2017 Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 1 - 500 of 1058
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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”…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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),…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
Date: October 10, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1784
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…
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…
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: 16-1754
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
Date: September 22, 2017
Docket Number: 16-4139
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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”…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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;…
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…
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…
Date: August 28, 2017
Docket Number: 16-2788
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Date: August 8, 2017
Docket Number: 16-3563
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’…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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. …
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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 …
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…
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…
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…
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. …
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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.…
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.…
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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