Library of the U.S. Courts Seventh Circuit | Seventh Circuit Cases Granted Certiorari 2017-2018

Seventh Circuit Cases Granted Certiorari

This is a status report and a subsequent history of Seventh Circuit cases which have been granted certiorari. It does not include cases for which the Supreme Court has issued a summary disposition.

2017-2018 Supreme Court Term
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Case Name: Epic Systems v. Lewis Reversed and remanded


S. Ct. Docket: 16-285 (consolidated with 16-300 and 16-307)
Cert. Granted:1/13/2017
Argument Date:10/2/22017
Question Presented: Whether an agreement that requires an employer and an employee to resolve employment-related disputes through individual arbitration, and waive class and collective proceedings, is enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act, notwithstanding the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act.
7th Cir. Opinion: 15-2997
7th Cir. Panel: Chief Judge Wood, Rovner, Blakey
S. Ct. Opinion: 16-285
Date Decided: 5/21/2018



Case Name: Hamer v. Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Vacated and remanded


S. Ct. Docket: 16-658
Cert. Granted: 2/27/2017
Argument Date:10/10/2017
Question Presented: Whether Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5)(C) can deprive a court of appeals of jurisdiction over an appeal that is statutorily timely, as the Second, Fourth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits have concluded, or whether Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5)(C) is instead a nonjurisdictional claim-processing rule because it is not derived from a statute, as the Ninth and D.C. Circuits have concluded, and therefore subject to equitable considerations such as forfeiture, waiver, and the unique-circumstances doctrine.
7th Cir. Opinion: 15-3764
7th Cir. Panel: Posner, Sykes and District Judge Yandle
S. Ct. Opinion: 16-658
Date Decided: 11/8/2017


Case Name: Merit Management Group v. FTI Consulting Affirmed and remanded


S. Ct. Docket: 16-784
Cert. Granted: 5/1/2017
Argument Date: 11/6/2017
Question Presented: Whether the safe harbor of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code prohibits avoidance of a transfer made by or to a financial institution, without regard to whether the institution has a beneficial interest in the property transferred, consistent with decisions from the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 8th, and 10th Circuits, but contrary to the decisions from the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 7th and 11th Circuits.
7th Cir. Opinion: 15-3388
7th Cir. Panel: Chief Judge Wood, Posner, Rovner
S. Ct. Opinion: 16-784
Date Decided: 2/27/2018


Case Name: Gill v. Whitford Vacated and remanded


S. Ct. Docket: 16-1161
Cert. Granted: 6/19/2017 (Jurisdiction postponed to hearing the case on the merits)
Argument Date: 10/3/2017
Question Presented:(1) Whether the district court violated Vieth v. Jubelirer when it held that it had the authority to entertain a statewide challenge to Wisconsin's redistricting plan, instead of requiring a district-by-district analysis; (2) whether the district court violated Vieth when it held that Wisconsin's redistricting plan was an impermissible partisan gerrymander, even though it was undisputed that the plan complies with traditional redistricting principles; (3) whether the district court violated Vieth by adopting a watered-down version of the partisan-gerrymandering test employed by the plurality in Davis v. Bandemer; (4) whether the defendants are entitled, at a minimum, to present additional evidence showing that they would have prevailed under the district court's test, which the court announced only after the record had closed; and (5) whether partisan-gerrymandering claims are justiciable.
Panel. Opinion: 3:15-cv-421 (Western District of Wisconsin)
Panel: Judge Ripple, Circuit Judge, Judges Crabb and Griesbach, District Judges
Citation: 281 F. Supp.3d 837
S. Ct. Opinion: 16-1661
Date Decided: 6/18/2018


Case Name: Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran Affirmed


S. Ct. Docket: 16-534
Cert. Granted: 6/27/2017
Argument Date: 12/4/2017
Question Presented: Whether 28 U.S.C. § 1610(g) provides a freestanding attachment immunity exception that allows terror victim judgment creditors to attach and execute upon assets of foreign state sponsors of terrorism regardless of whether the assets are otherwise subject to execution under section 1610.
7th Cir. Opinion: 14-1935
7th Cir. Panel: Judge Bauer and Sykes, Circuit Judges, and Chief District Judge Reagan
Citation: 830 F.3d 470 (2016)
S. Ct. Opinion: 16-534
Date Decided: 2/21/2018

Case Name: Murphy v. Smith Affirmed
S. Ct. Docket: 16-1067
Cert. Granted: 8/25/2017
Argument Date: 12/6/2017
Question Presented: The question presented is whether the parenthetical phrase in 42 U.S.C. sec. 1997e(d)(2) "not to exceed 25 percent" means any amount up to 25 percent (as four circuits hold), or whether it means exactly 25 percent (as the Seventh Circuit holds).
7th Cir. Opinion:15-3384
7th Cir. Panel: Judges Bauer, Manion and Hamilton
Citation: 844 F.3d 653
S. Ct. Opinion: 16-1067
Date Decided: 2/21/2018

Case Name: Janus v. Am. Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31 Reversed and remanded
S. Ct. Docket: 16-1466
Cert. Granted: 9/28/2017
Argument Date: 2/26/2018
Question Presented: Should Abood be overruled and public sector agency fee arrangements declared unconstitutional under the First Amendment?
7th Cir. Opinion: 16-3638
7th Cir. Panel: Judges Posner, Sykes and Hamilton
Citation: 851 F.3d 746
S. Ct. Opinion: 16-1466
Date Decided: 6/27/2018


Case Name: Wisconsin Central Ltd, v. United States Reversed and remanded
S. Ct. Docket: 17-530
Cert. Granted: 1/12/2018
Argument Date: 4/16/2018
Question Presented: Whether stock that a railroad transfers to its employees is taxable under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. § 3231(e)(l).
7th Cir. Opinion: 16-3303
7th Cir. Panel: Posner, Manion and Hamilton
Citation: 856 F.3d 490
S. Ct. Opinion: 17-530
Date Decided: 6/21/2018