Rule 702 “Show-Your-Work” Gatekeeping: Unaddressed Expert Alternative-Design Opinions Require De Novo Review and Can Defeat Summary Judgment Without Product Testing I. Introduction Rebekah Hillman v....
Sentencing Courts May Consult Prior Presentence Reports (Including Reliable Hearsay) to Test § 3553(a) Mitigation Claims Case: United States v. Reiquon Gaines (7th Cir. Jan. 21, 2026) | Court: United...
Strict Enforcement of N.D. Ill. Local Rules 56.1 and 5.3 Can Decide Summary Judgment, Post-Judgment Motions, and Costs Introduction In Albert Thomas v. Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, the Seventh...
No “Fraud Exception” to Rooker-Feldman in Eviction-Related Federal Suits; Claim Preclusion and Pleading Standards Narrow § 1983 and FHA Retaliation Theories Case: Tony Cole v. Joseph C. Faulkner, et...
Vacatur of Younger Abstention Stays After Conclusion of State Proceedings and Pro Se Litigants’ Duty to Verify AI-Assisted Citations 1. Introduction Solomon Jones v. Kankakee County Sheriff's...
No “Fraud Exception” to Rooker–Feldman in Eviction Collateral Attacks; Claim Preclusion as a Backstop Introduction Tony Cole v. Joseph C. Faulkner, et al. (7th Cir. Jan. 21, 2026) is a...
Strict Enforcement of Local Rule 56.1 (and Local Rule 5.3 Presentment) Can Drive Summary Judgment Outcomes in Employment Discrimination Cases Introduction In Albert Thomas v. Chicago Teachers'...
Pro Se Litigants Are Bound by Local Summary-Judgment Rules; Title VII Retaliation Still Requires Evidence the Employer Knew of the Protected Activity Case: Yumarcus Anderson v. American Foods Group,...
Universal Life “Monthly Charges” Are Statutory Premiums—and Trigger § 234(2)’s Monthly-Premium Exception 1. Introduction Fayez Dahleh v. Minnesota Life Insurance Company (7th Cir. Jan. 20, 2026)...
Objective Vehicle Protective Searches Under Long: Furtive Movements, Cannabis Odor, and Weapons-Related Supervision Support Reasonable Suspicion; Post-Sentence Family Remarks Require “Reliance” to...
Objective “Long” Vehicle Protective Searches: Cannabis Odor, Furtive Movements, and Officer Demeanor I. Introduction United States v. Dazmine Erving (7th Cir. Jan. 20, 2026) addresses two recurring...
Primary-Significance Governs Genericness (Not “Exclusive Descriptor”): Survey-Driven Reversal of “Pizza Puff” Preliminary Injunction Case: Illinois Tamale Company, Inc. v. LC Trademarks, Inc. and...
“Primary Significance” Controls Genericness for Incontestable Marks; Descriptive Fair Use Turns on Product Characteristics, Not Product Identity 1. Introduction In Illinois Tamale Company, Inc. v. LC...
Incontestable Marks and Genericness at the Preliminary-Injunction Stage: “Primary Significance” Governs, and Fair Use Describes Characteristics—not Identity Introduction In Illinois Tamale Company,...
Primary-Significance Controls Genericness of Incontestable Marks; Fair-Use “Descriptive” Prong Turns on Product Characteristics, Not Product Identity Illinois Tamale Company, Inc. v. LC Trademarks,...
CEA Two-Year Bar Not Avoided by “John Doe” Pleading: No Rule 15 Relation-Back Without a “Mistake,” and Investment Managers Must Plead Their Own Trading Losses for Article III Standing Case: LJM...
Sham Declarations Cannot Manufacture Summary-Judgment Disputes; No Per Se Eighth Amendment Violation from a Cell Lacking an In-Cell Toilet/Sink When Reasonable Mitigation Exists I. Introduction In...
Smith v. Pugh: Caution Against “Received-By” Deadlines for Prisoner Filings and the Centrality of Medical Causation in Ramadan-Meal RLUIPA/Eighth Amendment Claims Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
CEA Two-Year Limitations, No Rule 15 “Mistake” for John Doe Defendants, and Strict Pleading of Investment-Manager Standing in VIX Manipulation Claims Introduction Case: Two Roads Shared Trust v....
Acquiescence to a Restitution Credit at Sentencing Waives Appellate Challenge (and the Defendant Bears the Burden to Prove Offsets) 1. Introduction Case: United States v. Sean Grusd (7th Cir. Jan....