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

In 2006, plaintiffs purchased a 400-acre Barrington horse farm with Amcore financing. In 2009, Amcore filed for foreclosure in Illinois state court. Amcore failed and the FDIC became its receiver. BMO bought Amcore’s loan assets at a discount from the FDIC and took over the foreclosure action. To cut its losses on the loan, BMO assigned the note to the Forest Preserve for $14 million. The Forest Preserve made the (winning) credit bid of about $14.5 million at the foreclosure sale. The foreclosure court entered a deficiency judgment of $6 million. The Illinois Appellate Court later reversed the foreclosure judgments. There is apparently no current judgment in that action. The original owners have filed five lawsuits, in addition to raising affirmative defenses and counterclaims in the foreclosure action. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of their suit that alleged unconstitutional takings, fraud, and derivative claims for conspiracy and aiding and abetting. The court rejected arguments that the Forest Preserve violated the takings clause by passing an ordinance converting the estate into a forest preserve; by buying the mortgage and taking over the foreclosure action; and by physically entering the estate and installing Forest Preserve signs at the estate entrances. Derivative conspiracy and aiding-and-abetting claims fall with the three theories. View "Squires-Cannon v. Forest Preserve District of Cook County" on Justia Law

In 2006, Entertainment USA sold cellular telephones and service contracts in central Pennsylvania through a network of retail dealers. Moorehead, an Indiana company, sought to break into that geographic market by offering dealers the chance to sell Verizon products and services. Without counsel, the two companies signed a two‐page “referral agreement” connecting Moorehead with several Entertainment USA dealers. The agreement promised a “referral fee” for every Verizon activation or upgrade that resulted. Six years later, Entertainment alleged that Moorehead breached the agreement by discontinuing the referral payments. The district court agreed but found that Entertainment failed to prove the amount of its damages with reasonable certainty and awarded no damages. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Neither side’s estimate of damages contained citations to the docket or trial record, making verification of the underlying methods nearly impossible. Since the court’s liability findings did not accord with the assumptions built into any of the calculations, the parties left the court without reliable guidance in finding a supportable figure somewhere between $20,600 and $2.28 million. View "Entertainment USA, Inc. v. Moorehead Communications, Inc." on Justia Law

Berkowitz's company, Complete Packaging, holds a General Service Administration (GSA) multiple award schedule contract, under which it sells office supplies to government agencies. The defendants hold competing GSA schedule contract. Vendors with GSA schedule contracts must comply with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), 19 U.S.C. 501, which requires that a vendor only offer and sell U.S.-made or other designated country end products to governmental agencies. Federal Acquisition Regulations identify the designated countries and require that a vendor’s GSA agreement contain a “Trade Agreements Certificate,” certifying that each end product is compliant and listing the other products that are not. Vendors with GSA schedule contracts upload their price lists to the GSA Advantage online portal, GSA’s shopping system. Berkowitz claims that other vendors offered and sold products from non-designated countries, such as China or Thailand, although they filed Trade Agreements Certificate and that any invoices they submitted to the government for TAA noncompliant products constitute material false statements under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3730. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of his FCA suit. Berkowitz cannot allege that the defendants made any express misrepresentations; his claims are premised on an implied false certification theory and do not allege specific facts demonstrating what occurred at the individualized transactional level. That defendants may have sold non-compliant products in violation of the TAA does not equate to making a knowingly false statement in order to receive money from the government. View "Berkowitz v. Automation Aids, Inc." on Justia Law

Indiana requires that, at least 18 hours before a woman has an abortion, she must be given information provided by the state about the procedure, facts about the fetus and its development, and alternatives to abortion. That information is meant to advance the state’s asserted interest in promoting fetal life. The state also required that a woman have an ultrasound and hear the fetal heartbeat before an abortion although she may decline, as 75% of women did. Before July 1, 2016, women could, and generally did, have the ultrasound on the same day of the procedure. Almost all abortions in Indiana occur at four Planned Parenthood (PP) health centers; only those PP facilities have ultrasound equipment. House Enrolled Act 1337 requires women to undergo an ultrasound procedure at least 18 hours before the abortion. PP filed suit and sought preliminary relief. The district court granted a preliminary injunction. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The court weighed the burdens, given the locations of the PP clinics, the populations served by those facilities, and how the new regulations impact finances, employment, child care, and the safety of women in abusive relationships, against the benefits the law confers and the state's legitimate interest in discouraging abortion, and concluded that the new law has “the effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman’s choice” to have an abortion. View "Planned Parenthood of Indiana v. Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Health" on Justia Law

For five years, DeHaan, a licensed family‐practice physician working in the Chicago and Rockford areas, was affiliated with agencies providing medical services to homebound patients, and served as medical director of several home health agencies, assisted living facilities, and hospices. DeHaan billed Medicare at the highest levels for services to homebound patients that were ostensibly time‐consuming or complex, when in fact he had either conducted a routine, non‐complex patient visit or had not seen the patient at all on the occasion for which he was billing. At the behest of home health agencies, DeHaan certified as homebound patients whom he either knew did not meet Medicare’s criteria (42 U.S.C. 1395n(a)(2)(A)) for home care or as to whom he lacked meaningful knowledge. DeHaan pled guilty to two counts of a 23‐count indictment, admitting to overbilling and fraudulent certifications. The district court took evidence and found that he was responsible for fraudulently certifying the eligibility of least 305 individuals for home health care services, resulting in wrongful billings to Medicare of nearly $2.8 million. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding no error in the district court’s “conservative loss‐estimation methodology,” and upheld a within‐Guidelines sentence of 108 months in prison with an order to pay restitution of $2,787,054.58. View "United States v. DeHaan" on Justia Law

Davis was convicted of two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). Count One arose from an incident on July 20, 2016. Davis got into a fight at the home of Jackie and Wamue. Police arrived quickly and found a firearm on the curb outside the house. Davis argued that Jackie or Wamue, both convicted felons, set him up. The government presented evidence to prove that Davis brought the gun to the house. On appeal, Davis objected to testimony from responding Officer Cline, as to prior consistent statements made by Jackie and Wamue, and testimony from Davis’s six-year-old daughter. Count Two arose from an incident on August 30, when police executed a warrant for Davis’s arrest. During a pat down of Davis, an officer found a Crown Royal bag tied to his boxer shorts. Officers also saw a revolver barrel sticking out of a Crown Royal bag in the mudroom, then obtained a search warrant and discovered the firearm was a disassembled, stolen revolver. They found a third Crown Royal bag in a basement crawl space. Davis lived with six others. The evidence was conflicting as to the owner of the revolver. On appeal, Davis contested the government calling his housemate and adult son, J.R., to testify, and argued that there was insufficient evidence that the gun was his. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, upholding all of the challenged evidentiary rulings. View "United States v. Davis" on Justia Law

In 2005, World Outreach, a Christian religious organization, purchased a Chicago building from the YMCA, which had operated a community center and 168 single-room occupancies (SROs) for 80 years. The community center was a “legal nonconforming use,” which, under Chicago’s zoning ordinance, “is not affected by changes of tenancy, ownership, or management.” The city nonetheless insisted that a Special Use Permit was required. While the city was unlawfully withholding licenses, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. Thousands of residents were evacuated and transplanted. WO claimed that it had a verbal agreement with Federal Emergency Management Agency to use the SRO rooms at $750 per room, per month, for one year, but never received any evacuees. The city sued WO for operating the community center without a permit but later voluntarily dismissed. WO then sued the city, citing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. 2000cc. In August 2007, the city issued the licenses. Following a remand, the district court granted WO summary judgment on its claim for defending the frivolous lawsuit, awarding $15,000, but rejected all other claims. On remand of the RLUIPA claim regarding the city’s unlawful deprivation of the licenses. WO ultimately reduced its damages claim from $2.44 million to $363,000 in February 2016. In April 2016, the city made an offer of judgment of $25,001 “plus reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.” WO accepted and sought $1,913,929.20 in attorney’s fees. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s modification of the lodestar to $1,559,991.50, application of a 70% across-the-board reduction, and award of $467,973.45, noting that the award of $40,001 was a “dismal failure” in contrast to the damages sought for nearly nine years. View "World Outreach Conference Center v. City of Chicago" on Justia Law

In 2011-2012 a million people received phone calls asking them to take political surveys in exchange for a chance to go on a free cruise. Some recipients filed a class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227, seeking damages from defendants who had not placed the calls but had directed them. The district court certified a class and later granted plaintiffs partial summary judgment. The parties settled. Plaintiffs agreed to release their claims against all defendants and their agents. Defendants agreed to pay into a fund between $56 million and $76 million, depending on the number of approved claims submitted. Out of the fund will come payments to the class, incentive awards to the named representatives, about $2 million in administrative expenses, and attorneys’ fees. The class will receive payments in two rounds. If some claimants do not cash the checks during the second round, remaining funds will go to “an appropriate cy pres recipient.” Over the objections of a class member, the court approved the settlement, estimating that each claimant will receive $400. Class counsel will receive 36% of the first $10 million, 30% of the next $10 million, 24% of the next $36 million, and 18% of any additional recovery. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting arguments that the award of fees overcompensates class counsel and that the settlement’s approval was improper. View "McCabe v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc." on Justia Law

Lambert applied for Disability Insurance Benefits in 2012 at age 41 alleging disabling lower back pain. In 2004 discs in his lumbar spine had been surgically fused with a rod. In 2008 surgeons repaired the rod. In 2010 Lambert began experiencing back pain “most of the time” and had “intermittent” pain down his left leg that often caused him to fall. By late 2012 Lambert had tried steroid injections in his spine and pelvis, chiropractic care, medication, and physical therapy. Several neurosurgeons found the cause unclear; three said further surgery was not an option. In denying Lambert’s application, an ALJ concluded that Lambert suffers from degenerative disc disease that is severely impairing but not disabling, giving little weight to the most recent opinions of his treating neurosurgeon and discrediting Lambert’s own testimony about the severity of his pain and extent of his limitations. The Seventh Circuit reversed. The ALJ failed to explain why the treating neurosurgeon’s opinions were entitled to less weight than those of the agency physicians, rendered before some key medical evidence was compiled. The ALJ improperly relied on Lambert’s application for unemployment compensation to discount his credibility in seeking disability benefits; a claimant’s desire to work is not evidence that the claimant has embellished his limitations. View "Lambert v. Berryhill" on Justia Law

Owens began using Testim, a topical gel containing 1% testosterone, in July 2011 when his doctor diagnosed him with hypogonadism. Owens used Testim sporadically. Although the medication guide directs users to apply a full tube of Testim to the shoulders and arms, Owens would apply part of a tube to his thighs and stomach. In July 2013, Owens was admitted to a hospital for pain in his leg. An ultrasound revealed blood clots. He was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Owens was treated with blood thinners and released the following day. Owens sued, asserting strict liability, negligence, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation under Kentucky law. Each claim requires expert testimony to establish causation. Owens’s case was selected for a bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation. Owens planned to rely on testimony by Dr. Abbas that Testim had caused Owens’s DVT. That opinion assumed that Owens was applying the prescribed dose in the proper manner. When asked during his deposition about hypothetical cases that resembled Owens’s use of Testim, Abbas had no opinion. The district court excluded the testimony and granted Auxilium summary judgment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The court properly applied the Daubert framework when excluding Abbas’s testimony. It did not abuse its discretion by concluding that the testimony did not fit the facts of Owens’s case or by failing to consider an argument Owens never presented. Without expert testimony on causation, Owens’s claims necessarily fail. View "Owens v. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc." on Justia Law