Thorncreek Apartments III, LLC et al v. Village of Park Forest et al

Filing 358

MOTION by Defendants Mae Brandon, Bonita Dillard, John and Jane Doe, Lawrence Kerestes, Gary Kopycinski, Kenneth W. Kramer, Robert McCray, Thomas Mick, Georgia O'Neill, John A Ostenburg for judgment as a Matter of Law (Miller, Stephen)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS THORNCREEK APARTMENTS III, LLC, a foreign limited liability company, D/B/A THE LOFTS AT THORNCREEK; THORNCREEK MANAGEMENT, LLC, a foreign limited liability company, Plaintiffs, v. VILLAGE OF PARK FOREST, an Illinois Municipal corporation; TOM MICK, in his individual capacity and as Village Manager, MAE BRANDON, in her individual capacity and as Village Trustee; BONITA DILLARD, in her individual capacity and as Village Trustee; GARY KOPYCINSKI, in his individual capacity and as Village Trustee; KENNETH W. KRAMER, in his individual capacity and as Village Trustee; ROBERT McCRAY, in his individual capacity and as Village Trustee; GEORGIA O=NEILL, in her individual capacity and as Village Trustee; LAWRENCE KERESTES, in his individual capacity and as Village Director of Community Development; JOHN A. OSTENBURG, in his individual capacity and as Mayor of the Village of Park Forest; SHEILA McGANN, in her capacity as Village Clerk only; and JOHN and JANE DOE, individual employees, officers, and/or agents of The Village of Park Forest. Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. 08 C 1225 Hon. Gary Feinerman Magistrate Judge Schenkier Consolidated With Case No. 08 C 869 Case No. 08 C 4303 THE INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS’ JOINT MOTION PURSUANT TO RULE 50 FOR JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW ON PLAINTIFFS’ FEDERAL AND STATE EQUAL PROTECTION AND CONSPIRACY-RELATED CLAIMS The Individual Defendants, by and through their attorneys, STEPHEN R. MILLER and NIKOLETA LAMPRINAKOS of ROBBINS SCHWARTZ NICHOLAS LIFTON & TAYLOR LTD., and in support of their motion for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 (hereafter, “Fed. R. Civ. P. 50”) on Plaintiff’s Federal and State Equal Protection Claims and state law conspiracy-related claims state as follows: 3. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 50, the Individual Defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law because Plaintiffs have been fully heard and have failed to present a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find in Plaintiffs’ favor on their state and federal equal protection claims: a. As to the race-based equal protection claims, Plaintiffs failed to establish that they were treated differently than any similarly situated multi-family housing owner whose tenants are not primarily African-American; b. As to the class-of-one equal protection claims, Plaintiffs failed to establish that they were treated differently than any similarly situated multi-family housing owner; and c. As to the class-of-one equal protection claims, Plaintiffs failed to establish that Defendants had no rational basis for the difference in treatment about which they complain in this litigation. 4. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 50, the Individual Defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on Plaintiffs’ civil conspiracy-related claims because Plaintiffs have been fully heard and have failed to present a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find that Defendants entered into an agreement to violate Plaintiffs’ rights or commit a tortuous act, or took any action in furtherance of an agreement to commit an unlawful act. 2 For the foregoing reasons, the Individual Defendant’s Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 50 on Plaintiff’s Federal and State Equal Protection Claims should be granted. Dated: April 17, 2014 Respectfully submitted, TOM MICK, MAE BRANDON, BONITA DILLARD, GARY KOPYCINSKI, KENNETH KRAMER, ROBERT McCRAY, GEORGIA O=NEILL, LAWRENCE KERESTES and JOHN A. OSTENBURG, By: /s/ Stephen R. Miller Stephen R. Miller Stephen R. Miller (6182908) smiller@robbins-schwartz.com Nikoleta Lamprinakos (6274018) nlamprinakos@robbins-schwartz.com ROBBINS SCHWARTZ NICHOLAS LIFTON & TAYLOR, LTD. 55 West Monroe Street, Suite 800 Chicago, Illinois 60603 Ph: 312/332-7760 Fx: 312/332-7768 3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Stephen R. Miller, the undersigned attorney, hereby certify that the foregoing Defendants’ Joint Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law Pursuant to Rule 50, was electronically filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and that a copy of the same was served upon all counsel of record via electronic mail, this 17th day of April, 2014. By: F:\Thorncreek\Motion for Directed Verdict\directed verdict individuals motion.docx 4 /s/ Stephen R. Miller Stephen R. Miller

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