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Table Of Contents, Seventh Circuit Review

Seventh Circuit Review

No abstract provided.

Messner'S Effect On Hospital Consolidation And Anticompetitive Behavior, Jaclyn Bacallao

Seventh Circuit Review

By 2021, healthcare spending is expected to reach a whopping twenty percent of gross domestic product. One of the less-publicized causes of the rapid growth in healthcare costs is hospital consolidation, which has allowed hospitals to use their market power to raise prices for private payors.

Attempts to limit abuses of market power in this sector have been insufficient. From the 1980s until the early 1990s, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice blocked every anticompetitive merger. However, the tides changed in the mid-1990s when the regulators lost five successive cases that challenged hospital mergers. Economists were astounded …

The Mob And Ford Motor Company: The Seventh Circuit's Enterprising Approach To The Rico Double Jeopardy Problem, Rita Greggio

Seventh Circuit Review

Conspiracies that overlap in time, place, persons, and objectives are often charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a complex statutory scheme that criminalizes the on-going and multifaceted activities of illicit enterprises like the mob. Such prosecutions, however, are particularly susceptible to double jeopardy claims. The Constitution's double jeopardy clause protects defendants from multiple prosecutions or punishments for the same offense. Although the Supreme Court has held that this constitutional protection is a fundamental right, courts have struggled to establish guidelines for determining the parameters of the term "same offense." This struggle is at the heart of …

Calling All Supreme Court Justices! It Might Be Time To Settle This "Rejection" Business Once And For All: A Look At Sunbeam Products V. Chicago American Manufacturing And The Resulting Circuit Split, Alexander N. Kreisman

Seventh Circuit Review

As effective and efficient bankruptcy proceedings have become increasingly important in recent years, so has the need to protect intellectual property licenses. The Bankruptcy Code allows the representative of a bankrupt estate, with the court's approval, to reject executory contracts. Although rejection has taken many forms over the years, its goal is to offer debtors and trustees with a means to maximize the value of the bankrupt estate's remaining assets. Rejection accomplishes this by treating contracts that contain unfulfilled obligations by both parties as having been breached by the representative of the bankrupt estate.

However, the implications of this breach …

The Proper Preclusion Standard: Why The Adea Is Not The Exclusive Remedy For Age Discrimination In Employment, Murray A. Duncan Iii

Seventh Circuit Review

Imagine that you work for the Department of Transportation for the state. You are fifty-five years old and have been working for the Department for over twenty years. One day, you walk into work and your supervisor says, "You're fired: you are too old." Undoubtedly, your employer violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). As mandated by the ADEA, you file a charge of age discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Commission investigates and grants you the authority to file a civil suit in federal court. In court, the judge informs you that the ADEA is not …

The Cat's Revenge: Individual Liability Under The Cat's Paw Doctrine, Abby Bochenek

Seventh Circuit Review

Human resources personnel may be surprised to learn that they are now vulnerable to a lawsuit when a plaintiff invokes the "cat's paw" legal doctrine. In an issue of first impression, the Seventh Circuit found that, pursuant to a 42 U.S.C. § 1981 retaliation claim, an employee can be held individually liable for his or her actions that contributed to an adverse employment action against a fellow employee. Now, not only are employers held liable under "cat's paw," employees are too. The concept of "cat's paw" applies to an employment discrimination action when a final decision-maker relies on a subordinate's …

Tests And Prongs And Factors, Oh My!: An Examination Of The Seventh Circuit's Decision In Doe Ex Rel. Doe V. Elmbrook School District, Jack C. Marshall

Seventh Circuit Review

Interpreting the ten words that make up the Establishment Clause and applying them in the context of public schools has frustrated the U.S. Supreme Court and consequently confused lower courts. The Seventh Circuit's recent opinion in Doe ex rel. Doe v. Elmbrook School District illustrates the quagmire that is modern Establishment Clause jurisprudence.

For years, Elmbrook School District held their high school graduation ceremonies in a nearby church. In 2010, students and parents of children who attended Elmbrook School District filed suit, arguing that holding graduation in a church violates the Establishment Clause. Sitting en banc, the Seventh Circuit held …

Taking Two-Steps Around Miranda: Why The Seventh Circuit Should Abandon The Intent-Based Test, Nicholas A. J. Betts

Seventh Circuit Review

In Missouri v. Seibert, the Supreme Court prohibited law enforcement from employing a tactic known as the two-step interrogation. Two-step interrogations involve the questioning of a suspect while intentionally withholding the Miranda warnings, once the questioning elicits a confession, the suspect is warned and asked to repeat the now-admissible statement. The Seibert opinion created two potential tests for determining whether a two-step interrogation has occurred, like many circuits, the Seventh Circuit has applied these tests inconsistently. This Note summarizes the Supreme Court's decisions in Miranda and Seibert, examines the Seventh Circuit's application of Seibert, and advocates for …

The Trouble With "Bitch": Rethinking The Seventh Circuit's Approach To Causation In Sexist Harassment Cases, Monika Erpelo Novak

Seventh Circuit Review

Does calling a female employee "bitch" constitute harassment actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? In 1996, in Galloway v. General Motors Service Parts, the Seventh Circuit concluded that it does not. More recently, in Passananti v. Cook County, the court held that such conduct may indeed violate Title VII.

A plaintiff who brings a Title VII claim is required to prove that she was harassed "because of sex." In both of the above cases, the Seventh Circuit interpreted this causation requirement to mean that the harasser must be subjectively motivated by the plaintiff's …

Table Of Contents, Seventh Circuit Review

Seventh Circuit Review

No abstract provided.

The Seventh Circuit Pulls The Ladder Out From Under Design Defect Plaintiffs: Bielskis V. Louisville Ladder And The Limits Of Judicial Discretion In Assessing The Reliability Of An Expert's Methodology, Bevin Carroll

Seventh Circuit Review

As issues in litigation grow more complex, reliance upon expert testimony to establish liability is growing as well, especially in products liability cases. In fact, the Seventh Circuit requires expert evidence to establish liability in most design defect claims, regardless of whether they are brought under the risk utility test or the consumer expectations test.

Under Daubert, trial judges are considered the gatekeepers of expert testimony and have vast discretion in determining whether an expert’s methodology is reliable. This gatekeeping function is intended to be limited in its scope such that it is consistent with Federal Rule of Evidence …

That’S The Ticket: Arguing For A Narrower Interpretation Of The Exceptions Clause In The Driver’S Privacy Protection Act, Katherine Hutchinson

Seventh Circuit Review

The Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 restricts states from disclosing personal identifying information contained in an individual's motor vehicle record without that person's express consent. The DPPA was a response to tragic incidents in which such information was released to members of the public who used it to locate people and commit crimes against them. However, Congress inserted into the Act a list of fourteen exceptions under which certain parties may still access these state records for specific "permissible uses." These exceptions recognized the need for such disclosure in the interests of the legitimate operational needs of government and …