker harbored concerns about Sebesta’s ability to care properly for…

USA v. Alfred Gerebizza
Date: December 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1725
Earnest Beamon, Jr. v. Michael Dittmann
Date: December 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3545
Hector DeJesus v. Joseph Yorkovich
Date: December 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3664
Linda Casey v. AIG
Date: December 21, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1594
Nelson v. Schultz  
Date: December 21, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2092

Justia Opinion Summary: Nelson, Schultz, and Rodgers formed an LLC to develop a mixed‐use luxury skyscraper on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The LLC’s operating agreement provided that development fees would be divided among the LLC’s managers…

Andrew U.D. Straw v. United States District Court
Date: December 21, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2523
Tanya Cihlar v. Nancy A. Berryhill
Date: December 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3894
Barry Robin v. Bank of New York Mellon
Date: December 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3950
Altai Thornton v. Salvador Godinez
Date: December 19, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1473
West Side Salvage, Inc. v. RSUI Indemnity Co.  
Date: December 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3928

Justia Opinion Summary: West Side was working on ConAgra’s grain bin when it exploded. In 2014, the Seventh Circuit held that West Side was solely liable for the injuries that workers suffered in the explosion and was liable for $3 million in…

USA v. Johnny DeSilva, Jr.
Date: December 18, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1751
USA v. Antoine Matthews
Date: December 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3354
USA v. Gerard Liles
Date: December 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3913
Anthony Zara v. DeVry Education Group, Inc.
Date: December 15, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1755
Peter Abatangelo v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA
Date: December 15, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1794
Gopalratnam v. ABC Insurance Co.  
Date: December 15, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1810

Justia Opinion Summary: Arun Gopalratnam purchased an HP laptop computer that contained a DynaPack battery pack with Samsung lithium-ion battery cells. Months later, the Menomonee Falls Fire Department responded to a major fire in a basement…

Perry v. United States  
Date: December 14, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3494

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Perry pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment as a career offender under the Sentencing Guidelines, based on his prior convictions for attempted murder…

Toulon v. Continental Casualty Co.  
Date: December 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1510

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Toulon applied for Continental’s long-term care insurance policy. Continental provided a Long-Term Care Insurance Personal Worksheet to help Toulon determine whether the policy would work for her, given her…

USA v. Christopher Eccles
Date: December 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2295
ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. v. SGA Pharm Lab, Inc.  
Date: December 14, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-2331, 16-2953

Justia Opinion Summary: SGA Pharm Lab supplied ADM Alliance Nutrition with a product used to make medicated animal feed. The parties ended their relationship by signing a termination agreement. ADM later came to believe that SGA had made false…

ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. v. SGA Pharm Lab, Inc.
Date: December 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2953
Lucas v. Jimmy John's Enterprises, LLC  
Date: December 14, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1655

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought a collective lawsuit against Jimmy John’s on behalf of all assistant store managers nationwide for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Jimmy John’s owns just 2% of their stores; the rest…

USA v. Agustin Osuna-Toquillas
Date: December 14, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1905
James Owens v. John Evans
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1645
Hill v. United States  
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3239

Justia Opinion Summary: Following his convictions for drug and firearms crimes, Hill was sentenced to 276 months’ imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act, (ACCA) 18 U.S.C. 924(e). Hill argued that his conviction for attempted murder…

Lewis Bond v. Andrew Perley
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1114
USA v. Marlon Walton
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1331
Smith v. United States  
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Numbers: 17-1730, 17-2090

Justia Opinion Summary: Each defendant was convicted of illegally possessing a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and is serving 180 months’ imprisonment, the statutory floor for someone convicted of that crime who has three or more earlier…

USA v. Michael Khoury
Date: December 13, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2090
United States v. Collins  
Date: December 12, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1998

Justia Opinion Summary: Collins pled guilty to distributing cocaine and at least 28 grams of crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). He was sentenced to 120 months in prison—the statutory minimum in light of a prior felony drug conviction. The…

Fendon v. Bank of America, N.A.  
Date: December 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1718

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Fendon borrowed money from Bank of America, secured by a home mortgage. A borrower may rescind such a transaction for any reason within three days and for some reasons within three years, 15 U.S.C. 1635. Fendon…

Sonoku Tagami v. City of Chicago
Date: December 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1441
David Bertha v. Kane County State's Attorney O
Date: December 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3916
Milligan-Grimstad v. Morgan Stanley  
Date: December 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4224

Justia Opinion Summary: The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for Morgan Stanely in a civil rights action. Plaintiff alleged that she was terminated on the basis of her sex and that Morgan Stanley allowed…

Gordie Taylor v. Village of Dolton, Illinois
Date: December 11, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1097
Kemp v. Liebel  
Date: December 11, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1314

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Jewish inmates at prisons operated by the Indiana Department of Corrections, were transferred from one DOC facility to another (Wabash Valley) in order to maintain a kosher diet. Plaintiffs allege that…

State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Brumit Services, Inc.  
Date: December 11, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1700

Justia Opinion Summary: The Seventh Circuit reversed the district court's judgment in an action filed by an insurance company seeking a declaratory judgment that it had no duty to defend the insured. The court held that it was the insured's…

Sullivan v. United States  
Date: December 8, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2023

Justia Opinion Summary: Brothers Daniel and John operated companies that offered remodeling services in Chicago. Through subcontractors, they performed legitimate work for clients who paid in cash, but they padded their profits by duping…

Dassey v. Dittmann  
Date: December 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3397

Justia Opinion Summary: Halbach disappeared in 2005. Her family contacted police. Officers focused on Avery Auto Salvage in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, the last place she was known to have visited. Avery, who lived on the property, had called Auto…

Demonta Hambright v. Paul Kemper
Date: December 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3712
United States v. Foster  
Date: December 8, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1703

Justia Opinion Summary: After Foster pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), the district court considered him to have three qualifying convictions under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), and…

USA v. John Gries
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2432
USA v. John Gries
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2432
USA v. James McCullars
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2447
USA v. James McCullars
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2447
Goodman v. American Express Travel Related Services Co., Inc.  
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1691

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Kaufman filed a class‐action lawsuit based on Amex’s sale of prepaid gift cards. The packaging declared the cards were “good all over.” Kaufman alleged that these cards were not worth their stated value and were…

USA v. Jason Kiedrowski
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4117
Matushkina v. Davies  
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1336

Justia Opinion Summary: After Son became a U.S. citizen in 2013, she filed a successful I-130 visa petition on Matushkina’s (her mother) behalf. A U.S. Consulate denied Matushkina's 2015 application for an immigrant visa based on a U.S.…

Bobby Brown v. Gregg Scott
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1547
Charles Scurlock v. Penthouse International Entert
Date: December 7, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2061
Deanna Painter v. Illinois Department of Transp
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3187
Rondell Watts v. Nancy A. Berryhill
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4025
USA v. George Mattingly
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1736
Mark Davenport v. J. Szczepanski
Date: December 6, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1807
Brown v. Dart  
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4179

Justia Opinion Summary: In July 2013, Brown was sentenced to 300 days’ imprisonment for violating the terms of his probation. The Illinois circuit court specifically stated that Brown should be released in September 2013, after accounting for…

Onaffia McFadden v. Rickey Pearl
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4180
Calderon-Ramirez v. McCament  
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4220

Justia Opinion Summary: The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U) created a new nonimmigrant visa classification that permits immigrants who are victims of serious crimes and who assist law…

Conner v. Mahajan  
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1162

Justia Opinion Summary: After losing his job at Mutual Bank, Conner filed a qui tam action claiming that the defendants, primarily directors or officers of the bank, had defrauded the government in violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C.…

USA v. Francisco Narvaez
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2203
USA v. Michael Anglin
Date: December 4, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3625
Robinson v. Scrogum  
Date: December 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3363

Justia Opinion Summary: Robinson, an Illinois inmate, alleged (42 U.S.C. 1983) that Pontiac Correctional Center guards beat him and taunted him with racial slurs as punishment for filing grievances. The district court dismissed, reasoning that…

Elliott v. Board of School Trustees of Madison Consolidated Schools  
Date: December 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4168

Justia Opinion Summary: Indiana law previously provided that, when school districts needed to reduce their teaching staffs, tenured teachers that were qualified for an available position had a right to be retained over non-tenured teachers. A…

John H. Davis v. Jeanne W. Anderson
Date: December 4, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1732
Staci Harrington v. Nancy Berryhill
Date: December 4, 2017
Docket Number: 17-3179
Andrew Banks v. Nancy Berryhill
Date: December 4, 2017
Docket Number: 17-3194
Adorno v. Melvin  
Date: December 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2273

Justia Opinion Summary: After being asked to leave a party, Adorno shot a gun into the crowd. During voir dire, the judge stated: Illinois does not define reasonable doubt, but any of you who may have sat on a civil jury there’s a…

Cosgriff v. Winnebago County  
Date: December 1, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1396

Justia Opinion Summary: The Cosgriffs reside in South Beloit, Roscoe Township, Winnebago County, Illinois. They installed a $50,000 pool at their home. When township employees came to the home to reassess its property value after the pool…

United States v. Oberg  
Date: December 1, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1546

Justia Opinion Summary: Oberg's daughter, A., told her mother that Oberg took pictures of her “private area.” A police search of his home revealed that Oberg had 337 photos and three videos of A. exposing her genitals. Oberg pleaded guilty to…

Lauderdale v. Illinois Department of Human Services  
Date: November 30, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3830

Justia Opinion Summary: Marybeth Lauderdale served as acting superintendent and superintendent for the Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD), 2006-2010. During her last year as superintendent, she was paid a total of $88,048. Reggie Clinton was…

Frederick Cashner, Jr. v. John Widup
Date: November 30, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1079
Derrick Sangster v. Thomas Hines
Date: November 30, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1392
Frederick Cashner, Jr. v. John Widup
Date: November 29, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1079
May v. Mahone  
Date: November 28, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3395

Justia Opinion Summary: May, an Illinois prisoner, filed a pro se suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming that prison physicians failed to provide adequate medical care for his non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The district court entered summary judgment for…

Floyd May v. Sylvia Mahone
Date: November 28, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3395
Frederick Cashner, Jr. v. John Widup
Date: November 28, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1079
United States v. Jehan  
Date: November 28, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1779

Justia Opinion Summary: Jehan rose to become one of three “kings” of the Chicago Black Disciples street gang. He provided drugs, meted out punishment, carried firearms, and ordered violence. In 2004, federal authorities charged 47 associates of…

Hyatt Franchising, L.L.C. v. Shen Zhen New World I, LLC  
Date: November 28, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2071

Justia Opinion Summary: Hyatt and Shen Zhen entered into an agreement providing that Shen Zhen would renovate a Los Angeles hotel and operate it using Hyatt’s business methods and trademarks. Two years later Hyatt declared that Shen Zhen was in…

Betco Corp., Ltd. v. Peacock  
Date: November 27, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1133

Justia Opinion Summary: Bio‐Systems produced biodegradation products that use bacteria to break down waste. Customers often required certificates of analysis, so Bio‐Systems counted the bacteria in a product before its sale. Betco purchased…

Frentz v. Brown  
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3479

Justia Opinion Summary: Frentz, a long-time alcoholic who was taking medication to deal with delirium tremens, was arrested for the murder of his housemate. He claimed to be suffering hallucinations and filed notice that he would pursue a…

William Ward v. Kevwe Akpore
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3822
Terrance Godfrey v. Bryan Easton
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3329
Village of Bedford Park v. Expedia, Inc.  
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3932, 16-3944

Justia Opinion Summary: Thirteen Illinois municipalities claimed that the online travel agencies (OTAs), including Expedia, Priceline, and Travelocity, have withheld money owed to them under their local hotel tax ordinances. The OTAs operate…

Village of Lombard v. Expedia, Inc.
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3944
Rodriguez v. Sessions  
Date: November 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1568

Justia Opinion Summary: Rodriguez entered the U.S. without inspection in 1999. In 2000, her boyfriend obtained a temporary restraining order against her, claiming that he feared for his safety after episodes of domestic violence. Rodriguez…

EEOC v. AutoZone, Incorporated
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3201
USA v. William Conour
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1698
USA v. Ronald Taylor
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3904
USA v. Dedrick Jones
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4158
Alexander v. Ingram Barge Co.  
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4264

Justia Opinion Summary: At 5:33 p.m. on April 18, 2013, a 14‐barge tow pushed by the M/V Dale Heller on the Illinois River was sucked into a powerful cross‐current and broke up. Some of the barges crashed (allided) into the Marseilles Dam; some…

USA v. Casey Hunter
Date: November 20, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3700
David Bentz v. Parthasarathi Ghosh
Date: November 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1697
Israel Cobian v. Christopher McLaughlin
Date: November 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3141
Timmy Lurz v. Joseph Hankins
Date: November 20, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1499
David Bentz v. Nathaniel Maue
Date: November 20, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1729
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.  
Date: November 17, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1563

Justia Opinion Summary: The Unions represent engineers employed by the Railroad, which is an amalgamation of several carriers. As a result, the Railroad is a party to multiple collective bargaining Agreements (CBAs). The Railroad modified…

United States v. Dekelaita  
Date: November 17, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1644

Justia Opinion Summary: DeKelaita provided legal representation for immigrants applying for asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)(A). Applicants for asylum must sit for an interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer and must…

Taylor v. McCament  
Date: November 17, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1943

Justia Opinion Summary: Taylor, a citizen of Ireland, entered the U.S. in 2000 on a visitor’s visa. In 2008, Taylor was the victim of perjury, a qualifying crime under the Victims Protection Act., 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(U), which created the…

Yeoman v. Pollard  
Date: November 16, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3489

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Yeoman attempted to fire a gun during an attempted robbery. He was apprehended minutes later. Yeoman pled “no contest” to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and is serving a 25-year sentence in a…

Collins v. Village of Palatine  
Date: November 16, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3395

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, a Palatine police officer issued Collins a parking ticket, placing the bright yellow ticket under his car’s wiper blades. The ticket listed his name, address, driver’s license number, date of birth, sex, height,…

Chapman v. Yellow Cab Cooperative  
Date: November 16, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1758

Justia Opinion Summary: Edwards owns a taxicab in Milwaukee and gets referrals from Yellow Cab. Edwards leased the cab to Giri, who subleased some of the time to Chapman so that the cab could be in service much of the day. Chapman received…

Golla v. Office of the Chief Judge of Cook County  
Date: November 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2524

Justia Opinion Summary: Golla, who has a law degree, alleged, under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(1) and 42 U.S.C. 1983, that the Office of the Chief Judge engaged in intentional reverse racial discrimination by paying Taylor, an…

United States v. Conley  
Date: November 14, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3442

Justia Opinion Summary: Conley was ensnared in a sting operation set up by the FBI and ATF, in which a government actor, pretending to be a criminal, presented him with an opportunity to be part of a robbery of an illegal (fictional) drug stash…

USA v. Paris Starwalt
Date: November 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3505
United States v. Givens  
Date: November 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4198

Justia Opinion Summary: Givens pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), and one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 846. His Presentence…

Ira Holtzman v. Gregory Turza
Date: November 14, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2330
USA v. George Gasich
Date: November 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3201
USA v. Barbara Gasich
Date: November 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3202
United States v. Wiman  
Date: November 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3929

Justia Opinion Summary: Wiman, then 66 years old, entered a Vanderburgh County credit union, approached a teller, pointed a gun, pushed a cooler toward her, and demanded money. He grabbed the cooler and bolted. The robbery was captured on…

Michael Wilson v. Donald Gaetz
Date: November 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2941
David M. Johnson v. Lynette Thompson-Smith
Date: November 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3255
David Johnson v. Lynette Thompson-Smith
Date: November 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3559
USA v. Duane Rogers
Date: November 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3620
Anthony Kolton v. Michael Frerichs
Date: November 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3658
Tagami v. City of Chicago  
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1441

Justia Opinion Summary: Tagami supports GoTopless, a nonprofit organization that advocates for a woman’s right to bare her breasts in public. She participated in the group’s annual “GoTopless Day” by walking around Chicago unclothed from the…

USA v. Kevin Johnson
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1459
United States v. Lang  
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1694, 16‐1459

Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson and Lang traveled from California to an Illinois mink farm where they released approximately 2000 minks from their cages and destroyed or damaged other property on the farm. While on their way to damage a fox…

Oscar Garner v. James Muenchow
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3707
Robert Williams v. Nancy A. Berryhill
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1043
USA v. Brian Redden
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1405
United States v. Redden  
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1405

Justia Opinion Summary: After pleading guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), Redden was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment. He appealed, but the Seventh Circuit granted his appointed lawyer's “Anders”…

USA v. Thomas Bates
Date: November 8, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1590
White v. Hefel  
Date: November 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1051

Justia Opinion Summary: Around 9:00 p.m., as Mr. White was escorting guests outside, an unknown teenager (Hyles) charged uninvited into the White family’s Chicago home. Minutes later, police officers who were chasing Hyles pushed past White and…

Eugene Warren v. Officer Woods
Date: November 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1701
Jackson Veit v. Angela Frater
Date: November 7, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1411
Amir Marmarchi v. University of Illinois
Date: November 7, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1939
Acquaah v. Sessions  
Date: November 6, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3277

Justia Opinion Summary: Acquaah, now age 63, came from Ghana to the U.S. on a visitor’s visa and obtained conditional permanent resident status based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. His application to remove residency conditions began…

Authenticom, Incorporated v. CDK Global, LLC
Date: November 6, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2540
Authenticom, Inc. v. Reynolds and Reynolds Co.  
Date: November 6, 2017
Docket Numbers: 17-2541, 17-2540

Justia Opinion Summary: To track accounting, payroll, inventory, sales, parts, service, finance, and insurance, auto dealerships use computerized dealer‐management systems. Some systems use open architecture, under which third parties have some…

United States v. Johnson  
Date: November 3, 2017
Docket Numbers: 15-3830, 16-1471

Justia Opinion Summary: The Indianapolis Land Bank was created to return tax-delinquent and other troubled properties into productive use. But, in 2011, Walton, the Land Bank’s manager, and Johnson began orchestrating the sale and resale of the…

USA v. Reginald Walton
Date: November 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1471
Socha v. Richardson  
Date: November 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2540

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Socha, Leonard, and Holm, each forged a stolen check. Holm admitted his forgery and implicated Leonard. Socha’s name was not mentioned. While Leonard was avoiding the police, Holm and Drews left Leonard at…

USA v. Mario Carbajal
Date: November 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4164
Armstrong v. Villa Park Police Department  
Date: November 3, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1621

Justia Opinion Summary: Armstrong’s Illinois conviction for failing to register as a sex offender was reversed, based on a finding Armstrong’s guilty plea for unlawful restraint did not require him to register. Armstrong sued under 42 U.S.C.…

James Manley v. Keith Butts
Date: November 3, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1697
Matthew Sipp v. Nancy Berryhill
Date: November 3, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1861
United States v. Shorter  
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2053

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, following investigations by the Indiana Attorney General and FBI, a grand jury indicted Shorter and her company, Empowerment, which provided transportation to Medicaid patients, for health care fraud, 18 U.S.C.…

James Hotchkiss v. A. David
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3934
USA v. Kevryn Gaines-Dukes
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1211
United States v. Fadden  
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1400

Justia Opinion Summary: Fadden earned over $100,000 per year but did not submit tax returns. After an audit, the IRS garnished his wages. Fadden filed for bankruptcy, triggering an automatic stay. Fadden claimed that he had no interest in any…

USA v. Brett S. Turok
Date: November 1, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1737
Smith v. Anderson  
Date: October 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2333

Justia Opinion Summary: Smith, a registered sex offender, was convicted of driving with a revoked license and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment followed by mandatory supervised release. To begin his supervised release, Smith needed the…

Federal National Mortgage Association v. City of Chicago  
Date: October 30, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4140

Justia Opinion Summary: The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) are federally-chartered, privately-owned corporations, created by Congress to bolster the housing market. In…

USA v. Randy Johnson
Date: October 27, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1366
USA v. Mark Cubie
Date: October 27, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1448
USA v. Vicente Quiroz
Date: October 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3510
United States v. Quiroz  
Date: October 26, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3518, 16-3510

Justia Opinion Summary: Quiroz brokered large drug transactions and, in 2015, was convicted for his role in a methamphetamine transaction. In a second trial that year, he was convicted for his role in a marijuana transaction. Before each trial,…

USA v. Michael Johnson
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3185
USA v. Gregory Forest
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3200
R. Alexander Acosta v. DT & C Global Management LLC
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4076
Krantz v. DT & C Global Management LLC  
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-4077, 16-4076

Justia Opinion Summary: DT&C, a Chicago ground transportation company, and its owners were sued by former employees and the Secretary of Labor for violating state wage‐payment laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 201. After the…

USA v. Frederico Sausedo
Date: October 25, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1252
United States v. El-Bey  
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3180

Justia Opinion Summary: El-Bey, a "Moorish national," created an EIN for the Trust, naming himself as the trustee and fiduciary. El-Bey filed six tax returns for the Trust, each seeking a $300,000 refund, signing each return, identifying…

USA v. Frederick Garner
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2511
USA v. Ronday Tinker
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3576
USA v. Gregory Toran
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1169
Wayne Fellers v. Megan Brennan
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1176
USA v. Luke Lore
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1686
Maurice Johnson v. CTA
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1827
Pamela Podemski v. U.S. Bank National Association
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1927
Larry Oruta v. Continental Air Transport
Date: October 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2107
Bryant v. Brown  
Date: October 23, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3144

Justia Opinion Summary: Bryant was convicted of murdering his stepmother. He was 17 years old at the time of the 2000 killing. Under Indiana law juveniles in police custody have a statutory right to “meaningful consultation” with a parent…

United States v. Luce  
Date: October 23, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4093

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which implements the Fair Housing Act, offers insurance to mortgage lenders to decrease the risk borne by private industry and encourage lending. HUD maintains the…

Long v. Pfister  
Date: October 20, 2017
Docket Number: 13-3327

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Sherman died from gunshot wounds. When police arrived, Sherman lay on the ground with 50-60 people gathered around. Long was tried for first-degree murder. No physical evidence tied Long to the crime. The state…

Sawyer v. United States  
Date: October 20, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2508

Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of multiple counts of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and attempted sex trafficking, 18 U.S.C. 1591(a) and 1594(c), Sawyer was sentenced to 50 years' incarceration. After unsuccessful…

USA v. Daniel Contreras
Date: October 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1721
USA v. Daniel Contreras
Date: October 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1914
United States v. Contreras  
Date: October 20, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3375, 16-1721, 16-1914

Justia Opinion Summary: Contreras pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking offenses in three separately charged criminal cases assigned to three different district judges. When calculating the guidelines range at sentencing, each judge applied an…

Saxon v. Lashbrook  
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3365

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Saxon was convicted in Illinois state court of the 1995 first-degree murder of a 12-year-old girl, arson, and concealment of homicide. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed. After his state appeals were…

USA v. Archie Bradfield
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2285
USA v. Sebastian Patterson
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3399
USA v. Norman Breedlove
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3501
Cedric Pierce v. Julio Ruiz
Date: October 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4030
Forgue v. City of Chicago  
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2857

Justia Opinion Summary: From 1986-2015, Forgue was a Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer. Forgue alleges that, from 2012-2015, he was harassed by fellow police officers for adhering to CPD policy and procedure and for filing numerous…

United States v. Oliver  
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3611

Justia Opinion Summary: After participating in a scheme that involved “retirement investment seminars,” Oliver pled guilty to wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1343, for defrauding investors. Because Oliver used their money for personal expenses or…

Madden v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs  
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3740

Justia Opinion Summary: Madden, suffering from morbid obesity, respiratory acidosis, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia,…

Asentic v. Sessions  
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1202

Justia Opinion Summary: Asentic, a Bosnian Serb who is now 65, was granted refugee status and brought his family to the U.S. from the former Yugoslavia more than 15 years ago. He has been a permanent resident for nearly that long, but the Board…

Marytza Golden v. Indianapolis Housing Agency
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1359
Haynes v. United States  
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1680

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998 Haynes was convicted of 12 federal crimes and sentenced to life plus 105 years in prison. His direct appeal and a collateral attack under 28 U.S.C. 2255 failed. After the Supreme Court retroactively held that the…

Sanders v. Melvin  
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1938

Justia Opinion Summary: Sanders has been in solitary confinement for eight years, and the prison plans to keep him there for another ten. He has been diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and other conditions…

USA v. Karen Zais
Date: October 16, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4066
USA v. Andrew Nelson
Date: October 16, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4174
United States v. Al-Awadi  
Date: October 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2643

Justia Opinion Summary: Soon after he began working at a daycare, other teachers expressed concern about 20‐year‐old Al‐Awadi’s interactions with female children. Al‐Awadi was cautioned about his behavior. On a day when the daycare was…

United States v. Holton  
Date: October 13, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1406

Justia Opinion Summary: Holton pleaded guilty to robbing an Illinois grocery store, carrying and using a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A); a jury found him guilty of conspiring to commit Hobbs Act robbery (robbery affecting interstate commerce),…

Stephanie S. Carlson v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1374
United States v. Dearborn  
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3346, 16-3905

Justia Opinion Summary: Dearborn pled guilty to distributing crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) & 846.. In 2015, the Seventh Circuit remanded for correction of certain conditions of supervised release. In a second appeal, Dearborn argued that…

USA v. Bradley Dearborn
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3905
Herman Griffin v. Indiana Department of Correcti
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4272
Cosenza v. Berryhill  
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1081

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Cosenza sought disability benefits on behalf of her minor son. An ALJ determined that J.M.F. was not disabled. The Appeals Council denied her request for review. Cosenza argued that the ALJ improperly found that…

Stephanie Carlson v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1217
Stephanie Carlson v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1222
Terrance Shaw v. Jon E. Litscher
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1223
Rodriguez-Contreras v. Sessions  
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1335

Justia Opinion Summary: After his conviction for a felony in Illinois, Rodriguez-Contreras, a lawful U.S. permanent resident, was found in possession of a weapon and was convicted under 720 ILCS 5/24–1.1(a). The Board of Immigration Appeals…

BancorpSouth Inc. v. Federal Insurance Co.  
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1425

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Bancorp, which provides checking and savings accounts to individuals, purchased a bankers’ professional liability insurance policy from Federal. The policy stated: [Federal] shall pay, on behalf of an Insured,…

Sidney Hillman Health Center of Rochester v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.  
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1483

Justia Opinion Summary: The FDA approved Depakote for treating seizures, migraine headaches, and conditions associated with bipolar disorder. Physicians may prescribe it for other "off-label" uses, but a drug’s manufacturer can promote it only…

Kirby Smart v. DHL Express, Incorporated
Date: October 12, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1498
Garcia v. Sessions  
Date: October 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3234

Justia Opinion Summary: Garcia, a Honduran national, came to the U.S. in 2003. He was ordered removed and departed in 2005. Garcia claims that he was kidnapped and beaten upon his return to Honduras because of his opposition to deforestation.…

Riffey v. Rauner  
Date: October 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3487

Justia Opinion Summary: The Illinois Department of Human Services Home Services Program pays personal home health care assistants to care for elderly and disabled persons. The assistants are considered public employees under the Illinois Public…

Brook v. McCormley  
Date: October 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4255

Justia Opinion Summary: Cortina, a now-dissolved corporation, was wholly-owned by the Trust. The Trust’s beneficiaries lived in Illinois when the Trust was established; in the 1980s, they relocated to Arizona. In 2011, the Trust became an…

Daniel Budorick v. Vincent Maneri
Date: October 11, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1112
Flaviano Victoria-Faustino v. Jefferson B. Sessions III
Date: October 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1784
Alvin T. Perkins, Jr. v. Randy Pfister
Date: October 6, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3190
Tripp v. Scholz  
Date: October 6, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3469

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, two Green Party members sought to appear on the Illinois general election ballot as candidates for state representative. Because the Election Code (10 ILCS 5/1-1) deemed the Green Party a “new” political party…

Baez-Sanchez v. Sessions  
Date: October 6, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3784

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the Seventh Circuit held that the Attorney General has authority under 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(A)(ii) to waive an alien’s inadmissibility and to halt removal temporarily while the alien requests a U visa. In…

TPG Group, Inc. v. Avon Capital, LLC
Date: October 6, 2017
Docket Number: 17-3044
Thomas D. Philipsborn Irrevoca v. Avon Capital, LLC
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3368
Illinois Bible Colleges Assoc v. Lindsay K. H. Anderson
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1754
Platt v. Brown  
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1830

Justia Opinion Summary: Cook County criminal defendants could secure pretrial release on personal recognizance; execution of a full deposit bail bond, to be fully returned upon performance of the bond conditions; or execution of a 10% bail…

Arlin Calvin v. Sub-Zero Freezer, Co.
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1968
Ivan Pichimarov v. Jefferson B. Sessions III
Date: October 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3820
United States v. Hayes  
Date: October 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3752

Justia Opinion Summary: Hayes pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The indictment specifically charged him with possessing a model AK‐47 rifle. The plea agreement stated that the serial number on the AK‐47…

King v. Ford Motor Co.  
Date: October 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3391

Justia Opinion Summary: King worked for many years in Ford’s vehicle assembly plants. She claims that after transferring to Ford’s Chicago plant in 2010, she was sexually harassed by a supervisor, after which she was reassigned to less…

Ahmad Khorrami v. Michael Rolince
Date: October 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3520
Consolino v. Towne  
Date: October 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3681

Justia Opinion Summary: Consolino is a Cook County Sheriff’s Office correctional officer and a Marine Reservist counterintelligence specialist. Beginning in 1999, Consolino was assigned to the Boot Camp, an alternative sentencing program for…

United States v. Ranjel  
Date: September 29, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3778

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002 Ranjel was indicted for participating in a Latin Kings drug-trafficking conspiracy in Aurora, Illinois. He fled to Mexico and remained there for nearly a decade. He surrendered in 2011. A jury later convicted him…

United States v. Feterick  
Date: September 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3579

Justia Opinion Summary: Feterick pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. 2113(a), and was sentenced to a total of 49 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release. The conditions of supervised release include one…

United States v. Popovski  
Date: September 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4178

Justia Opinion Summary: Popovski pleaded guilty to wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1343, for obtaining credit-card or debit-card numbers from abroad, encoding them onto blank cards and using those cards to withdraw money. Popovski was responsible for…

USA v. Svetoslav Nedelchev
Date: September 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4202
Frakes v. Peoria School District No. 150  
Date: September 26, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3091

Justia Opinion Summary: From 2002-2012, Frakes was a Peoria special education teacher. All of Frakes’s students were eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1400. Nunn, like all of Frakes’s former…

United States v. Wagner  
Date: September 25, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3265

Justia Opinion Summary: Wagner responded to "Holly's" internet advertisement. “Holly” was actually an undercover federal officer. Wagner stated that he was 39. Holly replied that she was only 14 and trying to earn $300. Wagner told Holly he…

United States v. Alkaramla  
Date: September 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2191

Justia Opinion Summary: Bernstein, an attorney appointed under the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. 3006A, to represent an indigent defendant in federal district court, hired forensic expert Speckin to analyze evidence for the defense. Bernstein…

Larry Goodman v. Cook County, Illinois
Date: September 25, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1343
Parnell Milton v. Iwona Slota
Date: September 25, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1495
Richard Plank v. Denise Symdon
Date: September 25, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1640
Faucett v. United States  
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2515

Justia Opinion Summary: Faucett possessed large quantities of child pornography, including 59 sexually explicit photos of his five-year-old granddaughter that he took while she was sleeping. When investigators found the collection on his…

Luce v. Town of Campbell, Wisconsin  
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2627

Justia Opinion Summary: Interstate 90 runs through Campbell, Wisconsin, with a speed limit of 65 miles per hour. Two streets and one pedestrian overpass cross the highway within the town. A traffic survey in 2008 found that 23,000-29,000 trucks…

Libertarian Party of Illinois v. Charles W. Scholz
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1667
Libertarian Party of Illinois v. Cunningham  
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1775, 16-1667

Justia Opinion Summary: Under Illinois law, a political party that has not attained sufficient votes in past elections must field candidates for all offices on the ballot in the political subdivision in which it wishes to compete. In the 2012…

Elliott Levin v. Verizon Business Global, LLC
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1940
Verizon Business Global, LLC v. Levin  
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1940, 16-2094

Justia Opinion Summary: Telecommunications retailer OneStar paid its supplier, MCI, $1.9 million during the 90 days before OneStar was forced into bankruptcy. OneStar’s bankruptcy trustee sought to recapture those payments under 11 U.S.C.…

Michael Sommerfield v. Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4139
Park Pet Shop, Inc. v. City of Chicago  
Date: September 21, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3711

Justia Opinion Summary: Under Chicago’s 2014 “puppy mill” ordinance, pet retailers in the city “may offer for sale only those dogs, cats, or rabbits” obtained from an animal control or care center, pound, or kennel operated by local, state, or…

USA v. Daniel S. Voican
Date: September 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3063
Patricia Clark v. Law Office of Terrence Kennedy
Date: September 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4277
Tony Franklin v. William Warmington
Date: September 21, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1263
Travis Williams v. David Stauche
Date: September 21, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1734
Michael Lenz v. Robert W. Baird & Company
Date: September 21, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1886
USA v. John Gries
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2432
United States v. McCullars  
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Numbers: 15-2447, 15-2432

Justia Opinion Summary: For nearly a decade, Gries and McCullars actively participated in a private online chat room frequented by pedophiles sharing large volumes of child pornography. They were indicted for conspiracy to distribute child…

Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc.  
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3754

Justia Opinion Summary: From 2006-2013, Severson worked for Heartland, a fabricator of retail display fixtures. The work was physically demanding. In 2013, Severson took a 12-week medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29…

E.T. Products, LLC v. D.E. Miller Holdings, Inc.  
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1204

Justia Opinion Summary: Doug Miller and his son signed a broad noncompetition agreement when Doug sold his fuel-additives business, E.T., in 2011. Doug sold his other company, Petroleum Solutions, to Kuhns about a year later. E.T.’s new owners…

USA v. William Campbell
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1520
USA v. Toby Jones
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2208
USA v. Mario Whitfield
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2676
United States v. Ford  
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3732

Justia Opinion Summary: Ford and Hoefle were passengers in a car driven by Mincks when the car was stopped in Moline, Illinois for a traffic violation, around 2:00 a.m. Officers noticed open beer bottles and asked the men to exit the car. While…

United States v. Jones  
Date: September 20, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3975, 16‐2208, 16‐2676

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, a confidential informant informed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives about Toby Jones, the leader of a drug‐distribution operation on Chicago’s West Side. The informant introduced Toby and…

Charles Rice, Sr. v. LSREF3 Sapphire Trust 2014
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Number: 14-3636
Monroe v. Indiana Department of Transportation  
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1959

Justia Opinion Summary: Monroe worked for the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) for more than 21 years. His job involved cleaning up human remains after traffic accidents; he witnessed a co‐worker die after a work‐related accident.…

United States v. Patterson  
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2119

Justia Opinion Summary: Patterson was indicted in 2012 on charges arising from his role in a conspiracy to rob a fictitious drug “stash house.” Following delays resulting from a determination that Patterson was not competent and subsequent…

Orlowski v. Milwaukee County  
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2166

Justia Opinion Summary: Orlowski, a 21-year-old inmate, was asleep in his bunk. At 12:28 a.m. and 1:36 a.m. dorm supervisor Alexander patrolled and did not notice anything unusual. Sergeant Manns toured the dorm and did not note anything…

Estate of James Franklin Perry v. Cheryl Wenzel
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2353
Estate of Perry v. Wenzel  
Date: September 18, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3130, 16‐2353

Justia Opinion Summary: After his arrest, Perry stated that he suffered from seizures as a result of a previous head injury, that his seizures were treated with medication, and that he had not taken his medication. He was placed in a “bullpen”…

Darreyll Thomas v. Michael Reese
Date: September 14, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1742
Lee v. Avila  
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1976

Justia Opinion Summary: Milwaukee police received a tip that a residence was being used as a drug house and secured a no-knock warrant. Entering, the officers saw Lee, beside a table holding a digital scale, a razor blade, sandwich baggies, a…

Winfield v. Dorethy  
Date: September 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3316

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Winfield was convicted of attempted murder. On direct appeal and post-conviction review, the Illinois appellate courts rejected Winfield’s challenges to his conviction and 30-year prison sentence. By agreement…

United States v. Brown  
Date: September 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1603

Justia Opinion Summary: While investigating a tip that illegal drugs were being sold from a south-side convenience store, Chicago Police Officer Brown sucker-punched a store employee for no apparent reason. As the dazed employee attempted to…

Houlihan v. City of Chicago  
Date: September 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2949

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were white and Hispanic members of Chicago Mayor Daley’s protective services detail, Unit 542. Each held the rank of patrol officer but was assigned to the security-specialist position, and received a…

Hicks v. Hepp  
Date: September 7, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3865

Justia Opinion Summary: Hicks admitted to sexually molesting his former stepson, during a recorded phone call from a police station. During the call, before the confession, the victim repeatedly threatened to harm Hicks and to tell Hicks’s…

Wilson v. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation  
Date: September 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1831

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Dr. Wilson’s terminally ill patient was within hours of death. He was in pain and suffocating. Wilson concluded that the only possible palliation was unconsciousness. As Wilson was injecting a drug, the…

Schloesser v. Berryhill  
Date: September 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1862

Justia Opinion Summary: Schloesser worked for 23 years as a dry curer in a meat‐processing factory, regularly lifting more than 70 pounds. After undergoing rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder in 2001 and then a lactimectomy (disc removal…

Cook County Republican Party v. Sapone  
Date: September 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3457

Justia Opinion Summary: The Republican Party sued the Cook County Board of Election Commissioners, arguing that the Board must include on the ballot a candidate that the Party slated for the House of Representatives in the November 2016…

Otis Grant v. Trustees of Indiana University
Date: September 6, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1958
Mordi v. Zeigler  
Date: September 5, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3307

Justia Opinion Summary: At 1:10 p.m. on March 12, 2009, Mordi, a Nigerian student at Southern Illinois University, and a passenger were traveling on Interstate 57. An Illinois state police car, driven by Trooper Zeigler, signaled for Mordi to…

Roberto Trujillo v. American Bar Association
Date: September 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3612
Hisham Abdel-Ghaffar v. Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Date: September 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4039
LaSandra Norman v. Black Entertainment Television
Date: September 5, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1001
Larry Brooks v. Complete Warehouse & Distribut
Date: September 5, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1290
Right Field Rooftops, LLC v. Chicago Cubs Baseball Club, LLC  
Date: September 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3582

Justia Opinion Summary: Rooftops sells tickets to view Cubs games and other events at Wrigley Field from the roofs of buildings it controls. Chicago has an ordinance allowing the rooftop businesses. Before the 2002 season, the Cubs installed a…

Gregory Lee v. CTA
Date: September 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4116
United States v. Paige  
Date: September 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4128

Justia Opinion Summary: A McDonald’s employee called 911 and stated that a vehicle had been sitting in the drive-through lane for an hour and that the driver might be sick. Fire and police units responded. When Officer Sheets-Walker arrived,…

Eddie James v. Randy Pfister
Date: September 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4259
Darreyll Thomas v. Michael Reese
Date: September 1, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1742
Christian Ibeagwa v. CIR
Date: September 1, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1930
Krik v. Exxon Mobil Corp.  
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3112

Justia Opinion Summary: Krik has lung cancer Krik smoked a pack and a half of cigarettes every day for 30 years. From 1954-1960 Krik also worked aboard navy vessels removing insulation produced by Owens‐Illinois, which he claimed exposed him…

Grant v. Trustees of Indiana University  
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1958

Justia Opinion Summary: The University of Indiana South Bend employed Professor Grant, an African-American, in 1999. In 2008, several students complained to University administration that Grant inappropriately canceled classes, used obscene…

Christopher Pyles v. William Spiller
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2502
Daniel Ratajczak, Jr. v. Beazley Solutions Limited
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3418
Land O'Lakes, Inc. v. Daniel Ratajczak, Jr.
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3490
Owens v. Old Wisconsin Sausage Co.  
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3875

Justia Opinion Summary: Owens worked as Old Wisconsin's manager of Human Resources and the company’s only female manager, from June 2011 until her termination in April 2012. Kobussen applied for a position at Old Wisconsin. Owens was involved…

Land O'Lakes, Inc. v. Ratajczak  
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3920, 16-3418, 16-3490

Justia Opinion Summary: From 2006-2012 Packerland deceived at least one of its customers about the protein content of its Whey Protein Concentrate. Land O’Lakes purchased Packerland’s protein concentrate for use in making foods for calves and…

Priddy v. Health Care Service Corp.  
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4127

Justia Opinion Summary: HCSC is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation that offers Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance through licensed affiliates in five states and contracts with outside affiliates for prescription drug services, claim…

Ron Morris v. Randall Knutson
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1025
USA v. Justin Turner
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1398
James Barksdale v. Joseph Joyce
Date: August 31, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1863
United States v. Moreno  
Date: August 30, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3312

Justia Opinion Summary: Moreno sold Alpha‐PVP, a designer drug that produces a powerful stimulant effect in its users before that drug was listed as a controlled substance. It was listed on the federal government’s Schedule I of controlled…

Jeffrey Golin v. Neptune Management Corporation
Date: August 30, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1262
United States v. Carson  
Date: August 29, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3421

Justia Opinion Summary: Carson raped and threatened a 17-year-old girl, knowing her age, and then arranged encounters, during which time she traded sex for money three or four times a day. He isolated her from outside communications. His other…

USA v. Antonio Walter
Date: August 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1209
United States v. Bell  
Date: August 29, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1325, 16-1209

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, more than 100 people, including Bell, were arrested as part of the “Operation Blue Knight” investigation. In 2012, Bell and Walter were both charged with conspiring to sell more than 1,000 grams of heroin, 21…

Illinois Bible Colleges Association v. Anderson  
Date: August 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1754

Justia Opinion Summary: Bible Colleges and a student sued the Illinois Board of Higher Education, alleging that the Private College Act, 110 ILCS 1005/0.01, the Academic Degree Act, 110 ILCS 1010/0.01, and the Private Business and Vocational…

United States v. Lopez  
Date: August 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2269

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Lopez created financial investment business entities and solicited funds from family and friends. He received approximately $450,000 total from five people, stating that he intended to invest in companies such…

Archer v. Chisholm  
Date: August 29, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2417

Justia Opinion Summary: While Governor Scott Walker was making controversial changes to Wisconsin’s public union laws, Archer drafted the law and advocated its passage. At the same time, the Milwaukee County State’s Attorney’s Office was…

USA v. Earnest Johnson
Date: August 29, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2251
Roppo v. Travelers Commercial Insurance Co.  
Date: August 28, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3171

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Roppo suffered serious injuries in an auto accident with Block, who was insured by Travelers. Travelers and the attorneys it retained for Block disclosed only the limits of Block’s automobile liability policy;…

Cremation Society of Illinois, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters  
Date: August 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2322

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Cremation Society’s predecessor (employer) executed a Compliance Agreement, binding it to the Union’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), until June 30, 2007, and from year to year thereafter. The Agreement…

Richards v. U.S. Steel  
Date: August 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2436

Justia Opinion Summary: Richards was hired in 1995. While working with Byrd, Richards had several negative experiences with her supervisors. In 2011, Richards filed a discrimination complaint. Feeling that human resources had not adequately…

Ernesto Valle v. Kim Butler
Date: August 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2612
Andy Mohr Truck Center, Inc. v. Volvo Trucks North America
Date: August 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2788
Andy Mohr Truck Center, Inc. v. Volvo Trucks North America  
Date: August 28, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-2839, 16‐2788

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Mohr and Volvo entered into a heavy truck dealership agreement. In 2012, Volvo sought a declaratory judgment that it was entitled to terminate Mohr’s dealership because Mohr had misrepresented that it would…

Buren v. Doctor's Associates Inc.  
Date: August 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1652

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, an Australian teenager measured his Subway Footlong sandwich, which was 11 inches long. He photographed it alongside a tape measure and posted the photo on Facebook. It went viral. U.S. plaintiffs’ lawyers sued…

Reed v. Freedom Mortgage Corp.  
Date: August 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3661

Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2012, Freedom hired Reed, an African-American, as a Broker Liaison, reporting to Bidstrup and Sperry (both white). The regular hours for the Downers Grove office were 8 a.m.-5 p.m.. Some employees worked…

United States v. Edwards  
Date: August 24, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2253

Justia Opinion Summary: Edwards is a naturalized U.S. citizen who emigrated from Mongolia in 1996. She was hired as an officer with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2009. Edwards went through a federal background investigation in 2009 and…

Conrad v. Boiron, Inc.  
Date: August 24, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3656

Justia Opinion Summary: Boiron makes homeopathic products, including an over‐the‐counter remedy called Oscillo that retails for between $12 and $20. Oscillo is made by mixing one percent Anas Barbariae Hepatis et Cordis Extractum (duck hearts…

USA v. Charles Harper
Date: August 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1441
Green v. Newport  
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1536

Justia Opinion Summary: Around 8:30 p.m., Milwaukee officers responded to a complaint by a store employee that a Mercury Grand Marquis drove around the store’s parking lot five times. Officer Newport believed this was consistent with…

Rosewood Care Center of Swansea v. Price  
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3368

Justia Opinion Summary: Rosewood is a skilled nursing facility, 42 U.S.C. 1395i-3(a), participating in Medicare and Medicaid as a provider. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, which enforces the statutory and regulatory provisions…

USA v. Joseph Suggs
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3460
Freddie Camacho v. Nicole English
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3509
Freddie Camacho v. Nicole English
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3509
Kolton v. Frerichs  
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3658

Justia Opinion Summary: Kolton deposited money into an interest-bearing bank account in Illinois. Years passed without activity in the account, so the bank transferred Kolton’s money to the state as the Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act…

Laurens v. Volvo Cars of North America, LLC  
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3829

Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and wife paid $83,475 for a new Volvo T8, plus $2,700 for a charging station. Volvo’s advertisements claimed that the T8’s battery range was 25 miles. In practice their T8 averaged a eight-10 miles of…

St. Vincent Randolph Hospital, v. Price  
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3956

Justia Opinion Summary: St. Vincent Health group acquired Randolph County Hospital and decided to replace the 80-year-old building. In 2002 the Hospital financed the project by borrowing $15.3 million from a fraternal corporation. Within a…

USA v. Mario Mendoza-Valles
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1013
Watkins v. Trans Union, LLC  
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1142

Justia Opinion Summary: Watkins sued Trans Union for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Trans Union asserted that attorney Cento should be disqualified from representing Watkins because, more than 10 years ago, Cento earned a living…

Plaintiff v. Defendant
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1365
United States v. White  
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1517

Justia Opinion Summary: While on supervised release following his conviction for failing to register as a sex offender, White pleaded guilty to new charges of credit‐card fraud and theft. The court revoked White’s supervised release and ordered…

USA v. Oliver W. Hamilton
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1800
Elijah Reid v. Michael Melvin
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1907
Zachary Mutter v. William Rodriguez
Date: August 21, 2017
Docket Number: 14-2130
Streckenbach v. Van Densen  
Date: August 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1695

Justia Opinion Summary: Streckenbach, an inmate of Wisconsin's Redgranite Correctional Institution, left two boxes of personal property for his son to pick up. Under the prison’s policy, property on deposit had to be collected within 30 days.…

Dennis Scott v. Travis Smith
Date: August 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2029
USA v. Raequon Allen
Date: August 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2950
R. Weisskopf v. Philip Marcus
Date: August 21, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1682
Robert Stinson v. James Gauger
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 13-3343
Robert Stinson v. Raymond Rawson
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 13-3346
Stinson v. Johnson  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Numbers: 13-3347, 13‐3343, 13‐3346

Justia Opinion Summary: Stinson spent 23 years in jail for a murder he did not commit. No eyewitness testimony or fingerprints connected him to the murder. Two dentists testified as experts that Stinson’s dentition matched the teeth marks on…

Mourning v. Ternes Packaging, Indiana, Inc  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1650

Justia Opinion Summary: Mourning worked for Ternes from 1997 until the company fired her in 2013. In February 2013, Frey, Mourning’s manager, granted Mourning leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. 2615, to treat her…

Murphy v. Rychlowski  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1662

Justia Opinion Summary: Murphy was convicted of rape by force in Los Angeles 37 years ago and was required, while he resided in the state, to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Murphy moved to Wisconsin 21 years later and was…

Hendricks v. Novae Corporate Underwriting, Ltd.  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1712

Justia Opinion Summary: Novae issued Cunningham an insurance policy. While insured by Novae, Cunningham entered into an agreement with AP to provide claims-handling services. In 2004 AP sued Cunningham in Texas state court, alleging…

Doornbos v. City of Chicago  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1770

Justia Opinion Summary: Doornbos was leaving a Chicago train station when a plainclothes police officer confronted him, grabbed him, and with the help of other plainclothes officers, forced him to the ground. Doornbos was acquitted of resisting…

USA v. Antwon Willis
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2342
United States v. Simmons  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-2375, 16‐2342

Justia Opinion Summary: Willis and Simmons were convicted of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and sentenced to 235 months’ and 108 months’ imprisonment, respectively. They appealed, claiming there was an impermissible…

Kazimiera Kamyk v. Nancy A. Berryhill
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3647
Richard Smego v. Gregg Scott
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3721
King v. Marion County Circuit Court  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3726

Justia Opinion Summary: An Indiana county may subsidize private dispute resolution in domestic-relations cases. Under Marion County's Plan, a party to a domestic-relations suit may request subsidized mediation, or the court may order it of its…

Caudill Seed & Warehouse Co. v. Rose  
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4072

Justia Opinion Summary: Rose bought $120,000 of products on credit from Caudill and did not pay. Before a district court ruled for Caudill, Rose gave 440 acres of land to his son Matt, then filed for bankruptcy. Caudill began an adversary…

Chiquita Newell v. Elinor Velacruz
Date: August 18, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1617
Wine & Canvas Development, LLC v. Theodore Weisser
Date: August 17, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2088
Wine & Canvas Development, LLC v. Muylle  
Date: August 17, 2017
Docket Numbers: 15-3658, 15‐2088

Justia Opinion Summary: Wine & Canvas (W&C) hosts “painting nights.” Patrons, following a teacher’s instructions, create a painting while enjoying wine. W&C operated in Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Oklahoma City. Muylle signed a license…

USA v. Richard Geasland
Date: August 16, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3047
Winebow, Inc. v. Capitol-Husting Co., Inc.  
Date: August 16, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3682

Justia Opinion Summary: Winebow imports and distributes wines to downstream wholesalers. It wants to cut its ties with two wholesale distributors, which have had the exclusive right to sell and distribute Winebow products within specified…

Farmer v. United States  
Date: August 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1483

Justia Opinion Summary: Farmer was convicted of armed bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. 2113(a) and (d), and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, section 924(c)(1)(A)(ii). Farmer drove the getaway car and was not in the bank during the…

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.  
Date: August 15, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3452

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, African-Americans, worked for Union Pacific as “Signal Helpers,” an entry‐level job. After a probationary period, both became eligible for promotion. Union Pacific did not respond to their requests to take a…

USA v. Pablo Lopez
Date: August 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1573
Tracie Kolar v. Nancy A. Berryhill
Date: August 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1723
Chessie Logistics Co., LLC v. Krinos Holdings, Inc.  
Date: August 15, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4257

Justia Opinion Summary: Chessie is a railroad authorized to operate one mile of track in Melrose Park, Illinois. It has apparently been many years since trains have run on that track. Krinos owns and operates an adjacent industrial facility. A…

Walker v. Groot  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 14-2478

Justia Opinion Summary: Walker, classified as a sexually violent person, has lived in the Rushville Treatment & Detention Center since 2007 when he finished serving a sentence in an Illinois prison. Walker's treatment team assigned him a…

Hagan v. Quinn  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 15-1791

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Plaintiffs, former arbitrators for the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, brought a due process action challenging the implementation of a workers’ compensation reform statute that terminated their…

Hollins v. Regency Corp.  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3607

Justia Opinion Summary: Regency operated for‐profit cosmetology schools in 20 states. Each offered classroom instruction and practical instruction in a salon, where members of the public could receive cosmetology services at low prices.…

Grede v. FCStone LLC  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1896, 16-1916

Justia Opinion Summary: Sentinel managed investments for futures commission merchants (FCMs) like FCStone, which act as financial intermediaries between investors and futures markets. Sentinel itself was an FCM. Sentinel organized its customers…

Frederick Grede v. FCStone LLC
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1916
United States v. Hansmeier  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3070

Justia Opinion Summary: Illinois officers arrested Walker after making controlled buys of methamphetamine from him. Walker told Agent Hiland that Hansmeier, who lived in Missouri, was his drug source and dealt large quantities of…

United States v. DiCosola  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3497

Justia Opinion Summary: DiCosola started a business that produced compact discs in novelty shapes, for use as promotional items. The business morphed into a full‐service printing business, reaching about $1 million in gross annual sales and…

Barnes v. Sears, Roebuck and Co.  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3554

Justia Opinion Summary: In a class action against Sears concerning a defect in washing machines, the district court awarded class counsel $4.8 million, 1.75 times the fees counsel originally charged for their work on the case. The court…

Owens v. Board of Education of Chicago  
Date: August 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3607

Justia Opinion Summary: Owens became the maintenance supervisor at Phillips Academy. Months later, he came under supervision by Miller. According to Owens, he told Miller that he had an age-discrimination suit pending against the Board of…

Estate of Kevin F. Flynn v. Frances Gecker
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1075
Frances Gecker v. Estate of Peer Pedersen
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1132
Frances Gecker v. Estate of Kevin F. Flynn
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1133
John McMahon v. Frances Gecker
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1143
Frances Gecker v. John McMahon
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1148
Kevin Larson v. Frances Gecker
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1160
Frances Gecker v. Kevin Larson
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1161
Frances Gecker v. Joseph McQuaid
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1164
Joseph McQuaid v. Frances Gecker
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1165
Estate of Pedersen v. Gecker  
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1235, 16‐1075, 16‐1165, 16‐1164, 16‐1161, 16‐1132, 16‐1133, 16‐1143, 16‐1148, 16‐1160

Justia Opinion Summary: Emerald had an Illinois gaming license to operate in East Dubuque. Emerald operated profitably in 1993 but then struggled to compete with an Iowa casino. By 1996, Emerald had closed the casino and was lobbying for an act…

United States v. Johnson  
Date: August 11, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3595

Justia Opinion Summary: ATF agents executed an arrest warrant at Coleman’s residence and observed what appeared to be heroin. After receiving his Miranda rights, Coleman stated that it was heroin for his personal use. The agents escorted…

Chambers v. United States  
Date: August 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2977

Justia Opinion Summary: Chambers pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(2)(A), (a)(5)(B). His attorney argued for a downward variance based on Chambers’s diminished capacity, U.S.S.G. 5K2.13. He was sentenced to…

Studer v. Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital  
Date: August 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3728

Justia Opinion Summary: Studer worked at Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, a not‐for‐profit Dixon, Illinois healthcare provider, as an occupational therapist. After she resigned, she filed a small‐claims state court complaint, alleging that the…

Mathias v. Mihm  
Date: August 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3808

Justia Opinion Summary: From 1978-1997, Mathias worked for Caterpillar in York, Pennsylvania. In 1997 he experienced serious health issues; the Social Security Administration declared him disabled. Caterpillar covered his health insurance as an…

Sandra Sikorski v. Nancy A. Berryhill
Date: August 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4028
James McQuillen v. PetSmart, Inc.
Date: August 10, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1456
Patel v. Portfolio Diversification Group, Inc.  
Date: August 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2905

Justia Opinion Summary: Patel saved $560,000, enough to purchase a 7-Eleven franchise. He kept the money with Portfolio; the contract gave Wagha discretion over the funds’ deployment. Wagha invested much of the money in options. By the time…

Bernard Henneberger v. Ticom Geomatics, Inc.
Date: August 9, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3290
In re: Husain  
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Numbers: 15-3308, 16‐1254

Justia Opinion Summary: The U.S. Trustee alleged that Husain’s bankruptcy filings regularly failed to include debtors’ genuine signatures. Bankruptcy Judge Cox of the Northern District of Illinois made extensive findings, disbarred Husain, and…

Bellevue v. Universal Health Services of Hartgrove, Inc.  
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3473

Justia Opinion Summary: Hartgrove, a psychiatric hospital, is enrolled with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to receive Medicaid reimbursement. Hartgrove agreed to comply with all federal and state laws and “to be fully…

In re
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1254
Biagio Stragapede v. City of Evanston
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1344
Richardson v. Griffin  
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1700

Justia Opinion Summary: Mobley was shot in the leg; the shooter fled. The only physical evidence found by Gary, Indiana police was one spent shotgun shell. Earlier that day, Richardson had argued with his girlfriend while standing in Mobley’s…

Secure Leverage Group, Inc. v. Ira Bodenstein
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3424
Robert Miller v. Ira Bodenstein
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3425
Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co., v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Compa
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3563
Haley v. Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co.  
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3648, 16‐3563

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Haley and others filed a putative class action against Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork, claiming that windows purchased from Kolbe were defective and had allowed air and water to leak into (and damage) the plaintiffs’…

BT Bourbonnais Care, LLC v. Norwood  
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3655, 16-3968

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs purchased Illinois nursing homes and obtained new state licenses and federal Medicare provider numbers. Most of the residents in the 10 homes qualify for Medicaid assistance. The Illinois Department of…

BT Bourbonnais Care, LLC v. Felicia Norwood
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3968
McKinney v. Sheriff's Office of Whitley County  
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4131

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013 the Sheriff of Whitley County, Indiana hired the county’s first black police officer, McKinney. Nine months later, McKinney was fired. He sued for race discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…

United States v. Harden  
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1227

Justia Opinion Summary: Based on a tip, DEA officers followed Harden and attempted a traffic stop. In attempting to evade officers, Harden attained speeds that were at least 21 miles per hour over the 25 mph speed limit. During the chase, he…

United States v. Coscia  
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3017

Justia Opinion Summary: Most commodities trading takes place with the participants using computers to execute hyper‐fast trading strategies at speeds, and in volumes, that far surpass those common in the past. Coscia commissioned and used a…

United States v. Anderson  
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3134

Justia Opinion Summary: Anderson and three accomplices had robbed a Milwaukee bank in 2014. As they drove away, a dye pack burst inside a bag of currency, leaving some of the bills stained and singed. The robbers tossed the bag from the car. A…

Secure Leverage Group, Inc. v. Ira Bodenstein
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3424
Miller v. Bodenstein  
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3425, 16-3424

Justia Opinion Summary: Peregrine was a registered futures commissions merchant, a registered forex dealer member of the National Futures Association, and dealt in retail foreign currency (retailforex) and spot metal transactions. The…

Pine Top Receivables of Illinois, LLC v. Banco de Seguros del Estado  
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3499

Justia Opinion Summary: From 1977-1984 Banco reinsured 2% of the Insurer’s business. The Insurer stopped writing policies in 1985, went into receivership in 1986, and began liquidating in 1987. Through 1993 the liquidator complied with…

United States v. Schreiber  
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3847

Justia Opinion Summary: An officer saw a car in front of a Summit, Illinois liquor store, took down the license number, and prepared to make a traffic stop, but was called to another incident. After hearing that the store was robbed and seeing…

USA v. Charles Weatherman
Date: August 7, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1354
United States v. Jackson  
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3693

Justia Opinion Summary: Jackson was convicted of three counts of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent that she engage an illegal sexual activity, 18 U.S.C. 2423(a), three counts of sex trafficking of a minor, 18 U.S.C.…

Stephenson v. Neal  
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1312

Justia Opinion Summary: Stephenson was convicted, in Indiana, of the 1996 murders of three people and of theft of ammunition from the trailer in which one victim was staying. Shell casings at the murder scene matched those taken from the…

USA v. Donald Maggard
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1776
USA v. David Bell
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1777
USA v. Jeremy Jackson
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1780
United States v. Neeley  
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1832, 16‐1776, 16‐1777, 16‐1780

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendants were involved in a North Vernon, Indiana methamphetamine‐distribution conspiracy. Neeley supplied much of the methamphetamine that she and Maggard distributed to other dealers, including Bell and Jackson. …

Brendan Dassey v. Michael Dittmann
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3397
Koehn v. Tobias  
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3482

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Koehn filed a pro se complaint against his former employers. A magistrate held a settlement conference and appointed counsel for Koehn. The parties did not settle. Koehn obtained new counsel. The court held a…

Patrick Harlan v. Charles Scholz
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3547
Harlan v. Orr  
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3597, 16‐3547

Justia Opinion Summary: Two-and-a-half months before the November 2016 general election, Harlan, the Republican Party’s candidate for an Illinois congressional seat, and the Crawford County Republican Central Committee filed suit, seeking a…

United States v. Castetter  
Date: August 4, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1327

Justia Opinion Summary: With a warrant, police installed and monitored a GPS locator on Holst's car, while investigating Holst’s participation in methamphetamine sales. Police tracked Holst’s car as it stopped at a particular place for more…

Allen v. City of Chicago  
Date: August 3, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1029

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, current and former members of the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Organized Crime, claim that the Bureau did not compensate them for work they did off-duty on their mobile electronic devices…

Syl Johnson v. UMG Recordings, Incorporated
Date: August 3, 2017
Docket Number: 17-2260
Gray v. Zatecky  
Date: August 2, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2482

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Gray and another went to Jones’s home to buy marijuana. Avant, was present and saw the three retire to the rear of the house. The third man returned and robbed Avant.Gray ran past carrying a bag, firing into the…

Anderson v. United States  
Date: August 2, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2683

Justia Opinion Summary: When Anderson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, the district court had only a general knowledge of Anderson’s mental‐health problems. The court knew that Anderson had been diagnosed as a…

Coexist Foundation, Inc. v. Fehrenbacher  
Date: August 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3332

Justia Opinion Summary: Coexist was formed by Hubman, an admitted con man, after a court found that his previous enterprise, Hubman Foundation was not a charity but a sham designed to insulate Hubman from his debts and obligations. Hubman was…

Nischan v. Stratosphere Quality, LLC  
Date: August 2, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3464

Justia Opinion Summary: Nischan had a history of performance problems and had made mistakes that had resulted in her demotion. One of her mistakes was serious, implicated safety concerns, and occurred in front of Sabbah, who was the employee of…

Prevatte v. Merlak  
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2378

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, Prevatte was convicted of detonating a pipe bomb that destroyed property and resulted in the death of a bystander, Antkowicz, 18 U.S.C. 844(i). If the bomb had not caused a death, the maximum sentence Prevatte…

City of South Bend v. South Bend Common Council
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3315
City of South Bend v. South Bend Common Council  
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Numbers: 15-3385, 15-3315

Justia Opinion Summary: South Bend’s Police Department records some of the desk phones supplied to officers. Bishop’s phone was added to those being recorded, at his request. In 2010, Richmond took Bishop’s former office. Richmond kept his…

Victoria-Faustino v. Sessions  
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1784

Justia Opinion Summary: Victoria‐Faustino, a Mexican national who entered the U.S. illegally in 1991, is the father of five U.S. citizens. He returned to Mexico to visit his family in 1999 but re‐entered illegally in January 2000. During a 2000…

Cory Groshek v. Time Warner Cable
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3355
Berry v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA  
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3544

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Berry signed a $270,000 mortgage to fund improvements to his Chicago home. He denies missing any payments but the mortgage was foreclosed later that year. Years of protracted litigation ensued, with Berry arguing…

Groshek v. Great Lakes Higher Education Corp.  
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3711, 16-3355

Justia Opinion Summary: Over about 18 months, Groshek submitted 562 job applications to employers. The job application, which the employers provided, included a disclosure and authorization form stating that a consumer report might be procured…

Richard Morens v. Michael Meisner
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3831
Harper v. Brown  
Date: July 31, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2276

Justia Opinion Summary: Police executed a warrant at Harper’s home and recovered a stolen firearm, 109.9 grams of methamphetamine (about 400 individual uses), a digital scale, plastic baggies, and 0.61 grams of heroin in small foil packages.…

United States v. Campbell  
Date: July 31, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3869

Justia Opinion Summary: Campbell, age 69 years, has been diagnosed with schizoaffective and post‐traumatic stress disorders. In 2012, Campbell was residing in a Chicago Reentry Center, completing his sentence for a 2005 conviction for entering…

Stragapede v. City of Evanston  
Date: July 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1344

Justia Opinion Summary: Stragapede worked in Evanston’s water services department for 14 years. In 2009 he suffered a traumatic brain injury at home. The city placed him on a temporary leave of absence during his recovery and rehabilitation.…

Lanigan v. Berryhill  
Date: July 31, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2894

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Lanigan injured his back at his job and hurt his neck in a car accident; in 2011 he was diagnosed with diabetes. Since then his medical impairments have been complicated by mental illness. Lanigan applied for…

USA v. Deshaun Brown
Date: July 28, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2933
United States v. Pagan  
Date: July 28, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-1496, 15-2933, 16-3149

Justia Opinion Summary: The Imperial Insane Vice Lords (Double-Is) street gang controlled the “Keystone Drug Market” in Chicago. Pagan and Hawthorne were members and began selling narcotics in 2000 and 2005, respectively. Brown a member of the…

United States v. Enoch  
Date: July 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1546

Justia Opinion Summary: Enoch pleaded guilty to robbing a person having custody of property belonging to the United States, 18 U.S.C. 2114(a) and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A)(ii). He reserved…

USA v. Gregory Hawthorne
Date: July 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3149
United States v. Simpson  
Date: July 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3286

Justia Opinion Summary: Simpson, convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1); 841(b)(1), moved for a new trial, alleging that his counsel was ineffective by: failure to interview and call witnesses with…

United States v. Thompson  
Date: July 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3741

Justia Opinion Summary: Thompson found a 15-year-old runaway and promised her modeling work. She got into his truck. He and his wife stole a camper. The three embarked on a six-week trip, during which he sold the girl’s sexual services to at…

USA v. Viet Nguyen
Date: July 27, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3283
United States v. Williams  
Date: July 27, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3373

Justia Opinion Summary: Williams and Carpenter entered a Homewood, Illinois, bank, each carrying a nine‐millimeter handgun. Williams pointed his gun and forced several employees to the ground while Carpenter ordered others to open the vault.…

USA v. Alexis Miranda-Sotolongo
Date: July 27, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3881
Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance Co. v. CE Design, Ltd.  
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3332

Justia Opinion Summary: CE, an Illinois corporation that litigates claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. 227, filed a class action in Illinois state court accusing Homegrown, a Canadian marketing firm, of sending…

Brownlee v. Hospira, Inc.  
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2005

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued her former employer, claiming that discharging her had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The parties agreed in writing to settle the litigation but their agreement provided that there would be …

Joshua Lanigan v. Nancy A. Berryhill
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2894
United States v. Wearing  
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3312

Justia Opinion Summary: Hoping to earn money as a pimp, Wearing recruited a 15‐year‐old acquaintance, KV, to work as a prostitute. He posted a Craigslist ad with her photo, took her to a hotel where he had her “audition” on him, and twice tried…

Estate of Clark v. Walker  
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Numbers: 16-3560, 16‐3644

Justia Opinion Summary: Clark, who had a long history of alcoholism and depression, committed suicide five days after entering the custody of the Green Lake, Wisconsin, County Jail. The officers on duty at the time of his death did not know…

Estate of Ryan L. Clark v. Tina Kuehn
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3644
Carson v. Lake County  
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3665

Justia Opinion Summary: Lake County had cash flow of $51 million in 2007. In 2009, it was operating at a deficit; by 2013 its general fund was more than $1 million in the red. The county’s self-insurance fund had a balance of $10 million in…

Thomas Carter v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.
Date: July 26, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1801
Orellana-Arias v. Sessions  
Date: July 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1874

Justia Opinion Summary: Orellana‐Arias, a citizen of El Salvador, was detained as he entered the United States in 2013. He had previously entered illegally and been removed in 2001 and had entered and worked undetected from 2007-2011. …

United States v. Parkhurst  
Date: July 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3102

Justia Opinion Summary: Parkhurst posted advertisements on Craigslist’s “casual encounters” section, looking for “a very young white boy … little to no body hair … 18 or slightly older (younger the better) … prefer … a virgin.” Decatur…

United States v. Snyder  
Date: July 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3779

Justia Opinion Summary: Mars, age 19, drove the getaway car for Snyder and Vogt when they robbed a convenience store. The men became nervous that Mars would disclose their crime. Vogt lured Mars to the Decatur sanitation district and murdered…

Lennon v. City of Carmel  
Date: July 25, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3836

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were cited for violating Carmel City Ordinance 8-2, which incorporated Indiana’s traffic regulations. Some paid a fine. Some had a default judgment entered against them. Some were convicted; others entered…

Oliva v. Blatt, Hasenmiller, Leibsker & Moore, LLC  
Date: July 24, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2516

Justia Opinion Summary: The Blatt firm filed a collection lawsuit against Oliva in the first municipal district of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Oliva resided in Cook County. Under the Seventh Circuit’s 1996 “Newsom” decision, interpreting…

United States v. Marks  
Date: July 24, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2862

Justia Opinion Summary: Marks pled guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin. Marks had been convicted of state controlled‐substance offenses in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 2000. For the career‐offender Guideline (U.S.S.G. 4B1.1) to apply, at least…

Murphy v. Smith  
Date: July 24, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3384

Justia Opinion Summary: Murphy was an inmate in the Illinois Vandalia Correctional Center when correctional officers hit him, fracturing his eye socket, and left him in a cell without medical attention. Murphy sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and…

Davis v. Cross  
Date: July 24, 2017
Docket Number: 15-3681

Justia Opinion Summary: Davis and Haslip entered a Kansas bank. Davis approached Ashenfelter, requesting change. Haslip approached Anderson’s window, drew a handgun, and demanded money. Davis told Ashenfelter to open the drawers at both teller…

Jose A. Mendoza-Solis v. Jefferson B. Sessions III
Date: July 24, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1171
Lewis v. McLean  
Date: July 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1220

Justia Opinion Summary: Lewis, a Wisconsin prisoner, claimed in his suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, that staff at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility violated the Eighth Amendment by delaying medical attention for a painful back condition and then…

Vanprooyen v. Berryhill  
Date: July 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3653

Justia Opinion Summary: By 2009 Vanprooyen’s physician had prescribed Xanax to treat her panic attacks. She was treated for anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. She had a history of addiction. In 2010, Vanprooyen, then age 26, fell down…

United States v. Ali  
Date: July 21, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4218

Justia Opinion Summary: Ali, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, took his three small children out of the U.S. without his wife’s knowledge, intending to go to Pakistan. His wife had been granted custody of the children by a court…

Alamo v. Bliss  
Date: July 20, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2849

Justia Opinion Summary: Alamo worked for the Chicago Fire Department. He alleges that in 2009, after a transfer, other firefighters began harassing him, calling him “spic” and “f--king Puerto Rican,” and stealing Alamo’s food. Alamo also…

National Power Corp. v. Federal Aviation Administration  
Date: July 20, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3770

Justia Opinion Summary: National manufactures battery packs, including the lithium battery packs at issue (Batteries), which were regulated as hazardous materials. A Federal Aviation Administration agent inspected National’s Chicago facility…

Chen v. Sessions  
Date: July 20, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1130

Justia Opinion Summary: Chen, a lawful permanent resident who came from China at age 11, was ordered removed from the U.S. as an alien convicted of a controlled‐substance crime, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). He had drug convictions in 2010 and…

Dentrell Brown v. Richard Brown
Date: July 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1014
Schneider v. United States  
Date: July 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1089

Justia Opinion Summary: Facing the possibility of two life sentences, Schneider pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his minor daughter, 18 U.S.C. 2243(a)(1). The court warned Schneider five times that it could impose a sentence as high as 15…

Terence S. Chancellor v. Select Portfolio Servicing
Date: July 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2475
Squires-Cannon v. Forest Preserve District of Cook County  
Date: July 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3118

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff owned and lived on a 400-acre estate and horse farm in Barrington Hills, Illinois, leasing the horse farm, “Horizon Farms,” to their company, Royalty Farms, LLC, which managed the farm’s operations. Their…

Summers v. Berryhill  
Date: July 19, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3849

Justia Opinion Summary: Summers was fired from her job as an Elkhart, Indiana production-line worker. She applied for disability insurance benefits, alleging that she became disabled on the date she was fired. The Social Security Administration…

Carroll v. Takada  
Date: July 18, 2017
Docket Number: 14-3576

Justia Opinion Summary: Catherine’s parents, Mary and Henry, settled an inter vivos trust with real estate as the trust property. The trust document included a standard spendthrift provision meant to shield the trust’s future benefits from the…

United States v. Sandidge  
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2180

Justia Opinion Summary: Officers found a loaded revolver in Sandidge’s living room while investigating a report that he attempted to sexually assault a woman at gunpoint. Sandidge pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C.…

United States v. Fifer  
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2812

Justia Opinion Summary: Police used a confidential source to buy heroin from registered sex offender Fifer. They obtained a state court warrant to search for evidence including cell phones and computers. They discovered a half‐naked 16‐year‐old…

USA v. Salvador Navarro
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3092
Streit v. Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Co.  
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3203

Justia Opinion Summary: Streit set fire to the house where he lived with his parents, which was insured by Metropolitan. Under the Streits’ policy, the act of arson triggered a contractual exclusion of coverage. The Streits still submitted a…

Scheurer v. Fromm Family Foods, LLC  
Date: July 17, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3327

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Scheurer applied to work at Richelieu which outsourced its staffing needs to Remedy, a temporary staffing agency. The application form she signed with Remedy for placement with Richelieu contained an arbitration…

Oaks v. Pfister  
Date: July 14, 2017
Docket Number: 15-2924

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, Oaks was indicted in Illinois for the murder of his girlfriend’s three‐year‐old son. Oaks had no income or assets. His family provided $2,000 to retain an attorney, who asked for state funds for expert…

Estate of Simpson v. Gorbett  
Date: July 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2899

Justia Opinion Summary: Simpson fell off an upper bunk while incarcerated in the Bartholomew County Jail for a drunken driving conviction. Simpson was intoxicated when he reported to the jail to serve his weekend stay. Officers placed him in a…

United States v. Mojica  
Date: July 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2985

Justia Opinion Summary: The FBI investigated a large-scale Chicago cocaine-trafficking organization operated by “Gallo,” with court-authorized wiretaps on Gallo’s phones and charged 40 individuals, including Mojica, with various…

Pittman v. Madison County  
Date: July 14, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3291

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Pittman, a pretrial detainee in the Madison County, Illinois, jail, hanged himself in his cell. He did not die, but he sustained brain damage that has left him in a vegetative state, cared for entirely by his…

Gary Jet Center, Inc. v. AFCO AvPORTS Management, LLC  
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1233

Justia Opinion Summary: Gary Jet began operating as a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at the Authority's Gary/Chicago International Airport in 1991. The 2006 “Minimum Standards,” regulations governing FBOs, contained a 1.5% charge on gross revenue…

Westfield Insurance Co. v. National Decorating Service, Inc.  
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1439

Justia Opinion Summary: A newly-constructed multi‐story condominium building suffered water damage, allegedly caused by the painting subcontractor, National, failing to apply an adequate coat of sealant to the exterior. In Illinois state court,…

Proctor v. Sood  
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1942

Justia Opinion Summary: Proctor, an Illinois prisoner who was confined for seven years at Hill Correctional Center, suffers from chronic abdominal pain and spasms in his colon. He sued medical providers working at Hill for Wexford Health…

Lauth v. Covance, Inc.  
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2939

Justia Opinion Summary: Lauth, then 54, began working at Covance in 2006, as a shift supervisor. His performance reviews noted needed improvements in his communication style and that staff members had expressed discontent with Lauth’s…

United States v. Young  
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3733

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Young was convicted of two counts of burglary, committed under the influence of cocaine. As a condition of probation, he was subject to random drug screenings. In 2015, he appeared for a drug test wearing a…

Tate & Lyle v. Glatt Air Techniques Inc.
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3893
United States v. Trent  
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3960

Justia Opinion Summary: Trent was charged with distributing heroin that killed Corzette. At trial, Trent objected to the testimony of government witnesses Hull and Land, who had also been charged with distribution of heroin resulting in…

Tate & Lyle Americas LLC v. Glatt Air Techniques Inc.  
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Numbers: 17-1045, 16-3893

Justia Opinion Summary: Tate, sells ingredients to the food and beverage industry. Glatt sells processing equipment to the food industry. In 2008 the two entered a contract: Glatt would, for $7,042,022, design and build a three-story…

Shaft Jones v. 353,443.00 in U.S. Currency
Date: July 13, 2017
Docket Number: 17-1115
Detlef Sommerfield v. City of Chicago
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 12-1506
Sommerfield v. City of Chicago  
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Numbers: 13-1265, 12‐1506

Justia Opinion Summary: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reasonable cause to believe that Chicago Police Department violated Title VII by harassing Officer Sommerfield based on his national origin, German, and religion, Jewish.…

USA v. Omar Coria
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2038
Hudson v. Lashbrook  
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3152

Justia Opinion Summary: Awaiting trial on state charges for armed robbery and unlawful restraint, Hudson's public defender advised that he faced a sentence of six-60 years. He rejected a plea deal that offered 16 years. Hudson was convicted.…

Michael Aldous v. City of Galena, Illinois
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3212
Baines v. Walgreen Co.  
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3335

Justia Opinion Summary: Baines alleged that when her former employer, Walgreens, refused to rehire her in 2014, it intentionally retaliated against her for complaining about race discrimination several years earlier. She sued under 42 U.S.C.…

Southern Illinois Power Cooper v. EPA
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3398
International Union of Operati v. Brad Schimel
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3736
Milwaukee Police Association v. Flynn  
Date: July 12, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3743

Justia Opinion Summary: Vidmar, Manney, and Gomez were discharged from the Milwaukee Police Department, for cause, by Police Chief Flynn. Their benefits and pay stopped immediately. They appealed their terminations to the Board of Fire and…

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