U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Recent News About U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
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Ex-sewage worker wins chance to argue Metro Water District fired him for being black, with 'alcohol disability'
A Chicago federal appellate court has reversed the dismissal of a suit by a man who claims the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago fired him because he is black and allegedly disabled by alcoholism, saying the man has presented plausible arguments for his case to continue, but not necessarily to prevail. -
Appeals panel: Federal law trumps state privacy law in class actions vs airlines over fingerprint scans
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed airlines shouldn’t face class action lawsuits concerning the use of employee fingerprint scans for biometric punch clocks -
Appeals court: CTA bus driver's obesity doesn't qualify for ADA protection
The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has put the brakes on an appeal from a former bus driver who said the Chicago Transit Authority illegally fired him for being obese, finding the man’s weight didn’t qualify him for Americans with Disabilities Act protections. -
Chicago appeals court poised to decide if key Supreme Court decision applies to federal class actions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is poised to become the first appeals court in the country to decide whether a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision could stop additional plaintiffs from joining class action lawsuits in states where they don't live. -
Appeals court revives age discrimination suit vs Ashley Furniture franchisee; misnaming defendant just a typo
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled a worker can continue a discrimination claim against the owner of several Ashley’s Furniture franchise stores, despite naming the employer incorrectly on his complaints. -
United Continental pilots' class action suit vs their union should survive, judge says
A federal judge has grounded an airline pilots’ union’s efforts to dodge a class-action lawsuit by arguing the claims brought by the suit expired while the case was on appeal, and the class action over pay owed to pilot instructors will continue. -
Appeals judges toss man's trip-and-fall suit vs Menards, say he should have seen the sign he tripped over
A federal appeals panel has ruled a federal judge was right to reject a lawsuit brought against home improvement chain Menard's, saying the man tripped over a sign that was an "open and obvious hazard." -
SCOTUS gives win to GSK in appeal of $3M verdict over Chicago lawyer's suicide, Paxil drug labeling
The widow of a lawyer who took his own life, allegedly after taking the generic equivalent of widely prescribed antidepressant drug, Paxil, will not get a chance to undo a federal appeals court’s decision to toss out a federal jury’s findings that GSK, the maker of Paxil, owes her $3 million because it allegedly didn’t push federal regulators hard enough to revise the drug’s warning label. -
Misnaming defendants cost Indiana musical instruments company $4.9M in trademark suit vs Guitar Center
An Indiana-based musical instruments company won't get $4.9 million in additional damages in its trademark infringement complaint against Guitar Center because it wrongly named a couple of affiliated defendants in its lawsuit, a federal appeals court ruled. -
Pritzker, union say US high court should reject class action attempt vs SEIU over unconstitutional fees
Unions that used a state law which was later declared to be unconstitutional to take millions of dollars from non-union home caregivers who were not employed by the state should not be exposed to the risk of a class action lawsuit to force the union to refund those unconstitutional fees, Illinois’ governor and attorneys for a union said in briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court this week. -
SCOTUS decision could mean new hearing for widow's suit vs GSK over suicide of lawyer taking generic Paxil
A federal appeals court in Chicago could be tasked with taking another look at its previous decision undoing a jury verdict ordering drug maker GSK to pay $3 million to the widow of a Chicago lawyer who committed suicide after taking the generic equivalent of a widely prescribed antidepressant drug. -
Judge punctures Local 150 union's try to sue NLRB for moving to limit 150's use of inflatable rats to protest
A federal judge has deflated a legal action accusing the National Labor Relations Board of violating a union’s rights to free speech by moving to stop the union from using inflatable rats and banners to continuosly protest "rat contractors." -
Appeals court: Plaintiff snubbed settlement from debt collector, gets stuck with big legal bill
A Chicago federal appeals court has refused to upend a lower court that ordered a collection agency pay only $11,000 of a plaintiff's $190,000 legal tab in a credit report lawsuit, saying the plaintiff doesn't deserve more, because he snubbed a reasonable settlement offer, then went to trial and won less than he would have collected in the proposed settlement. -
Appeals court flattens shareholders' suit vs Caterpillar execs for misbegotten Chinese deal
A Chicago federal appeals panel has upheld a decision by a downstate federal judge, who gave no traction to a lawsuit brought by a pair of Caterpillar shareholders over Caterpillar executives' allegedly ill-advised decision to buy a Chinese company, saying the company officers acted in what they believed to be Caterpillar's best interests. -
Appeals panel: Peer review doesn't let female Russian Jewish doctor sue Northwest Comm. Hospital for discrimination
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said a doctor isn’t allowed to bring a discrimination lawsuit against Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights because she’s an independent contractor, not an employee. -
Appellate panel: 'Defamatory' American Bar Association journal article was actually protected speech
CHICAGO – A certifying agency for forensic document examiners failed to convince a federal appellate court that the American Bar Association libeled it by publishing an article that suggested another agency’s graduates were better trained. -
Overcharged Cook County taxpayers can't sue county in federal court over inflated assessments
A federal judge said he isn’t allowed to take jurisdiction over a lawsuit in which Cook County property owners claimed their property tax bills were falsely inflated so other properties could be underassessed and pay less. -
Builders Bank's appeal of FDIC rating deemed waste of 'a judge's valuable time'
A federal appeals panel has denied a former bank’s attempt to sue the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and upbraided the plaintiffs for legal maneuvering that "wasted a judge’s valuable time.” -
Class action: Union must refund millions in unconstitutional fees taken from non-union IL state workers
A group of non-union Illinois state employees say their union illegally forced them to continue paying fees to the union, even when the union knew the fees were likely to be declared unconstitutional. Now, those workers have asked a federal judge to order the union to refund the money. -
Appeals court: Ex-Baker & McKenzie paralegal must pay firm's bill for discrimination suit defense
A Chicago federal appellate court has upheld a $35,000 sanction ordered by a lower court against a former paralegal at a Chicago law firm, who sued the firm for alleged discrimination, then withdrew the suit and then repeatedly refused to satisfy the firm's discovery requests for copies of records and emails.