U.S. Supreme Court
Recent News About U.S. Supreme Court
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Judge corks Indiana wine seller's lawsuit vs Illinois over law banning shipping to IL customers
A Chicago federal judge has stomped on an Indiana wine retailer's suit, which claimed Illinois liquor law unconstitutionally bars him from shipping his products into Illinois, saying the suit fails at the "most basic level." But the seller is asking to reopen the case. -
Appeals panel: State agencies can't hire own lawyers when disagree with Atty Gen's legal strategies
A state appeals panel has refused to allow a state agency, under the supervision of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, to hire its own legal representation amid a conflict with Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan over legal strategy in defending against workers compensation claims brought by an independent personal assistant for those with disabilities who claimed she should be treated as a state employee after the state empowered a union to represent her. -
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. -
Supreme Court decision could have big impact on mass actions in Cook County, elsewhere
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned rulings made by three California courts that concluded they had specific jurisdiction over lawsuits brought by out-of-state residents against a company not incorporated or headquartered there. And reverberations from the decision will likely be felt in Cook County courtrooms, say observers. -
City of Chicago, pro-life groups settle legal fight over 'bubble zone' abortion protest restrictions
A group of anti-abortion activists who alleged Chicago City Hall used its so-called "bubble rule" around abortion clinics to illegally single out and violate the free speech rights of pro-life protesters have reached a settlement with the city, ending parts of their legal action against the city. -
Appeals panel: Lawyer not allowed to keep $600K fee for qui tam unpaid sales tax suit vs My Pillow
A state appeals court has ruled a lawyer who had individually sued pillow maker My Pillow, ostensibly on behalf of the state of Illinois for unpaid taxes, is not allowed to keep roughly $600,000 in legal fees he had claimed as part of the litigation. -
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Supreme Court ruling against racial gerrymandering could have national impact, though perhaps less in IL
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last month against alleged racial gerrymandering in North Carolina could impact congressional and state legislative elections nationwide. -
Catholic church can't be sued for discriminating against gay man fired as music director: Judge
A federal judge has turned aside a discrimination lawsuit brought by a gay man against the Roman Catholic Chicago Archdiocese for firing him from his role as music director at a church in suburban Inverness after he publicly announced his wedding engagement, saying the man’s tasks in his job at the church meant he “served an integral role in the celebration of mass,” and thus anti-discrimination laws did not apply to him. -
Colorado Fair Housing Act ruling mirrors decision by Seventh Circuit in breakthrough sex discrimination case
An April decision by a Colorado U.S. district court judge extended the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to include prohibiting discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people, mirroring a landmark ruling in Chicago's Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals regarding discrimination. -
Supreme Court decision puts dent in 'patent troll' cases, may put companies on defense in Chicago court
A decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday concerning patent infringement lawsuits will have a “profound impact” on so-called patent trolls, and changes jurisdictional considerations for federal courts across the country, says an intellectual property expert. -
Class action fails to rise vs Whirlpool over overheating self-cleaning ovens
A federal judge has denied class certification to Whirlpool customers who said the company sold them defective, overheating ovens, saying their expert witness couldn’t help them establish that all of their oven problems arose from the same source. -
Judge: Fired music director may be able to sue Chicago Catholic Church for age, ethnicity discrimination
A former longtime music director for a Chicago Catholic church, who alleged he was demoted and fired for being ethnic Polish and a senior citizen, might be able to sue for discrimination after reworking his complaint to prevent the church from exercising its ministerial exception rights. -
7th Circ. LGBT Title VII sex discrimination decision puts employers on notice; SCOTUS to ultimately decide
In the wake of a recent decision by a federal appeals court in Chicago, employers will no longer be able to necessarily be able to seek refuge in existing federal civil rights law against discrimination claims brought by gay, lesbian or transgendered employees, as the federal appeals judges said federal prohibitions against sex discrimination should be stretched to include those who fall under the LGBT banner, upsetting decades of established precedent on that question. -
Judge: Man has standing under Spokeo to sue lawyer who used his crash report to solicit him
A Chicago federal judge has cleared the way for a man to continue his lawsuit against a Chicago lawyer he has accused of buying traffic crash reports to improperly obtain his personal information to then offer to represent him in any legal actions involving his auto accident. -
U.S. Supreme Court could use IL case to toss out unions' 'fair share fees' collection from non-members
The U.S. Supreme Court will get the chance to decide how much fees public-worker unions in Illinois can take from non-union workers. And if it decides to hear arguments on a challenge to the fees originally introduced by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, it could mean the court is poised to overturn the longstanding legal precedent allowing the unions to exact the payments from non-members. -
Federal judge strikes down IL law banning med marijuana groups from donating to political campaigns
Libertarian political candidates won a free speech victory in federal court as a Chicago judge declared unconstitutional an Illinois campaign law barring medical marijuana businesses from making campaign contributions. -
IL 'fair share fees' lawsuit tossed; plaintiffs say 'desired result,' allowing appeal to SCOTUS
The U.S. Supreme Court will get the chance to decide just how much public worker unions in Illinois and elsewhere can exact from non-union workers, after a federal appeals court in Chicago upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit intended to challenge a longstanding legal precedent used by unions to justify the forcible collection of so-called “fair share” fees. -
Wells Fargo didn't send fax ad, but could still be on hook in TCPA class action, judge says
A Chicago federal judge has declined to let Wells Fargo off the hook of a junk fax class action lawsuit against the bank and one of its member services credit card processer, saying, even if Wells Fargo had no knowledge of the credit payment company’s decision to send a fax bearing its name, the bank’s name on the fax and business connection to its partner means it could share liability for the unauthorized fax. -
Phoney Lawsuits: How a Polish immigrant apparently sued his way to $800K
FDS Bank says the man no longer qualifies for Social Security disability benefits because he has made approximately $800,000 from filing 31 lawsuits. FDS says he made less than $30,000 in 2009 working construction before creating a scheme to manufacture claims under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.