62 results for 'judge:"Brennan"'.
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly granted immunity to police officers who failed to prevent the murder of a witness leaving the courthouse whom they knew was under a death threat. The performance of courthouse security is subject to absolute immunity, and there are no facts that would support a finding that the estate could cure the defect in its pleadings. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: 230035, Categories: Immunity, Police Misconduct
[Consolidated.] J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly found for the government in a Freedom of Information Act suit seeking the disclosure of information about a man's transfer from ICE custody to officials in Indiana. ICE properly withheld the redacted information as the crime-fraud exemption does not apply because there is no factual foundation for the man's claim that ICE intentionally misled the habeas court. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 22-2445, Categories: Public Record
[Consolidated.] J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly convicted both defendants of fraud for "spoofing" the precious metals market by placing fake orders with no intent to trade to push the market in a certain direction. The evidence is sufficient to support defendants' conviction, showing that they placed the orders solely to manipulate the market. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 23-1528, Categories: Fraud, Securities
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of conspiracy with intent to distribute meth. Defendant claims that screenshots of a text message conversation between him and another person should not have been admitted because the conversation was hearsay. However, there was considerable other evidence against him, so any error in admitting the texts was harmless. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: October 16, 2023, Case #: 22-3219, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Technology
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J. Brennan finds that the lower court improperly denied defendant's habeas petition. Defendant established that his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel, and he was likely prejudiced by his attorney's failure to provide mitigation evidence as he received a maximum sentence despite his mental health history. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 20-3273, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance
J. Brennan denies the telemarketers' motion to dismiss, ruling that while the language of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act does not include cell phones, the ubiquitous nature of the devices in modern society qualify them as residential telephones under the Act and afford the class members the same protections, given their numbers were listed on the national Do Not Call Registry.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv712, NOS: Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) - Other Suits, Categories: Consumer Law, Class Action
J. Brennan grants the bank's motion for summary judgment, ruling it had a legitimate reason to fire the female branch manager as part of a reduction in force during the Covid-19 pandemic because she failed to meet sales goals and was in her probationary period. None of the male managers cited performed as poorly as the fired employee; therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support her discrimination claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv1436, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Evidence, Covid-19, Employment Discrimination
J. Brennan affirms the conviction of the defendant for involuntary manslaughter, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. The dangerous weapon used to kidnap an individual does not also have to be used to injure the victim for a kidnapping to be aggravated; all that is required for a kidnapping to be aggravated is that the victim is both kidnapped using a dangerous weapon and is injured during the kidnapping.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 21-P-699, Categories: Kidnapping, Manslaughter
J. Brennan finds that the lower court improperly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea to unlawful possession with intent to deliver meth. The trial court failed to give defendant Rule 401(a) admonishments before allowing defendant to proceed pro se, requiring a remand. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 220112, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Plea
J. Brennan finds that the lower court improperly awarded class counsel $57.4 million in fees, equal to one-third of the settlement, in this antitrust suit over alleged price-fixing in the broiler chicken market. In making its decision, the court did not consider bids made by class counsel in auctions in other cases as well as out-of-circuit fee awards. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 22-2889, Categories: Antitrust, Attorney Fees
J. Brennan grants, in part, the sleep apnea machine parts buyer's motion for summary judgment, ruling the manufacturer's failure to meet certain shipping dates in the parties' contract allowed the buyer to cancel its purchase orders and avoid the minimum purchase requirements in the agreement.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv1887, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Contract
J. Brennan finds the trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of the Social Security Administration in this discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment suit brought by a Black, female supervisor. None of the alleged workplace incidents — including having to work in a cubicle rather than an office, and receiving emails that she says undermined her authority and amounted to harassment because the senders could have talked to her in person — were severe or pervasive, nor does she show how they relate to the protected characteristics of her race or age. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-3217, Categories: Social Security, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Brennan grants, in part, the city's motion to dismiss, ruling that despite a history of allowing the van owner to use his vehicle as a loudspeaker during election season, the owner's First Amendment claims fail as a matter of law. The citations and parking tickets were issued in accordance with zoning and parking laws, while he also never had a permit to use a loudspeaker on top of the van.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv992, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, First Amendment
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly dismissed the debtor's action in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act suit against a law firm alleging it made contradictory statements about the recover of fees. Neither the debtor's confusion, leading him to hire a lawyer, nor his lost sleep is insufficient to establish a concrete harm in order to establish standing. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 21-2288, Categories: Civil Procedure, Debt Collection
J. Brennan affirms the lower court’s rulings on evidence and testimony in this child abuse and rape case. The first complaint witness was a child when the victim told her about the abuse and she is potentially biased as a relative of the defendant, but she testified she has no memory of plaintiff telling her about it. It is not necessary for more than one participant in a conversation to testify to authenticate the conversation, so the conversations admitted as evidence have been sufficiently authenticated. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 21-P-33, Categories: Sex Offender, Assault, Child Victims
J. Brennan finds that the lower court improperly denied defendant's post-conviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel based on his attorney's failure to challenge defendant's designation as a career offender. Due to the ambiguity of the jury instructions, it is not clear without a doubt that the jury convicted defendant of a controlled substance offense, so his conviction is not a predicate offense. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 20-1725, Categories: Drug Offender, Ineffective Assistance, Sentencing
J. Brennan affirms a district court’s ruling granting immunity from liability to a sheriff’s detective and an Indiana child services caseworker, and against “John Doe” and “A.B.” who were arrested for failure to support a 17-year-old dependent. The couple sued the investigators for alleged privacy violations and emotional distress, arising from the investigators’ disclosures during the dependent neglect probe that Doe was a transgender male who still had female genitalia. The defendants are entitled to qualified immunity, as there is no clearly established right to privacy in one’s sexual preference or gender identity during a criminal or child welfare investigation. The totality of the circumstances provided probable cause for the arrests of Doe and A.B., and the Indiana state law provides the sheriff’s detective with immunity from the couple’s state law claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan , Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 22-1501, Categories: Constitution, Immunity, Emotional Distress
J. Brennan finds that defendant was properly convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of the male driver of a van stopped in the next lane at a red light, but improperly convicted of attempted first-degree murder of the female passenger wounded in the incident. Simply put, the jury’s finding that defendant believed in the need for self-defense is a factual determination that precludes a finding of guilt for attempted first-degree murder. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 210423, Categories: Firearms, Murder, Vehicle
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's habeas petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel failed to pursue a hearing on his motion to suppress his videotaped confession. The motion would not have succeeded as defendant acknowledged on the video that detectives advised him of his Miranda rights. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 19, 2023, Case #: 20-3151, Categories: Evidence, Habeas
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly found for the bank in a lawsuit brought by three siblings deprived of their inheritance by another sibling, who used their mother's deed of property to secure a loan. The bank held a valid mortgage, so it did not publish a falsity by recording the mortgage, nor did it unjustly retain a benefit by not releasing the mortgage. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 19, 2023, Case #: 22-3078, Categories: Property, Banking / Lending
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly found for the insurer in a breach of contract suit alleging it wrongly refused to pay for mental health services. Wisconsin law does not permit the insureds to bring these claims against the insurer, which was not directly financially liable for paying the benefits. That obligation remained with the school district, the plan participants' employer, and the insurer has no direct contractual relationship with the plan participants. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 17, 2023, Case #: 22-2210, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly denied the disabled firefighter's application for the payment of his health insurance premiums. The hearing officer did not revisit the pension board's finding that the firefighter suffered a catastrophic injury. Rather, he determined that the injury - slipping on ice - did not arise out of the firefighter's essential duties. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 220365, Categories: Administrative Law, Pensions
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of attempting to sexually exploit a child via a live Skype call. Defendant sent a script of the conduct he wanted the minor to engage in and joined the call at the time which he had set with an undercover FBI agent. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 11, 2023, Case #: 22-1156, Categories: Sex Offender
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly rejected an inmate's challenge to the revocation of his 5,700 days of good time credit following his assault of a prison guard. The inmate procedurally defaulted his constitutional claims by failing to raise them in the prison administrative proceeding and failing to bring them before the district court. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 21-2406, Categories: Constitution, Prisoners' Rights
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly found for the mortgage sub-servicer in a Fair Credit Reporting Act suit alleging it provided Equifax with inaccurate pay rate and account histories. No jury could find the sub-servicer provided patently incorrect or materially misleading information to the credit rating agency. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 5, 2023, Case #: 22-2570, Categories: Debt Collection
[Consolidated.] J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly dismissed a suit against Armslist brought by two families who had a loved one killed with a firearm purchased through the website. Wisconsin law does not consider websites that host firearms transactions to be firearms dealers, so the website is not required to collect identification, or conduct background checks. The families fail to plausibly allege that the deaths would not have occurred but for Armslist's failure to permit users to flag illegal conduct. Further, expanding liability to private sellers would contradict the legislature's judgment in making a distinction between firearms dealers and exempt entities. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 21-3198, Categories: Negligence, Firearms, Technology
J. Brennan grants the motion for summary judgment filed by a co-founder of the health care facilities, ruling the documents taken by the co-founder shortly before he transferred his ownership interest and left the business do not qualify as trade secrets because they had no independent economic value. Therefore, the trade secrets claim fails as a matter of law, while the remaining state law claims must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv1070, NOS: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) - Property Rights, Categories: Health Care, Trade Secrets, Jurisdiction
J. Brennan affirms a district court’s rejection of a defendant’s challenge to the government’s plan to use his $75,000 settlement of a health claim against the federal prison where he was incarcerated for bank fraud. Federal law authorizes the government to offset the settlement funds against a nearly $1.5 million restitution debt, money which the government then forwards to victims of crimes by the defendant and an accomplice. The defendant’s restitution has been past due since his sentencing. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 22-2003, Categories: Fraud, Restitution, Accomplice Liability
J. Brennan upholds a district court ruling denying a request for a hearing of new eyewitness testimony by a defendant serving 28 years for the shootings of three men, one fatally, in 2009. After first holding that Wisconsin state courts properly ruled that the defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims was procedurally defaulted, the appellate decision then affirms the lower court ruling. The introduction of new eyewitness testimony does not amount to a showing of actual innocence when strong and credible testimony to the contrary remains. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 21-1402, Categories: Evidence, Habeas, Murder