Richard Denis v. Riverwalk Holdings Ltd., et al
Filing
Filed Nonprecedential Disposition PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. Daniel A. Manion, Circuit Judge; Ilana Diamond Rovner, Circuit Judge and Diane S. Sykes, Circuit Judge. [6649464-1] [6649464] [14-3637]
Case: 14-3637
Document: 8
Filed: 03/20/2015
Pages: 2
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted March 19, 2015*
Decided March 20, 2015
Before
DANIEL A. MANION, Circuit Judge
ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge
DIANE S. SYKES, Circuit Judge
No. 14‐3637
RICHARD S. DENIS,
Plaintiff‐Appellant,
v.
RIVERWALK HOLDINGS, LTD., and
CIRCUIT COURT OF BROWN
COUNTY, WISCONSIN,
Defendants‐Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
No. 14‐C‐1341
William C. Griesbach,
Chief Judge.
O R D E R
Richard Denis appeals the dismissal of his civil‐rights suit asserting that he was
denied due process in a state‐court debt‐collection proceeding brought against him. We
affirm.
* The defendants were not served in the district court and are not participating in
this appeal. After examining the appellant’s brief and the record, we have concluded
that this appeal is appropriate for summary disposition. See FED. R. APP. P. 34(a)(2)(C).
Case: 14-3637
Document: 8
Filed: 03/20/2015
Pages: 2
No. 14‐3637
Page 2
As set forth in Denis’s complaint, a Wisconsin state court violated his due process
rights in a debt‐collection suit by entering summary judgment against him rather than
acceding to his request to have the case be decided by a jury. After the summary
judgment was affirmed by a state appellate court, Riverwalk Holdings, Ltd. v. Denis, 847
N.W.2d 426 (Wis. Ct. App. 2014), and his petition for review denied by the Wisconsin
Supreme Court, Riverwalk Holdings, Ltd. v. Denis, 855 N.W.2d 695 (Wis. 2014), Denis
brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Riverwalk Holdings, the creditor, and
the state trial court. At screening, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the district court pointed out
that federal courts lack jurisdiction to review cases that attack state‐court judgments, and
it dismissed Denis’s complaint under the Rooker‐Feldman doctrine. See D.C. Ct. of App. v.
Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 486 (1983); Rooker v. Fid. Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413, 416 (1923).
On appeal Denis asserts that the district court overlooked his due‐process claim
that he was denied his right to a jury trial. But this injury of which he complains was
caused by the state court’s grant of summary judgment. The district court correctly
concluded that Rooker‐Feldman blocks federal courts from entertaining suits seeking to
redress injuries caused by state‐court judgments. See Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic
Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280, 284 (2005); Harold v. Steel, 773 F.3d 884, 885 (7th Cir. 2014).
AFFIRMED.
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