Condemned Property – Forum Selection

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: City of Joliet, Illinois, v. New West, L.P., et al.

Case No.: 18-1787

Officials: EASTERBROOK, SYKES, and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Condemned Property – Forum Selection

This appeal is New West V in a saga that began in 2005 when Joliet proposed to condemn and raze the Evergreen Terrace apartments as a public nuisance. By 2017 the district court had held that Joliet is entitled to condemn the buildings, had set just compensation at about $15 million, and had held that New West cannot obtain relief against the City under federal housing discrimination statutes. New West, L.P. v. Joliet, 891 F.3d 271 (7th Cir. 2018) (New West IV), affirms the last of those decisions, and we supposed that the litigation was over. New West thus has a choice: the district court or the Court of Federal Claims. It cannot pursue both options at once, however. See 28 U.S.C. §1500; United States v. Tonoho O’odham Nation, 563 U.S. 307 (2011). In either forum, the judge should start from scratch, disregarding the missteps in the condemnation suit. We have nothing to say here about the merits of that dispute, which must receive a proper airing before it is resolved on appeal—and if the suit proceeds in the Court of Federal Claims, final decision on the merits belongs to the Federal Circuit rather than to us. The district court’s decision is vacated.

Vacated

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.