31 results for 'judge:"Ellis"'.
J. Ellis partially grants the sued trading platform’s motion to dismiss the suing financial technology company’s allegations of trade secrets misappropriation. The fintech firm accuses the trading platform of violating a prior contract to market the plaintiff’s trading software, specifically a clause prohibiting reverse-engineering the software. The court finds the fintech firm has sufficiently stated claims under the Illinois Trade Secrets Act and federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, but that these same claims preempt allegations of tortious interference with economic advantage, unfair competition, fraud and unjust enrichment.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv14192, NOS: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) - Property Rights, Categories: Fraud, Trade Secrets, Tort
J. Ellis grants a worker’s motion to dismiss a supplemental affidavit in this class action over a home lending company’s alleged violations of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and Illinois Wage and Payment Collection Act. However, the court also dismisses the case for lack of jurisdiction. The members of the class claimed the company fired all of them with no warning and without providing backpay for accrued personal time.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv1839, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Jurisdiction, Class Action, Labor
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly dismissed a deputy's suit for an award of back pay for a period of unpaid suspension exceeding 180 days after he was arrested for an off-duty incident. The deputy's exclusive remedy is via the administrative procedures available to him. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 221837, Categories: Administrative Law, Employment
J. Ellis denies the defendant Covid-19 testing site operator’s motion to dismiss a contract complaint brought by the suing health care revenue services company, but grants the operator’s motion to move the case to the federal court district of Nebraska. The revenue services company claims the testing site operator hasn’t paid up for four invoices related to its efforts to collect patients’ outstanding debts. The court finds that, while it does have sufficient jurisdiction over the case for it to survive a dismissal motion, the better venue is Nebraska, where the testing site operator maintains its primary place of business.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv6445, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Health Care, Venue, Contract
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J. Ellis grants the defendant marketing agents’ motion to dismiss RICO and Defend Trade Secrets Act violation claims brought by cryptocurrency developers. The developers hired the marketing agents to help them advertise their cryptocurrency and its associated hardware, only for the marketers to fleece them for as much money as possible, sometimes charging thousands of dollars for reasons that were never fully elaborated. They also failed to tell the developers that per a prior order from the FTC, they were not allowed to perform certain marketing activity. However, the court finds the developers have failed to show how the marketing agents' behavior amounts to racketeering or betrayal of trade secrets.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv708, NOS: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) - Other Suits, Categories: Trade Secrets, Technology, Racketeering
J. Ellis partially grants Chicago’s motion for summary judgment on disability discrimination claims, brought by a repeat applicant to the Chicago Fire Department. The applicant claims she was passed over to join the CFD academy as a paramedic in 2019 because she takes medication to help her control a mood disorder and insomnia. The court finds she has not provided sufficient evidence to back up her failure to accommodate claims, but factual disputes over her ADA and Illinois Human Rights Act violation claims means those allegations can proceed to trial.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: January 22, 2024, Case #: 1:19cv8135, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Municipal Law, Employment Discrimination
J. Ellis partially grants Chicago’s motion for summary judgment on sex discrimination claims brought by women who wanted to be city paramedics. The cadets were injured while performing trials in the Chicago Fire Department’s physical aptitude test, trials that even internal experts claimed really weren’t of much use in evaluating firefighters’ and paramedics’ job readiness. Multiple lawsuits followed. The city settled some of those suits and moved for summary judgment in this one. The court now denies Chicago summary judgment on the paramedics’ internal discrimination claim, and splits judgment on the paramedics’ Monell claim. It grants the claim “to the extent plaintiffs rely on a widespread policy or practice,” but denies it “as to plaintiffs’ claim that they suffered a constitutional injury at the hands of a final policymaker.”
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: January 22, 2024, Case #: 1:16cv10156, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Municipal Law, Employment Discrimination
J. Ellis finds that the lower court improperly denied defendant's request for pretrial release after she was charged with her fourth DUI. The court must at least consider the option of SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) monitoring in the mix of possible pretrial release conditions before finding defendant too dangerous to release. Vacated.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 231801B, Categories: Bail, Dui
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly ruled that the construction industry groups are unable to challenge the county's expenditures under previous fiscal years dating back to 2016. However, it improperly found for the county on the groups' claims that the county's spending of transportation funds in 2023 violated the Illinois Constitution. It remains unclear from the record which expenses qualified for the comptroller's list of transportation-related expenses, and whether these expenses were correctly designated as related to transportation enforcement or safety. Reversed in part.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 231459, Categories: Constitution, Municipal Law, Transportation
J. Ellis grants in part a group of employees from the University of Illinois Chicago motion to dismiss defamation and false light claims brought by a law professor alleging retaliation and compelled speech. The professor’s alleged racist statements fail to constitute speech of public concern, so his retaliation claim shall be dismissed. UIC employees therefore have qualified immunity on the compelled speech claims, so they are dismissed in their individual capacities. All other claims are dismissed.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv475, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Employment, Defamation
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's post-conviction claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. Due process does not require the lower court entertain defendant's objection to his counsel's performance in amending the postconviction petition at the second stage. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 211301, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly denied a company's petition for sale in error after it purchased a commercial property at Cook County's annual tax sale only to discover the property was contaminated with asbestos, lead, and black mold. The company's reading of the property tax code would allow a buyer to reverse a sale simply by showing that at some point in the future, cleanup would be required. This is not a valid reading of the law. Rather, the company must show the property's current condition violates an environmental law or requires immediate remediation. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 210523, Categories: Environment, Property, Tax
J. Ellis finds that the lower court improperly found for the dentist in a medical malpractice suit because the patient failed to present expert testimony on the element of proximate cause. Some of the patient's claims require such expert testimony, but others do not.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 211448, Categories: Experts, Medical Malpractice
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of a DUI that fatally killed a person on the side of the road who was pushing their disabled car. Defendant also clearly obstructed justice by throwing a bottle of vodka out of his car when he thought no one was looking. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 210875, Categories: Obstruction, Dui
J. Ellis denies a wrongfully convicted man’s motion for partial summary judgment on his civil rights claims against multiple Chicago police officers. The man spent almost 30 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted for the murder of one man and the attempted murder of another. He claims that police suppressed a lineup report indicating another person’s guilt, but the court finds it cannot yet determine the truth of this claim as a matter of law.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv4156, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Police Misconduct
J. Ellis grants the employee's motion to remand the gender and sex-based harassment case to a state court. The employee, who was allegedly called fat and lazy by a supervisor, failed to raise a federal question.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv594, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Jurisdiction, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Ellis finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for aggravated domestic battery for breaking his girlfriend's nose. The court prohibited reference to and excluded video evidence which defendant claimed showed his girlfriend's propensity for violence, resulting in his need to defend himself. The video was excluded because the depicted event occurred after that which is the basis for the charges. The video was improperly excluded because it was illustrative of the girlfriend's propensity to commit violence and may have bolstered defendant's claim that she was the initial aggressor. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis , Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 1-19-2479, Categories: Evidence, Battery, Domestic Violence
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress his murder confession. Defendant painted himself into a corner by lying to detectives. The detectives may have "played along" rather than disclosing their doubts, but that does not amount to police coercion. Further, the police did not inappropriately promise defendant any leniency based on his confession to the crime. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 191699, Categories: Murder, Search, Self Incrimination
J. Ellis finds that the lower court improperly ordered defendant jailed until he paid a $262,000 contempt fine for failing to answer discovery in a collection action. Defendant's release may not be tied to his payment of the fine, but must be tied to his compliance with the court's discovery orders. Coercing the man to pay the fine cannot purge him of his contempt for failing to answer discovery. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: June 6, 2023, Case #: 230012, Categories: Contempt
J. Ellis denies a motion for summary judgment from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, on failure to accommodate claims brought by a former employee of the VA. The court finds the employee has reasonably alleged that the VA failed to accommodate her multiple sclerosis by when it didn’t provide her with an ergonomic office chair and keyboard. However, in exchange for allowing these claims to proceed, the former employee voluntarily dismisses her age and race discrimination claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv865, NOS: Housing/Accommodations - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Veterans, Employment Discrimination
J. Ellis grants the prime minister of the Kurdistan autonomous region in Northern Iraq's motion to dismiss the defamation case due to sovereign immunity. The self-proclaimed Kurdish political advocate was accused of having an affair with an American journalist who reported on the PM hiding funds in real estate purchases after she and her husband helped share his article with the people in Kurdistan. The alleged defamation occurred in in Iraq and claims related to this event are barred by sovereign immunity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Virginia, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1288, NOS: Assault, Libel, & Slander - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Immunity, Defamation