James Block Zagel
How Judge Zagel rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Zagel no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Zagel
James Block Zagel was a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Judge Zagel received a commission on April 22, 1987. Judge Zagel assumed senior status on October 21, 2016 and served until death on July 15, 2023.
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”
In E360Insight v. Comcast, Zagel rejected a Rule 9(b) challenge to most of Comcast’s email related counterclaims. He reasoned that the statutory misrepresentation theories did not require all elements of fraud, so the heightened fraud pleading rule did not dispose of them.
“Counter-Defendants assume that all misrepresentation (think of it here as ‘flying under false colors’) is fraud, but this is not so.”
In Walker v. Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, Zagel granted the employer summary judgment. He found that several alleged slights were not materially adverse employment actions and that the plaintiff had not shown the stated reason for termination was pretextual.
“Title VII does not set forth a ‘general civility code for the American workplace’”
Procedural preferences
In Eidmann v. Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, Zagel cited the need for consistency among district judges when applying the Seventh Circuit’s rule about the proper defendant in an ERISA benefits suit. He granted the insurer’s motion to dismiss because the plan was already a defendant and could provide relief.
“I appreciate the necessity for consistency in similar cases among the district judges of this Circuit.”
In Walker v. Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, Zagel struck a sentence in the plaintiff’s Local Rule 56.1 statement as conclusory and unsupported by the record before deciding summary judgment.
“I strike the first sentence of statement 8 as it is conclusory and unsupported by the record.”
Cautions
In Dudley v. Fenton, Zagel dismissed an FHA § 3617 claim against opposing counsel. He held that filing suits, seeking injunctions, and submitting affidavits in the adversarial litigation did not amount to the interference addressed by that provision.
“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 here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.