United States Seventh Circuit

In a suit against an employer and officers of the employer alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act as well as state contract and tort claims, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where: 1) the late filing of defendants' answer was a result of excusable neglect; 2) statements made by defendants' lawyer were privileged and therefore not defamatory; and 3) plaintiff's allegations did not rise to the level of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Summary judgment is reversed in part on plaintiff's other claims where plaintiff presented sufficient evidence of an impermissible retaliatory motivation under the direct method of proof to create a genuine issue of material fact for trial.

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/29/2007
• Decided 04/17/2008
• Published 04/17/2008

Judges

• RIPPLE, Circuit Judge., Before BAUER, RIPPLE and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• David E. Lewis (argued), Waterloo, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• William P. Hardy (argued), Hinshaw & Culbertson, Springfield, IL, for Defendants-Appellees, School District # 70, Blomenkamp, Carpenter, Hawkins and Lindauer., John J. Baroni (argued), Sandberg, Phoenix & Von Gontard, St. Louis, MO, for Defendant-Appellee, Jones