Federal Court News
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Judge says Potawatomi Tribe can't sue Waukegan over casino developer selection process
The tribe, which operates casinos in Wisconsin, asserted the city had engaged in a rigged and discriminatory bid process that unfairly excluded their proposal. Court documents noted the tribe had also said it sought to reduce losses for its successful Milwaukee location and 'reclaim' ancestral land
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Judge: Litigation financier Burford can seize control of Sysco's claims in chicken prices lawsuits
U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin rejected poultry producers' attempts to shut down Burford Capital's move to step into court in place of Sysco, saying poultry producers need to accept that third party lawsuit funders can take control of lawsuits to protect their investments and maximize profits
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Judge pulls plug on lawsuit trying to revoke Alsip crime-free housing 'chronic public nuisance' ordinance
A federal judge has ended a lawsuit which sought to declare the village of Alsip had violated constitutional rights of tenants and landlords, and discriminated against Black and brown residents of the village, in enacting and enforcing its so-called "chronic public nuisance" ordinance.
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Federal judge slams door, for now, on class action vs GEICO over pandemic insurance prices
Ruling holds plaintiffs lack a valid model to calculate damages
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Appeals panel: Differences over role of women in church won't stop ex-instructor from suing Moody, for now
A dissenting judge warned the decision to allow a female ex-instructor to sue Moody Bible Institute over her termination would inevitably lead to constitutionally impermissible questions into the religious beliefs Moody cites when running its Bible college
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S. IL federal judges rescind policies critics said discriminated vs white male lawyers
In letters to their chief judge, the federal judges acknowledged the policies, which encouraged law firms to allow young lawyers, who are female or non-white, to argue cases at least created a perception of discrimination
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Ancestry can't use arbitration clause in parents' user agreements to end kids' lawsuits
Appeals panel said children aren't a party to parents' contracts for use of DNA test kits
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Apple moves to bar software engineering VP from being deposed in BIPA suit; Plaintiffs seek sanctions
Apple product users who claim their biometric identifiers were collected and stored through the Photos App's facial recognition technology seek sanctions against the tech giant for failing to produce its Vice President of Software Engineering for a deposition ahead of the March 8 discovery deadline.
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Judge OKs Cook County 'assault weapons' ban, agrees that bans only apply to guns not protected by 2nd Amend
A Chicago federal judge became the latest to uphold a ban on so-called "assault weapons," saying she was bound by a 2023 appellate ruling which declared weapons labeled by lawmakers as "dangerous," "military-grade" weapons aren't protected by the Second Amendment and can be banned
Federal Court
Judge slams door on class action vs. city over impounded cars
The lawsuit had claimed the city should face the class action because plaintiffs still faced a risk of having their cars impounded, unless the city's policies are undone. A federal judge said that is not enough to allow them to move forward with the class action now.
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Appeals panel: Volleyball coach on hook for legal fees for meddling in class action over sex abuse coverup
Couple accused of asking potential class members to opt out of litigation
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Tubi can't unplug class action for allegedly sharing user info with advertisers
A federal judge denied Tubi's attempt to use an arbitration clause in its user agreement and other legal arguments to quickly defeat a class action lawsuit accusing the streaming service of violating a federal video privacy law
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Appeals panel: Tough Madison firefighter physical screening test didn't discriminate vs female firefighters
Judges said it is most important to ensure firefighters can actually do the work and can "hold the jobs on a fair and non-discriminatory basis."
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Despite contract clause, Walgreens can't send myWalgreens class action to arbitration
Federal judge rules pharmacy retailer forfeited right to invoke arbitration when it moved for dismissal of customers' complaint
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Appeals court says SEIU OK to dump local leadership over politics
Federal panel agrees the Service Employees International Union office had justification for imposing trusteeship at Chicago-area Local 73, enough to justify ousting longtime local leaders who had dissented from the parent organization's endorsement of Hillary Clinton for U.S. president in 2016
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River Forest man nears month in jail over unpaid divorce legal bills
A federal bankruptcy judge did not rule Jan. 3 on competing motions over whether Cook County judge can keep Marty Paris in jail while his bankruptcy continues
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Judge shuts down bid by Highland Park shooting plaintiffs to deny Smith & Wesson right to appeal
A federal judge agreed gunmaker Smith & Wesson had small chance to win on appeal to keep Highland Park lawsuits out of famously plaintiff-friendly Illinois state court, but said they have the right under federal law to appeal, no matter how fast plaintiffs want to move the case forward to a potentially big payout
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Class action demands IL counties pay back people whose homes were seized over unpaid property taxes
The lawsuit vs DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will and other populous counties says Illinois counties still using tax sales to seize and sell off homes to settle delinquent property taxes are defying the Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled such "equity theft" unconstitutional
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Apple rejects proposal to amend BIPA suit by subdividing the class, demands explanation of the 'undeveloped argument'
EAST ST. LOUIS - Apple rejected an "undeveloped" proposal from class action lawyers Jerome Schlichter and Andrew Schlichter of St. Louis to reduce the size of a class by adding plaintiffs “to conform to the evidence adduced.”
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Everytown for Gun Safety and others file amicus briefs supporting gun liability law, claiming 'bad actors in the gun industry ... enable gun violence'
BENTON - Limits in federal law on civil liability of gun makers and dealers for crimes shouldn’t interfere with expansion of their civil liability in Illinois, private groups argued as friends of U.S. District Court on Oct. 23.