MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GARY FEINERMAN , District Judge . Sidney Collins, a civil detainee in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services, petitions for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2241. Doc. 1. The Facility Director at Collins's place of confinement moves to dismiss the petition. Doc. 12. The motion is granted. Background Collins was convicted in 1985 of rape, home invasion, and aggravated battery, and sentenced to sixty years' imprisonment. People v....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ROBERT M. DOW, JR. , District Judge . Plaintiff Rubicel Contreras Garcia ("Plaintiff") brings suit against Defendants the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS"), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), and various officials of those agencies in their official capacities (collectively, "Defendants"). In her complaint, Plaintiff asks the Court to order USCIS to adjudicate her U-visa petition....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Robert M. Dow, Jr. , United States District Judge . Plaintiff brings claims against Defendants for unreasonable seizure, civil conspiracy, and other torts under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and various state law theories. Before the Court are Defendants' respective motions to dismiss the complaint. See generally [25]; [27]. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motions to dismiss are granted with respect to Counts I, II, III, V, VIII, IX, XI, XII, and XIII, and...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER STEVEN C. SEEGER , District Judge . This case involves a futures commission merchant (basically a broker for derivatives) that sued traders for breach of contract when their trading accounts had negative balances. This Court granted a motion to strike three of the affirmative defenses (Dckt. No. [92]), and Defendants responded by filing a motion for reconsideration. This Court respectfully denies Defendants' Motion to Reconsider Order Striking Amended...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ROBERT M. DOW, JR. , District Judge . Before the Court is the motion for summary judgment [34] filed by Defendant Illinois Central Railroad Company ("Defendant" or "Company"). For the reasons set forth below, the motion [34] is granted. Judgment shall be entered in favor of Defendant Illinois Central Railroad Company and against Plaintiff. Although CN Transportation Limited is listed as a Defendant on the docket, CN Transportation never answered or otherwise...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ROBERT M. DOW, JR. , District Judge . For the reasons set forth below, the motion to dismiss [65] filed by Defendants Rich America, Inc. and Leonard Goodrum (collectively, "Defendants") is denied. 1 This case is set for further status hearing on January 16, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. I. Background 2 Peace for You Peace for Me (the "Foundation") is a private non-profit foundation registered under Bulgarian law, with its principal place of business is Sofia, Bulgaria....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Honorable Edmond E. Chang , United States District Judge . In November 2015, Louis Vargas suddenly felt sick during a dinner banquet. So he went home and went to bed. The next morning, his wife, Minnie Vargas, found him unresponsive. R. 1, Compl. 1 It turns out that, unfortunately, Vargas had suffered a heart attack and experienced septic shock from a urinary infection. He was hospitalized for ten days. Id. Around a month later, he was diagnosed with carpal...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER MARY M. ROWLAND , District Judge . Plaintiff Eric L. Robinson ("Mr. Robinson") filed a civil action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against Defendants Wexford Health Services, Inc. ("Wexford") and the Illinois Department of Corrections ("IDOC"), alleging deliberate indifference to medial needs. On February 21, 2018, the district court granted Mr. Robinson's motion to voluntarily dismiss IDOC, leaving only Wexford as a defendant. (Dkt. 96). Before the Court is Wexford's...
CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NO. 166 (Memorandum Opinion and Order on Actavis, Inc.'s motion to exclude expert testimony and motions for summary judgment in Martin v. Actavis, Inc., Case No. 15 C 4292) MATTHEW F. KENNELLY , District Judge : Plaintiffs in this multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceeding allege that they suffered either arterial cardiovascular injuries or injuries related to blood clots in the veins (venous thromboembolisms) as a result of taking prescription testosterone...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ROBERT M. DOW, JR. , District Judge . For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies Plaintiffs' motion for class certification [270]. This case is set for further status hearing on January 16, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. I. Background This longstanding case concerns the Chicago Police Department's (CPD) use of its Homan Square facility. This opinion presumes familiarity with the Court's earlier rulings in this case. See generally, e.g., [124, 186]. Relevant facts...
MEMORANDUM ORDER JEFFREY T. GILBERT , Magistrate Judge . I. Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs' Motion for Protective Order to Protect Class Members from Misleading Solicitations [ECF 2331] is granted in part as to Affiliated Foods Plaintiffs' counsel — The Coffman Firm, Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer, LLP, and Williams Montgomery & John, Ltd. (together "AFI Plaintiffs' Counsel") — and denied as to counsel for all other so-called Direct Action Plaintiffs ("DAPs"). For the reasons discussed below, AFI...
PROTECTIVE ORDER GOVERNING DISCOVERY EDMOND E. CHANG , District Judge . Upon the agreed motion of the government, pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(d) and 18 U.S.C. 3771(a)(1) and (8), it is hereby ORDERED: 1. All of the materials provided by the United States in preparation for, or in connection with, any stage of the proceedings in this case (collectively, "the materials") are subject to this protective order and may be used by defendant and defendant's counsel (defined as counsel of...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Honorable Edmond E. Chang , United States District Judge . Telephone-call center employees have brought this proposed collective action against five AT & T entities: AT & T Corp.; AT & T, Inc.; AT & T Teleholdings, Inc.; AT & T Services, Inc.; and AT & T Operations, Inc. (referred to collectively as "AT & T" 1 for convenience's sake). The employees allege that they were deprived of overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Honorable Edmond E. Chang , United States District Judge . Over 17 years ago, Dr. Donald Schwartz withdrew, in a lump sum, over $800,000 in benefits from his pension-plan account with Associated Allergists. R. 29, Corr. Am. Compl. at 3 2. 1 But he should not have taken a lump sum: under federal pension-benefits law (known by its acronym, ERISA), Dr. Schwartz was considered a "highly compensated" employee, so he was required to take annuity payments over...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ROBERT M. DOW, JR. , District Judge . Petitioner Halik Williams, a prisoner incarcerated at the Danville Correctional Center, brings this pro se habeas corpus action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 challenging his 2002 murder conviction from the Circuit Court of Cook County. Petitioner claims that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to convict him of first degree murder on the theory of accountability; (2) his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Robert M. Dow, Jr. , United States District Judge . Petitioner Cedric Cal ("Petitioner") is incarcerated at Hill Correctional Center. He brings this habeas corpus action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 challenging his conviction in the Circuit Court of Cook County. For the reasons explained below, the Court denies the petition. However, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2253(c)(2), the Court grants a certificate of appealability as to Claim 1. The Court directs the Clerk to...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER SHARON JOHNSON COLEMAN , District Judge . Before the Court is pro se petitioner Rudolph Murchison's petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(1). For the following reasons, the Court denies Murchison's habeas petition and further declines to certify any issues for appeal under 28 U.S.C. 2253(c)(2). Background When considering habeas petitions, federal courts presume that the factual findings made by the last state court to...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Gary Feinerman , United States District Judge . Etransmedia Technology, Inc. and its former shareholders brought this diversity suit against Allscripts Healthcare, LLC, alleging breach of contract and various torts. Doc. 1. Early in the litigation, the court dismissed the former shareholders as party plaintiffs. Doc. 39-40 (reported at 2018 WL 278719 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 3, 2018)). With discovery closed, Allscripts moves for summary judgment, Doc. 127, Etransmedia...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Gary Feinerman , United States District Judge . Allscripts Healthcare, LLC brought this suit against Etransmedia Technology, Inc. in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, and Etransmedia removed it under the diversity jurisdiction. Docs. 2, 23. On Etransmedia's motion, the court compelled the parties to arbitrate Allscripts's claims and stayed the litigation. Docs. 64-65 (reported at 188 F.Supp.3d 696 (N.D. Ill. 2016)). After the arbitrators dismissed...
PROTECTIVE ORDER GOVERNING DISCOVERY LISA A. JENSEN , Magistrate Judge . Upon the agreed motion of the government, pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(d) and 18 U.S.C. 3771(a)(1) and (8), it is hereby ORDERED: 1. All of the materials provided by the United States in preparation for, or in connection with, any stage of the proceedings in this case (collectively, "the materials") are subject to this protective order and may be used by defendant and defendant's counsel (defined as counsel of...
