Justia U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Defendant, an American citizen, approached plaintiff, a supplier of dairy products, about doing business with a Chinese company, affiliated with a company operated by defendant's cousin. The American did not claim to be an agent of the Chinese company, but did respond to a request for credit information and paid for the first transaction with her own check. The Chinese buyer claims that the American company wrongfully substituted an inferior product in the second transaction and did not pay. Instead of bringing a claim against the Chinese company, the plaintiff claimed fraud by the American. The district court held that the suit was barred by the economic loss doctrine. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, holding that any false statements by defendant were "interwoven" with the contract; plaintiff could have protected itself contractually against the risk of nonpayment. Holding the American liable in tort would not plug any loophole in contract law. The contract was not concerned with services, for which there is an exception.

Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)). He was acquitted of several other drug-related offenses, but the district court took the underlying (acquitted) conduct into consideration at sentencing and imposed the statutory maximum sentence of 120 months. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. If a sentence does not exceed the statutory maximum, there is no Sixth Amendment concern with the advisory guidelines scheme. Defendant was only punished for the crime for which he was convicted; the acquitted charges were used only to determine the (advisory) punishment. At that point, the district judge was free to impose any sentence so long as it was reasonable. The court also rejected an argument based on allegedly incriminating statements defendant made after his arrest, stating that the argument was most like an ineffective assistance argument and did not establish error.

The deputy liquor commissioner charged with exerting his position to demand bribes, property, and, in at least one instance, sexual favors from liquor license holders. He entered a plea of guilty to attempting to commit extortion under color of official right (18 U.S.C. 1951) and making false statements to the FBI and IRS (18 U.S.C. 1001 (A)(2)) and was sentenced to 60 monthsâ imprisonment based on a four-level upward adjustment under U.S.S.G. 2C1.1(b)(3) for conduct by a public official in a high-level decision-making or sensitive position. The district judge assigned a total offense level of 22 and with no criminal history points, that placed defendant in a guideline range of 41 to 51 monthsâ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, upholding a finding that defendant was in a "sensitive position;" he exercised an inordinate amount of discretion over the licensing of liquor establishments and the renewal of those licenses.

The tow truck driver sued his former employer for failure to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 207(a). The district court held that the driver was not entitled to overtime pay because he was subject to the motor carrier exemption to the FLSA. The Seventh Circuit reversed. Employers subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Transportation under the Motor Carrier Act. 49 U.S.C. 31502 are exempt from the overtime requirement, but an affidavit provided by the employer did not show that the company engaged in interstate commerce within a reasonable period of time prior to the time during which it claims the exemption. The use of the word "routinely" was too vague.

In 2005, defendant pled guilty to 11 counts of possession of child pornography (18 U.S.C. 2252) and was sentenced to 37 monthsâ imprisonment and three years of supervised release. The district judge imposed conditions requiring participation in a treatment program, avoidance of sexual material, and limited contact with children. In August 2010, probation officers conducted a routine search and found a box containing 37 photos of "female erotica." One picture showed a girl of a questionable age in underwear. There was also evidence that defendant had been alone in a car with a child and was not progressing in therapy. The court revoked release and imposed a within-guidelines sentence of six monthsâ imprisonment and 30 months of supervised release and announced new special conditions of the supervised release. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the defendant violated the existing conditions and that the additional conditions were reasonably related to the circumstances.