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

Neri designed a glass sculpture that Architectural Building Arts (ABA) installed in the ceiling of the entrance to Hughes’s Madison condominium. Sager designed lighting for the area. With Hughes’s consent, Ferguson took photographs of the project; two include the sculpture. ABA put copies of the photos on its web site, in a newsletter, and in an application for an architectural award. Sager posted them on her web site; Ferguson posted them to his Flickr page. Neri claimed that the uses violated her copyright. A magistrate judge dismissed on the ground that Neri did not register her copyright, as required before litigation to enforce a copyright, 17 U.S.C. 411(a). Neri submitted a collection of photographs and obtained a certificate of registration. The court concluded that the application was defective and the certificate invalid. The Seventh Circuit vacated, noting the requirements of 37 C.F.R. 202.3(b)(4)(i)(B). The submission had a single title and Neri claims copyright in each of the sculptures represented by the photos and in the collection as a whole. There was no basis for the court’s conclusion that Neri’s submission was not in an “orderly form,” based on an apparent conclusion that only a single document can be orderly. View "Neri v. Monroe" on Justia Law

Belbachir, an Algerian citizen, 27 years old, entered the U.S. as a visitor in 2004. She overstayed and, in 2005, flew from Chicago to England, where immigration authorities returned her to Chicago. She was placed in the McHenry County Jail, which has a contract with the federal government to house detainees. She planned to seek asylum on the ground that she had a well‐founded fear of being persecuted if returned to Algeria. She committed suicide by strangling herself with her socks about eight days after arriving at the jail. Her estate sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983, arguing that defendants had deprived Belbachir of her life without due process of law, and under Illinois tort law. The district judge granted summary judgment in favor of defendants with respect to the section 1983 claims. The plaintiff appealed only with respect to McHenry County; the county sheriff and the director of the jail; and three employees of Centegra, a private firm, hired to provide medical services at the jail. The Seventh Circuit reversed with respect to one Centegra employee, who was aware of Belbachir’s suicidal thoughts and depressed condition, but failed to take action. The court otherwise affirmed. View "Belbachir v. McHenry Cnty., IL" on Justia Law

A child services case worker and detectives went to the home Hurlow shared with his fiancée, Funk, to check on Funk’s children. Hurlow claims that he requested that they leave unless they had a search warrant; the detectives asked Funk for permission to search, stating that her children would be taken if she did not consent. Funk gave written consent. The detectives found methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a handgun. In custody, Hurlow stated that all of the illegal items were his and that Funk had no knowledge that drugs were in the home. Harlow claims that his attorney did not listen to his version of events, did not investigate, and persuaded him to plead guilty to avoid a sentence of “30 years to life.” Hurlow entered a plea with an agreement not to contest his conviction or sentence in a collateral attack under 28 U.S.C. 2255. The stipulated basis for the plea stated that Funk granted consent to search in writing. Hurlow affirmed the factual basis for the plea before the district court and stated that he was satisfied with his representation. The district court denied Hurlow’s subsequent request for an evidentiary hearing and concluded that his 2255 motion was barred by the plea agreement. The Seventh Circuit remanded for a hearing, finding that the waiver did not bar his claim that his trial counsel was ineffective in negotiating the agreement. View "Hurlow v. United States" on Justia Law

Kennedy pleaded guilty to mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1341, wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1343, and threatening an informant, 18 U.S.C. 1513(b), for his role in a scheme to sell counterfeit art online and at art shows. At sentencing hearings, the government provided a list of 135 victims’ names, addresses, and loss amounts, and sought restitution of $821,714.65. The district court found that the prosecution had met its burden as to 21 victims and sentenced Kennedy to 96 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay restitution of $316,425.65. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the sentence. View "United States v. Kennedy" on Justia Law

Bates, a black firefighter, joined the Chicago Fire Department in 1977 and rose through the ranks. In 2000, Fire Commissioner Joyce appointed Bates to one of seven District Chief positions. A District Chief is a member of the personnel management team and holds an at-will position. Bates’s work was well-regarded. Joyce resigned as Fire Commissioner in 2004, and Trotter, also black, became the new Fire Commissioner and chose his own management team; he issued a personnel order that contained eith black and 10 non-black promotions, three black and five non-black demotions, and four lateral reassignments for at-will positions. Bates was demoted to a Deputy District Chief position in Operation Relief, which is a floating assignment. The district court dismissed Bates’s 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1983 claims of racial discrimination. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting a claim of pretext. Trotter had sufficient experience with Bates and the Chicago Fire Department to support his assertion that Bates’s demeanor and level of enthusiasm were not compatible with his management style. View "Bates v. City of Chicago" on Justia Law

Petitioner, using a fake Italian passport, came to the U.S. in 2002, at age 23. Less than a year later, she applied for asylum and withholding of removal, claiming that she feared returning to Albania because, as a young woman living alone, she would be kidnapped and forced into prostitution and that police would not protect her because she is Christian and supports the Democratic party, which was not in power. She claimed that she was harassed by the leader of a Muslim gang and that police had taken no action. An IJ granted asylum, concluding that she belonged to a particular social group comprised of young women targeted by traffickers and that the Albanian government was unwilling or unable to protect such women. The decision was vacated by the BIA. The Seventh Circuit denied review, but on rehearing, en banc, vacated and ruled in favor of petitioner. The BIA erred in determining that her social group was not cognizable under the Act and that internal relocation was a feasible means of avoiding persecution. View "Cece v. Holder" on Justia Law

Participants in a cash balance defined benefit pension plan filed a purported class action, alleging that the plan violated ERISA, 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(1)(B), and seeking recovery of benefits denied the participants as a consequence of the violation. The district judge granted summary judgment in favor of sub‐class A, which challenged the projection rate used by the defendant, and subclass B, which challenged the defendant’s handling of the pre‐mortality retirement discount. A cash balance plan is a “notional” retirement account because individual accounts are not funded; every year the employer adds a specified percentage of the employee’s salary plus interest at a specified rate on the amount in each individual’s notional account. The challenged projection rate and discount rate relate to the entitlement of employees who leave before reaching retirement age. The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded with respect to the statute of limitations for class members who took lump sum benefits more than six years before the suit was filed and also with respect to the adequacy of the class representatives, but otherwise affirmed. View "Ruppert v. Alliant Energy Cash Balance Pension Plan" on Justia Law

Hester, a white male, began working for the Department’s laboratory in 1994. In 2007 he was reprimanded for failing to timely report test results. Hester later applied for promotion. Liu interviewed him, but chose another white male. When the supervisory position opened again, Hester again applied and was interviewed. Liu chose a white female in her mid-twenties, Gentry, who had been working in the lab for four years, citing Gentry’s performance record and concern that Hester did not have a good working relationship with others. In 2009, Hester received a form listing his “performance deficiencies.” A second performance appraisal report found that Hester still did not meet expectations for “job knowledge” and “communication.” The Department terminated his employment. Hester, then in his 50s, could be fired only for just cause. The State Employees Appeals Commission rejected his challenge. Hester sued, alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. 621, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e. The district court entered summary judgment, holding that Indiana was immune from liability for private damages under the ADEA, and that Hester did not adequately show that the Department discharged Hester because of a protected characteristic. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. View "Hester v. IN Dep't of Health" on Justia Law

After Newman, then 16 years old, turned himself in to police and was arrested, his mother told Newman’s attorney that her son was a “special child” who attended a “school for the handicapped, the mental school.” She gave him a two-inch-thick stack of educational and psychological records reflecting Newman’s lengthy history of severe mental and cognitive deficits, including a diagnosis of mental retardation from the Social Security Administration and a psychologist’s report indicating that Newman’s IQ was 62. Newman was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 47 years’ imprisonment. Following unsuccessful appeals, Newman filed a state post-conviction petition. The Illinois Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal. Newman filed a federal habeas petition, 28 U.S.C. 2254, alleging that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to investigate his fitness for trial and failing to seek a fitness hearing. The district court held an evidentiary hearing days and determined, on the basis of the state court record, that the Illinois courts unreasonably concluded that Newman was not prejudiced by counsel’s failure to investigate his fitness to stand trial and that counsel’s failures to investigate known deficiencies in Newman’s mental capacity and to raise the fitness issue constituted ineffective assistance. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. View "Melvin Newman v. Michael Atchinson" on Justia Law

Johnson, an African-American woman, was employed at Koppers’ plant from 1995 until her termination in 2008. She had been disciplined for sleeping at her desk in the laboratory, for smoking in the lunch room, for not punching out on the time clock, for fighting with a security guard, and for an altercation with a white male co-worker, O’Connell. Without interviewing Johnson, the plant manager determined that both O’Connell and Johnson were at fault and decided that Johnson should be punished more severely because of her disciplinary history and O’Connell’s allegations of racial harassment. The plant manager warned Johnson that future incidents would lead to termination. O’Connell received a less severe warning letter. The Union filed a grievance on Johnson’s behalf and Johnson’s warning was reduced to a memo that summarized her work obligations and employment status. Johnson was fired after another altercation with O’Connell. A witness indicated that Johnson shoved O’Connell, who filed a police report. Johnson filed suit, alleging discrimination on the basis of her race and gender in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, and 42 U.S.C. 1983. The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of Koppers. View "Johnson v. Koppers, Inc." on Justia Law