Scharf Banks Marmor Defeats Federal $70 Million Civil Rights Class-Action Against Cook County Sheriff

On March 29, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a putative $70 million class action lawsuit against the Sheriff of Cook County, ruling that the class-action complaint failed to state a Fourteenth Amendment due process claim relating to the disciplinary process applicable to Sheriff’s Officers.  Vargas v. Cook Cty. Sheriff’s Merit Bd. et al., Case No. 18 CV 1598, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54867 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 29, 2019).  The District Court held that the eight named plaintiffs, all Sheriff’s Officers who had been disciplined for misconduct, had no federal cause of action to challenge the discipline rendered against them.  The District Court pointed to the availability of ample and adequate state remedies to challenge disciplinary decisions under Illinois law.  The District Court concluded that “these Plaintiffs are currently receiving, or have received, all the process they are due under the Fourteenth Amendment,” and could not bring federal constitutional claims.   The Firm’s attorneys representing the Sheriff are  Stephanie A. Scharf Sarah R. Marmor,  George Sax, and Morgan Churma.   

       
       Stephanie A. Scharf                                                 Sarah R. Marmor                                                  George D. Sax                                                       Morgan Churma

About Scharf Banks Marmor

Scharf Banks Marmor LLC is a sophisticated, women-owned law firm whose attorneys come from leading AmLaw 100 firms and Fortune 100 corporate law departments. Our lawyers concentrate their practices in: Complex Litigation and Appeals, Employment, Corporate, Life Sciences, Intellectual Property, Food, Insurance, and Antitrust.