Levin v. Madigan
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
692 F.3d 607 (2012)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Harvey Levin (plaintiff) was over 60 years old when he was fired from his position as a Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General (Illinois AG) (defendant), a position he had held for nearly six years. Levin’s annual performance reviews were consistently good in nearly every category, but Levin struggled with low productivity and inferior litigation skills. After Levin was terminated, he was replaced by a lawyer in her 30s. Levin sued the Illinois AG, and select employees within the Illinois AG, in federal district court for age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and for equal-protection violations under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. The Illinois AG challenged, arguing that (1) its employees had qualified immunity from a Section 1983 suit; and (2) ADEA prohibited workers from raising age-discrimination claims under Section 1983. The district court held that ADEA did not bar Levin’s Section 1983 claim and that the Illinois AG’s employees did not have qualified immunity. The Illinois AG filed an interlocutory appeal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kanne, J.)
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