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)
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.
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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.
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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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