Kelly Fuery v. City of Chicago

Rovner, Circuit Judge.

*452 After a contentious trial, the district court, after assessing the plaintiffs' contumacious conduct, asserted its inherent authority to set aside a jury verdict in favor of one plaintiff and entered judgment for the defendants on all claims. The plaintiffs challenge the limits of the judge's inherent authority to set aside a verdict. We affirm.

I

Appellate courts are the proverbial Monday-morning quarterbacks. We are able to evaluate everything in slow motion, focusing a lens on what might be imperceptible in real time. But we cannot hear the grunts of the players when…