Coleman v. Frierson

607 F. Supp. 1566, aff'd sub nom. Coleman v. Smith, 814 F.2d 1142 (1987)

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Coleman v. Frierson

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
607 F. Supp. 1566, aff'd sub nom. Coleman v. Smith, 814 F.2d 1142 (1987)

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Facts

In 1982, Samuel Coleman (plaintiff), a special investigator for the Village of Robbins, was authorized to investigate police corruption that indicated the mayor’s involvement. Coleman was later fired as part of a cover-up. Coleman sued the Village of Robbins, its police chief, and its mayor (defendants), alleging that they violated his Fourteenth Amendment rights. More than a year after Coleman filed the complaint, the judge imposed a default judgment as to the defendants’ liability because of their willful delinquency during discovery. The jury subsequently awarded Coleman a verdict for over a half million dollars in damages. The court entered judgment on the verdict. The defendants appealed from the court’s judgment

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Shadur, J.)

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