Litigation over pictures of the Indianapolis skyline form the backdrop for the Seventh Circuit’s recent examination of the elements of a proper affirmative defense under Federal pleading rules and the concept of ‘finality’ for res judicata purposes in Bell v. Taylor. There, several small businesses infringed plaintiff’s copyrights in two photographs of downtown Indianapolis: one …
Category Archives: Federal Courts
Supplemental Jurisdiction Quick-Hits : A Case Note
Ocean Tomo v. Barney, (http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2012cv08450/275661/76) states the governing supplemental jurisdiction rules in a business battle over the rights to a patent valuation system. The defendant, the developer of the system, was a member of the plaintiff financial services firm (an LLC) for several years when the relationship broke down over various issues. Citing the company’s intolerable conditions, the defendant left …
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Joint Ventures, Close Corporations and Summary Judgment Motion Practice – IL Northern District Case Snapshot
The featured case is Apex Medical Research v. Arif (http://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2015cv02458/308072/52/0.pdf?ts=1447939471) A medical clinical trials firm sued a doctor and his company for breach of contract and some tort claims when the firm learned the doctor was soliciting firm clients in violation of a noncompete signed by him. In partially granting and denying a flurry of summary judgment motions, the Illinois Northern …