Kennedy v. Lightfoot et al
| Hannah Kennedy |
| Lori Lightfoot, City of Chicago Department of Human Resources, U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr., City Of Chicago, City of Chicago's Department of Human Resources and John R. Lausch Jr. |
| 1:2023cv02035 |
| March 31, 2023 |
| US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois |
| John Robert Blakey |
| Civil Rights: Jobs |
| 28 U.S.C. ยง 451 Employment Discrimination |
| None |
Docket Report
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| Filing 10 REMAND with certified copy of order dated 5/9/2023 and letter to Circuit Court of Cook County via email. (jg, ) |
| Filing 9 MINUTE entry before the Honorable John Robert Blakey: As the Seventh Circuit has noted, the doctrine of derivative jurisdiction remains "difficult to explain" and "has been criticized a great deal over the course of many years," Rodas v. Seidlin, 656 F.3d 610, 618-19, 621 (7th Cir. 2011). But, in a nutshell: "subject matter jurisdiction concerns the power of a court to hear a case; the doctrine of derivative jurisdiction is rooted in the idea that there is no case at all." Id. at 624. When the doctrine applies, the case must be dismissed regardless of the substance of the allegations. Id. at 615 (even though the doctrine is only a "procedural bar"and even though "the justification for the rule is hardly obvious"it is nevertheless "binding" and therefore "remains mandatory"); Ricci v. Salzman, 976 F.3d 768, 773 (7th Cir. 2020) ("When the derivative jurisdiction doctrine is timely raised, then, it properly results in dismissal without prejudice."). Moreover, "when a defendant timely raises the derivative jurisdiction doctrine, it erects a mandatory bar to the court's exercise of federal jurisdiction, and a plaintiff cannot circumvent that bar merely by filing an amended complaint invoking federal jurisdiction." Ricci, 976 F.3d at 773. Accordingly, the Court grants Defendant's motion for reconsideration #8 , vacates its prior order #7 dismissing the complaint based upon its allegations and granting Plaintiff leave to amend, and dismisses this case without prejudice as to the United States Attorney under the derivative jurisdiction doctrine. The matter is otherwise remanded forthwith to the Circuit Court of Cook County. Civil case terminated. Mailed notice (gel, ) |
| Filing 8 MOTION by Defendant John R. Lausch Jr. for reconsideration regarding order on motion to dismiss,,,,,,,, text entry,,,,,,, #7 (Rosen, Jordan) |
| Filing 7 MINUTE entry before the Honorable John Robert Blakey: The Court grants Defendant Lausch's motion to dismiss and dismisses Plaintiff's complaint. As an initial matter, although Plaintiff named Lausch in the caption of her pro se complaint, the body of her complaint makes no mention of him. Indeed, she alleges that she applied for a job at the Harold Washington Library and was denied even an interview based upon discrimination; the complaint lacks any allegation tying any conduct to a federal official. As a result, the Court dismisses the complaint against Lausch. E.g., Myles v. United States, 416 F.3d 551, 554 (7th Cir. 2005) (plaintiffs must identify, in the caption of the complaint, every person they want to sue, and then in the body of the complaint state what each of these persons did and what relief the plaintiff seeks from each); Hendon v. Cook Cnty. Jail, No. 17 C 8011, 2017 WL 11507640, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 22, 2017) (A plaintiff "cannot state a claim against a defendant [merely] by including the defendant's name in the caption" of the complaint"). More problematic, Plaintiff alleges that she was discriminated against based upon her name and her current working situation, but neither constitutes a protected category. As a result, the Court dismisses her complaint in its entirety. See, e.g., Eager v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 187 F. Supp. 2d 1033, 1040 (N.D. Ill. 2002) ("the federal discrimination laws do not prohibit even oppressive employment practices if they are not imposed because of the plaintiff's membership in a protected category"). To the extent Plaintiff can, consistent with her obligations under Rule 11, amend her complaint to allege discrimination against a proper Defendant based upon a protected category, she may file an amended complaint by 5/31/23. If Plaintiff fails to amend, the Court will dismiss this case. Mailed notice (gel, ) |
| Filing 6 NOTICE of Motion by Jordan Alexander Rosen for presentment of motion to dismiss #5 before Honorable John Robert Blakey on 4/12/2023 at 11:00 AM. (Rosen, Jordan) |
| Filing 5 MOTION by Defendant John R. Lausch Jr. to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim (Rosen, Jordan) |
| Filing 4 MINUTE entry before the Honorable John Robert Blakey: This case has been assigned to the calendar of the Honorable John Robert Blakey. The litigants are ordered to review and fully comply with all of this Court's standing orders, which are available on Judge Blakey's information page on the Court's official website: http://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/. In addition, the parties must file a status report no later than 5/19/2023, using the model template set forth in this Court's standing order regarding Initial (or Reassignment) Status Conferences. Failure by any party to file the status report by the requisite deadline (either jointly or, if necessary, individually with an explanation as to why a joint report could not be filed) may result in a summary dismissal of the case for failure to prosecute, or an entry of default against any served defendant(s) failing to comply with this order. During the litigation, the attorneys must also appear at all hearing dates set by the Court or noticed by the parties. If an attorney has a conflict with a set court date, the attorney must notify Judge Blakey's Courtroom Deputy, Gloria Lewis, at Gloria_Lewis@ilnd.uscourts.gov. If appropriate, the Court will then reset the matter. Advising opposing counsel of a scheduling conflict is not a substitute for communicating directly with the Court. Mailed notice (gel, ) |
| Filing 3 CIVIL Cover Sheet (Rosen, Jordan) |
| Filing 2 DESIGNATION of Jordan Alexander Rosen as U.S. Attorney for Defendant John R. Lausch Jr. (Rosen, Jordan) |
| Filing 1 NOTICE of Removal from Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, case number (2023-CH-02333) filed by John R. Lausch Jr. (Rosen, Jordan) |
| CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable John Robert Blakey. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Jeffrey Cummings. Case assignment: Random assignment. (khg, ) |
| CLERK'S NOTICE: Pursuant to Local Rule 73.1(b), a United States Magistrate Judge of this court is available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action. If all parties consent to have the currently assigned United States Magistrate Judge conduct all proceedings in this case, including trial, the entry of final judgment, and all post-trial proceedings, all parties must sign their names on the attached #Consent To# form. This consent form is eligible for filing only if executed by all parties. The parties can also express their consent to jurisdiction by a magistrate judge in any joint filing, including the Joint Initial Status Report or proposed Case Management Order. (khg, ) |
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