James Block Zagel
Judge Zagel no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Zagel decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Zagel treated a complaint refiled after voluntary dismissal as a new and independent action. Service of the refiled complaint restarted the removal period, and conduct in the earlier action did not bind the parties in the new case.
“the refiling is, by definition, a new action”
On Rule 12(b)(6) he reads claims for their substance, not their labels: he rejected the argument that every misrepresentation count is 'fraud' subject to Rule 9(b) particularity, observing that liability for misrepresentation does not always require intent or reliance, so CAN-SPAM concealment-of-origin claims are not held to the heightened pleading standard.
“Counter-Defendants assume that all misrepresentation (think of it here as ‘flying under false colors’) is fraud, but this is not so.”
In employment cases he applies the standard Seventh Circuit framework rigorously: the plaintiff must identify a materially adverse employment action, and 'petty slights or minor annoyances' (a denied personal day, an unanswered email, not being greeted) do not qualify; a documented, legitimate non-pretextual reason for discipline (here, a guilty plea to criminal misdemeanors) defeats a retaliation/discrimination claim.
“Title VII does not set forth a ‘general civility code for the American workplace’”
Procedural preferences
Zagel favored doctrinal consistency and followed controlling circuit rules even when they had been criticized, including the rule identifying the proper defendant in an ERISA benefits action.
“I appreciate the necessity for consistency in similar cases among the district judges of this Circuit.”
On summary judgment he works methodically through the parties' Local Rule 56.1 statements, expressly striking sentences that are conclusory or unsupported by the record before deciding the motion. Tie your 56.1 facts to specific admissible evidence.
“I strike the first sentence of statement 8 as it is conclusory and unsupported by the record.”
Cautions
Zagel kept statutory causes of action within their defined scope. He held that filing suits, seeking injunctions, and presenting a vigorous defense did not constitute unlawful interference under the Fair Housing Act provision aimed at extralegal coercion.
“activities inherent to the adversarial system such as seeking injunctions, filing suits, submitting affidavits, etc. go beyond what the FHA contemplated in § 3617.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The motion to dismiss is denied as to all counts except Count VI.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand is denied and Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is denied.”
“Defendants’ motions to dismiss are granted and this case is dismissed.”
“Defendant Unum’s Motion to dismiss is GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons I grant Defendants’ motion for summary judgment.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion to dismiss is granted.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion to dismiss is denied.”
“Defendants' motion to dismiss Counts II, III, IV, and V is denied.”
“For the following reasons, I grant, in part, and deny, in part, Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification.”
“the Court denied Defendants' motion to exclude the testimony of Plaintiffs' experts after finding that the expert opinions of Drs. Solow, Wright, and McClave were based on reliable methodology”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment is granted.”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to liability is denied”
“Defendant's motion to strike is denied.”
“Defendant's motion for reconsideration is granted in part and denied in part, and final judgment as to Counts I, II and IV is hereby entered for Plaintiffs.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 85.0 days (N = 9).
The reviewed 2010 filing cohort, drawn from Judge Zagel's active-service years, includes civil-rights, employment, benefits and insurance, consumer and banking, education, immigration, and commercial disputes. He also carried a substantial criminal calendar, including the Blagojevich prosecutions, but criminal cases were not included in the duration sample.
A historical record
Judge Zagel no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.