United States Seventh Circuit

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that defendants arrested and prosecuted plaintiff without probable cause and in violation of his due process rights, judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) a reasonable jury could conclude that plaintiff was arrested early on during what was to be a very long night of interrogation; 2) the police lacked probable cause to arrest plaintiff because it was unreasonable for defendants to rule out a sexual predator as the victim's attacker; 3) defendant's abuse of his authority, involving an obviously vulnerable mother and wife, boosted what otherwise might be characterized as a particularly ugly insult across the threshold into a valid intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) claim; and 4) there was a plausible basis to find the jury's verdicts consistent. However, the judgment is vacated in part where: 1) plaintiffs could not now defend the due process verdict based on a theory that was never put before the jury; and 2) the evidence did not come close to supporting the $1 million compensatory award for the IIED claim.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/07/2010
• Published 04/07/2010

Judges

• EVANS, Circuit Judge., Before FLAUM, EVANS, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert J. Bates, Jr., Bates & Carey LLP, Edward M. Kay, Clausen Miller, Chicago, IL, for Intervenors-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Michael W. Rathsack, Chicago, IL, Kathleen T. Zellner, Attorney (argued), Kathleen Zellner and Associates, P.C., Oak Brook, IL, for Plaintiffs-Appellees., James R. Troupis, Attorney (argued), Michael Best & Friedrich, Madison, WI, for Defendants-Appellants.