Legal Opinion
John W. Northen v. City of Chicago
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Decided November 4, 1997No. 97-1245PublishedCited by 25 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
POSNER, Chief Judge.
This case follows a common modern pattern. A public employee has a dispute with his employer, and loses his job or suffers some other adverse personnel action. He brings a blunderbuss civil rights case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against everyone in sight, seeking improbable millions of dollars in damages ($7 million here). The defendants pick through the lengthy complaint, here in its sixth redaction with 79 paragraphs in 33 pages, hoping the plaintiff has pleaded himself out of court. They move to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The motion is granted, and the appeal…
2Cases cited19 opinions
- Harlow v. FitzgeraldSupreme Court of the United States · 1982
- Anderson v. CreightonSupreme Court of the United States · 1987
- Hunter v. BryantSupreme Court of the United States · 1991
- George Jones, Cross-Appellant v. City of Chicago, Cross-AppelleesCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1988
- Mary A. Bart v. William C. TelfordCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1982
14 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by25 opinions
- Anna Mustafa v. City of ChicagoCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2006
- Mark Gekas v. Peter VasiliadesCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2016
- Browder Ex Rel. Estate of Browder v. City of AlbuquerqueCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 2015
- Vodak v. City of ChicagoCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2011
- James O'Doan v. Joshua SanfordCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2021
20 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.