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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Posner announces retirement, ending 36-year prolific, influential tenure on Seventh Circuit
After more than three-and-a-half decades on the bench at Chicago’s Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Richard Posner has announced his retirement. -
Judges: Asbestos plaintiff not harmed by ruling barring testimony from doctor over exposure theories
A federal appeals court in Chicago has refused to upend a jury’s verdict against a retired pipefitter, who had claimed Owens-Illinois and ExxonMobil should be held liable for his lung cancer because possible exposure to asbestos on work sites decades ago, and not a 30-year, pack-and-a-half-a-day cigarette smoking habit, had caused the illness. -
Subway footlong class action plaintiffs to take another stab, after appeals court sliced 'worthless' deal
Less than five days after a federal appeals court threw out a settlement deal intended to cut short the litigation, a group of lawyers representing people suing Subway over the length of their footlong sub sandwiches have indicated they will now refresh their class actions against the ubiquitous fast food chain. -
Seventh Circuit: Ex-Gov. Quinn OK to terminate workers comp arbitrators who sued the state over reforms
A federal appellate court has affirmed Illinois governors are within their rights not to reappoint workers’ compensation arbitrators, even if they claim their dismissal was retaliatory. -
Judge: Lawyers' objections to rival attorneys' $24M fee request merely cash grab, not worth $59K fees
While a Texas lawyer and his client say their efforts helped reduce other attorneys’ multi-million dollar payday under a $56 million class action settlement deal, a federal judge has rejected their attempts to grab a $59,000 share of that settlement, saying their efforts were redundant and produced nothing but an opportunity for them to grab some quick cash. -
Judge sinks footlong sub sandwich suit, calls dismissed action ‘worthless’ and a ‘racket’
A Chicago federal appeals panel suffered heartburn from a class-action suit, which claimed Subway Footlong sandwiches cheat customers by occasionally measuring just under a foot, likening the litigation to a “racket” that lines the pockets of plaintiffs’ lawyers, but does little else -
Appeals panel: Volvo's full refund offer doesn't negate class action over hybrid SUV's mileage marketing
A Chicago federal appellate court breathed new life into a lawsuit against Volvo, saying an offer by the automaker to pay one customer a full refund doesn’t garage the class action complaint. -
Appeals court shears class action vs Regency beauty school, says students not employees under FLSA
A Chicago federal appellate court has scalped a class-action lawsuit filed by a onetime student of a nationwide beauty school, which alleged student cosmetologists should be paid for on-the-job training, as the hands-on work experience serves as compensation and is required for licensing. -
7th Circuit says Chicago doesn't owe cops OT for off-duty emails; lawyer says shows need for clear policy
A federal appeals court has backed Chicago City Hall in its dispute with a group of police officers who claimed they should be paid overtime for off-duty emailing on their official Blackberrys. And that decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit demonstrates the importance for employers to have a clearly defined policy on overtime work for employees -
Appeals court: EEOC can keep investigating Union Pacific even after specific discrimination case tossed
Federal employment discrimination regulators are not limited to pursuing their own discrimination investigations against employers, even after a case under which the agency launched an investigation is dismissed, a federal appeals court has ruled. -
Federal judge's 'important punt' sends key question on status of Uber drivers in class action to arbitrator
A Chicago federal judge has added a new entry in the ongoing debate over whether companies can force employees and contractors to sign class-action waivers, stepping into a dispute in which an Uber driver claims the company owes him wages and overtime under federal law. -
Seventh Circuit slices $4.8M atty fee award in half in defective washing machines class action vs Sears
A federal appeals panel has sliced almost in half nearly $5 million in attorney fees awarded by a federal judge to a group of lawyers who led a decade-long legal action against Sears and Whirlpool over allegedly defective washing machines the retailer sold. -
Debate brews over whether Americans with Disabilities Act or Title VII protects transgender employees
A legal debate is now brewing over whether transgender employees should be legally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), particularly given a spate of recent rulings, including from a Chicago federal appeals court, finding they may already be protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well. -
A non-starter in federal court, case vs Roti over credit card digits on receipts still headed to Cook court
A federal judge has again sent back to Cook County Circuit Court a class action dispute about how many credit card digits appear on restaurant receipts, saying, while federal courts have been clear the case is a non-starter, Illinois state courts have yet to answer. -
Federal appeals court says Colts season ticket holder has no right to renew tickets
A Pennsylvania ticket broker and former Indianapolis Colts season ticket holder has failed in his bid to persaude the courts to force the team to allow him to renew his season tickets, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said there is no such guarantee of renewal under the law. -
Seventh Circuit: Wisconsin copy of Indiana right to work law constitutional
A federal appeals court in Chicago has upheld a Wisconsin right to work law as constitutional, as judges said they could find no "compelling reasons" to revisit that question after upholding Indiana's similar law three years ago. -
Home caregivers ask SCOTUS: Can IL force union representation?; Potential ramifications far-reaching
A group of Illinois child care providers and in-home care providers for those with disabilities have asked the nation’s highest court to step in to their dispute with a prominent labor union, arguing the state’s decision to force the care providers to allow the Service Employees International Union to serve as their bargaining representative as a condition of accepting payment through state assistance programs violates their constitutional rights. -
Qui tam plaintiff accuses ex-lawyers Touhy Touhy & Buehler of mishandling Medicare fraud case vs CVS
A Lake County man has accused his former attorneys of mishandling Medicare fraud lawsuits he filed against CVS. -
Appeals court: Legal maneuver to use different court rule to intercept TCPA class action still won't fly
A federal appeals court has shot down a gambit by a company attempting to swat down a junk fax class action lawsuit by depositing with the court a payment it believed to satisfy the claims of the lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, as judges said they did not believe the attempt to use a seeming loophole in a recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling is different enough from the very act the nation’s high court wouldn’t fly under the law. -
Chicago City Hall 'locked in pre-McDonald mindset,' meaning legal fights over gun rights likely not over
While courts have ruled the city of Chicago has to change its way of thinking related to citizens' gun rights, a prominent Chicago appeals attorney believes the city remains mired in an approach to handgun regulation that could invite yet more legal actions and setbacks in the courts.