Federal 7th Circuit / Civil
Union Membership
| S.D. Ind., Indianapolis Div.
Anderson Federation of Teachers v. Rokita, No. 23-1823
(November 2, 2026)
(LEE)
Affirmed.
A group of teachers’ unions and union members filed a lawsuit challenging state legislation that required public school employees to submit a written acknowledgment of rights and to undertake additional steps if they wanted their employers to automatically deduct union dues form their paychecks, arguing that it violated their Free Speech and Free Assembly rights under the First Amendment. The district court agreed that the legislation at issue violated their freedom of association rights and entered a permanent injunction and defendant appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the state failed to establish that the restrictions fulfilled a compelling interest that could not be achieved in less burdensome ways. (SYKES and HAMILTON, concurring)
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Federal 7th Circuit / Civil
Breach of Contract
| N.D. Ill., Eastern Div.
Indeck Power Equipment Company v. Ashley Energy, LLC, No. 26-1390
(October 27, 2026)
(RIPPLE)
Affirmed.
Plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging that the defendant breached a lease agreement by damaging a boiler leased from the plaintiff. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant and responded that while defendant had breached, the plaintiff failed to show that it sustained any damages. The district court denied plaintiff’s motion for a new trial and plaintiff appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding no error in the jury’s verdict. (EASTERBROOK and KOLAR, concurring)
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Federal 7th Circuit / Civil
Federal Jurisdiction
| N.D. Ill., Eastern Div.
Mary Jane Sweet Spot, LLC v. City of Blue Island, No. 24-3308
(October 26, 2026)
(ROVNER)
Vacated and remanded.
Defendants denied a business license to the plaintiffs and plaintiffs filed a lawsuit alleging that this denied them due process and equal protection and that the defendant had also engaged in conspiracy, discrimination, and tortious interference. The district court dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, finding it was barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and plaintiff appealed. The Seventh Circuit vacated and remanded for further proceedings, explaining that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine did not apply and that if there was any bar against the lawsuit, it would be based on claim preclusion, an issue the parties did not raise. (PRYOR and KOLAR, concurring)
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Federal 7th Circuit / Civil
Federal Officer Removal Statute
| S.D. Ind., Indianapolis Div.
Elkins v. Southern Indiana Health Management, Inc., No. 23-3159, 23-3175, 23-3363, 23-3385
(October 20, 2026)
(LEE)
Affirmed.
Plaintiffs filed a putative class action lawsuit alleging that a Facebook tracking software embedded in defendant's healthcare patient portal shared their health data without consent. The lawsuit was originally filed in state court, but defendant removed it to federal court under the federal officer removal statute, arguing that it was “acting under” the Department of Health and Human Services when it created online patient portals. The district court rejected defendant’s argument and defendant appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, explaining that it agreed with the district court that the health providers were not acting under the federal government when they created their patient portals. (JACKSON-AKIWUMI and KOLAR, concurring)
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Federal 7th Circuit / Civil
Appellate Procedure
| N.D. Ill., Eastern Div.
American Academy of Pediatrics v. Uthmeier, No. 26-2238
(September 14, 2026)
(PER CURIAM)
Appeal dismissed.
In an appeal involving a case that was dismissed by the plaintiff in the district court, the Seventh Circuit gave the district court permission to vacate a previously entered preliminary injunction and noted that once the injunction is vacated there will no longer be an appealable order and, as a result, the appeal will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. (BRENNAN, EASTERBROOK, ST. EVE, KIRSCH, JACKSON-AKIWUMI, LEE, PRYOR, MALDONADO, and TAIBLESON, concurring; KOLAR, specially concurring, HAMILTON, specially concurring, SCUDDER, concurring in part and dissenting in part)
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