U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 2008

The court dismissed Ammons’s appeals because he was ineligible to proceed without prepaying fees, failed to pay the required fees, and improperly benefited from the district court’s erroneous authorization.

The court held that a judge, not a jury, must resolve disputed factual questions about a prisoner’s exhaustion of administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. If the exhaustion defense is overcome, a jury deciding the merits must make its own findings on any facts shared with the exhaustion inquiry…

The court held that Jackson’s amended FTCA claim against the United States related back to his timely original complaint because the United States had timely notice and the amendment corrected a mistake about the proper type of defendant.

The court reversed the district court’s judgment upholding the denial of benefits and remanded because the ALJ did not properly evaluate Craft’s mental impairments and made a credibility determination contradicted by the record.

The court affirmed summary judgment on the official-capacity claims because the evidence did not connect the grievance process to the assaults or establish that medication distribution was a widespread county policy.

The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of disability and SSI benefits, concluding that substantial evidence supported the ALJ’s residual-functional-capacity determination. The ALJ reasonably discounted Elder’s account of disabling symptoms because it conflicted with her reports to her rheumatologist, and adequately…

The court held that Tamayo plausibly alleged sex discrimination and retaliation claims, and that the IDOR could qualify as an employer because the complaint alleged control over her compensation and other personnel matters.