U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Recent News About U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
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BNSF Railway said worker was too obese for job in railyard; Judge lets ADA discrimination suit continue
A federal judge has said a man who had been denied employment by a railroad because he was too obese can continue his lawsuit accusing the railroad company of disability discrimination. -
Yellow Cab bankruptcy trustee alleges company officials tried to foil suit judgment; officials vehemently deny
The attorney for the Chicago taxi company that succeeded Yellow Cab is accusing a federal bankruptcy trustee of falsely claiming company officials set up the company as a “sham vehicle to suck cash” from Yellow Cab and so keep the money from the plaintiff in a potentially expensive lawsuit against Yellow Cab. -
Judge orders IL state agencies to move quicker on applications for long-term Medicaid benefits
The Illinois Department of Human Services has 90 days from when basic Medicaid recipients apply to determine if they are eligible for long-term Medicaid, or they will be automatically eligible for the long-term benefits, a federal judge has ruled, brushing aside concerns from state officials the time limit will encourage applicants who may otherwise be ineligible to game the sytem. -
Judge: Class action can continue vs Wells Fargo, Fifth Third, Ironwood, others, over recorded calls
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a class action alleging telemarketers illegally recorded phone conversations among its banking clients’ business customers. -
Judge: Chicago city rules banning posters on lampposts too vague, unconstitutional
A Chicago federal judge has thrown out a citation the city of Chicago slapped on a nonprofit publishing company for sticking a poster on a city light pole, saying a city ordinance forbidding commercial postings on lamp posts doesn’t pass constitutional muster because it leaves too open to interpretation which kinds of posters or speech could be allowed. -
Appeals court: Chicagoans don't have constitutional right to school board elections
Chicago residents could have the right to vote in a school board election. But under Illinois’ state constitution, Chicago residents do not necessarily have the right to a school board election, a state appeals court has ruled. -
Judge nixes nationwide class-action claims in junk fax suit against Cirque du Soleil
Applying a new standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court, a Chicago federal judge has ruled that a junk fax suit against Cirque du Soleil can continue, but limited the class action claims only to Illinois residents. -
Can Lincolnshire become right-to-work? Question may center on home rule, appeals court told
Whether the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire can designate itself as a “right-to-work” community may come down to the question of whether, under Illinois’ home rule provisions, home rule communities, like Lincolnshire, can qualify as “the state” under federal labor laws. -
Jury in second trial: Abbvie owes $3.2M to man who claims Androgel caused heart attack
About three months after a federal judge threw out a jury’s $150 million verdict and ordered a new trial in the case, a new jury in Chicago has ordered drugmaker Abbvie to pay about $3.2 million to a man who claimed Abbvie’s drug Androgel had caused him to suffer a heart attack. -
Daughter not 'authorized user' of mom's card, bank can't arbitrate class action over collections calls to kid's phone
A woman and her daughter have been cleared to continue their class action lawsuit against Credit One Bank over collection calls the bank placed to the daughter’s cell phone, as a panel of federal appellate judges have said the bank can’t send the matter to arbitration by claiming, under the mother’s credit card agreement, the daughter should be considered an authorized user subject to the agreement, because she once used the card to pay for smoothies at the age of 14. -
Lawsuit: Madigan, political orgs retaliated vs female staffer who complained of sexual harassment
Saying she was ignored, belittled and then effectively shunned and fired, a female former campaign worker for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s political organizations has sued her former employers for allegedly doing next to nothing to address the sexual harassment she said she suffered at the hands of a high-ranking operative within the Madigan organization and the brother of a Chicago alderman. -
KFC wins right to restrict halal advertising; Case reminds franchisees of parent brand's contract rights
A federal judge's recent decision to allow KFC to tell a Muslim franchise owner to stop advertising his halal chicken should serve as a reminder that, when it comes to franchise business relationships, the parent brand has the final say on all matters of public perception, a business attorney said. -
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Class action: Hoteliers conspired to manipulate online search ad results, boost room prices
Comparing the practice to a surreptitious deal struck between the world’s biggest beverage bottlers to not trample on the other’s advertising turf, a new class action lawsuit accuses the country’s biggest hoteliers of illegally conspiring to boost room prices by working together to make it harder for consumers to compare prices online. -
Judge says lawsuit vs Madigan can continue over placement of 'sham' Hispanic candidates on ballot
A former primary election challenger to Illinois’ top state Democratic politician has been cleared to continue to sue Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and some of his supporters for allegedly placing “sham candidates” on the ballot two years ago to confuse and split the Hispanic vote, reducing the threat the opponent posed to the powerful Chicago lawmaker. -
Appeals panel: Man who fired lawyer right before signing settlement can't escape $87K attorney fees
A federal appeals court in Chicago has cleared the way for an attorney to collect $87,500 in fees owed by a former client, who the lawyer said refused to pay him after helping him navigate the path to a six-figure settlement in a legal dispute over an allegedly defective hip implant. -
Appeals panel: Man injured by falling stack of insulation at Menards should have recognized 'obvious danger'
A federal appeals panel has handed a win to home improvement retailer Menards against a man who claimed the big-box hardware and lumber chain should pay after he was injured by a falling stack of insulation. -
Cook Courts Clerk: No First Amendment obligation to provide immediate public access to lawsuits
The clerk of Cook County’s courts has asserted she has no obligation under the First Amendment to provide the press or public with immediate access to lawsuits publicly filed in court, making the claim as part of her bid to persuade a federal appeals panel to undo a federal judge’s injunction ordering her to create a system to provide swifter access to all electronically filed documents. -
Class action: Cook County Sheriff can't reintroduce 'sham' disciplinary complaints vs formerly fired deputies
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is facing yet another lawsuit over his handling of employee terminations before an illegally constituted merit board, as two fired Cook County deputies argue the sheriff has lost his chance to fire them and 230 other terminated sheriff’s officers, even after the board was reconstituted under new legislation. -
Judge rules death by 'autoerotic asphyxiation' an accident, not self-inflicted, awards insurance payout
A federal judge ruled that an insurance company must pay out on the accidental death policy of a man who died of autoerotic asphyxiation, siding with the man’s widow that choking oneself for sexual arousal does not qualify as a self-inflicted injury. -
Appeals panel: Ex-Redflex executive can't claim share of $20M paid to city to settle red-light camera bribes claims
Saying to find otherwise would give “fraudsters” the chance to profit from bribery, a federal appeals panel has upheld a lower court’s decision to bar a figure at the center of Chicago’s red light camera bribery scheme from claiming a cut of the settlement paid to City Hall by the city’s former red light camera vendor.