Federal Civil Practice

In a case involving two judgment creditors competing for the same assets, an individual who obtained a money judgment against the defendant appealed from a district court order finding that the plaintiff’s secured interest was superior to the individual’s purported interest. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the individual waived his arguments by not raising them in the district court. (ST. EVE and KIRSCH, concurring)

Plaintiff, who unknowingly had his photograph taken while serving in the military, filed a lawsuit against the defendants under the Illinois Right of Publicity Act after plaintiff discovered that the defendants were using the photograph on a poster sold by the defendants. Although the claim was filed after the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations, plaintiff argued that under the discovery rule the claim arose when he discovered the picture and not when the picture was published. The district court rejected this argument and dismissed the complaint. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, explaining that the Illinois appellate court had declined to apply the discovery rule for a claim under the Act. (SCUDDER and PRYOR, concurring)

Plaintiff filed a pro se lawsuit invoking 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and alleging that several municipal and county entities violated his constitutional rights in conjunction with an incident that led to plaintiff being ticketed and arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct. Plaintiff filed a number of motions in the district court, including a motion seeking the district judge’s recusal, which the court denied. Plaintiff then appealed. The Seventh Circuit vacated the appeal and remanded, finding that it lacked jurisdiction because the district court had not entered a final judgment in the case. The appellate court also commented on the use of AI by pro se litigants and cautioned against some of the risks of doing so and the need for all litigants to take reasonable care to avoid factual and legal misrepresentations. (BRENNAN and ST. EVE, concurring)