LATEST SUMMARIES

CIVIL PROCEDURE, COMMERCIAL LAW, COMMUNICATIONS LAW, CONTRACTS
• IFC Credit Corp v. United Bus. & Indus. Fed. Credit Union

CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, FAMILY LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
• McMahon v. Kindlarski

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, MEDIA LAW
• Hammer v. Ashcroft

CONTRACTS, INSURANCE LAW, MANUFACTURING
• Wausau Underwriters v. United Plastics Group, Inc.

HEALTH LAW, INJURY AND TORT LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
• Breneisen v. Motorola, Inc.

LATEST SUMMARIES

CIVIL PROCEDURE, COMMERCIAL LAW, COMMUNICATIONS LAW, CONTRACTS
IFC Credit Corp v. United Bus. & Indus. Fed. Credit Union, No. 07-1037
In a suit to recover on contracts entered into by a defunct communications company by an owner of the right to payments under the contracts, a jury verdict in favor of defendant is reversed where a clause in the contracts mandating a bench trial was valid and enforceable under Illinois law, and defendant's fraud-in-the-factum defense did not invalidate the clause. Read more...

CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, FAMILY LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
McMahon v. Kindlarski, No. 06-4274
In a suit under 42 U.S.C. sections 1983 and 1985 alleging that police officers conspired to deny plaintiff's rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where plaintiff failed to establish a deprivation of a liberty interest in his assertion that an officer's statements caused pressure for him to leave a university and change career paths, and where plaintiff's protectable right to familial associations was not violated by the length of a custody hearing. Read more...

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, GOVERNMENT LAW, MEDIA LAW
Hammer v. Ashcroft, No. 06-1750
In a prisoner suit alleging that prison officials violated plaintiff's First Amendment and equal protection rights by implementing and enforcing a policy that prevented him from giving face-to-face interviews with the media and from talking with the media about other inmates, summary judgment for defendants is reversed and remanded where defendant raised a genuine issue of fact as to whether the defendants' proffered justification for the policy banning face-to-face interviews was pretextual. Read more...

CONTRACTS, INSURANCE LAW, MANUFACTURING
Wausau Underwriters v. United Plastics Group, Inc., No. 06-3790
In a suit involving issues of excess liability insurance coverage for a manufacturer of water heater components, judgment for defendant-manufacturer is reversed and remanded in order to determine: 1) what proportion of the business losses attributable to property damage resulting from the failure of defendant's component was covered by the intervenor's policy; and 2) what level of damage defendant expected to occur as a result of its knowing misrepresentation of the quality of its components. Read more...

HEALTH LAW, INJURY AND TORT LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Breneisen v. Motorola, Inc., No. 05-2032
In a suit alleging that defendants violated plaintiffs' right under the Family & Medical Leave Act, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) one plaintiff offered evidence to show that the position he held before taking leave was eliminated only because he had taken leave and that he was demoted upon returning from leave; 2) an issue of material fact exists as to whether another plaintiff was denied a tuition reimbursement because of her use of FMLA leave; 3) the other plaintiffs failed to show that they were subjected to adverse actions or that actions were taken on account of their exercise of FMLA rights; and 4) all the plaintiffs' IIED claims failed because the plaintiffs were not subjected to extreme and outrageous conduct. Read more...