14th Amendment – Due Process

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Phillip Robbin v. City of Berwyn

Case No.: 23-1928

Officials: St. Eve, Kirsch, and Lee, Circuit Judges.

Focus: 14th Amendment – Due Process

Phillip Robbin was removing a tree from a residential lot in Berwyn when Sarah Lopez, a city inspector, confronted him. Lopez verbally attacked Robbin with racial slurs, prompting Robbin to demand disciplinary action against her. The Berwyn Mayor denied Robbin’s request to terminate Lopez, leading Robbin to sue the City, the Mayor, and Lopez. He alleged violations of his substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and state law.

The Northern District of Illinois dismissed Robbin’s complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), ruling that he had not sufficiently stated a federal claim. The court also chose not to consider the state law claims, prompting Robbin’s appeal.

The Seventh Circuit reviewed the case afresh (de novo) and concluded that Robbin had failed to assert a violation of a fundamental right. The court determined that the conduct, while reprehensible, did not meet the standard of “shocking the conscience” required for a substantive due process claim under the 14^th Amendment. Although acknowledging the offensiveness of Lopez’s racial slurs, the Seventh Circuit upheld the decision to dismiss Robbin’s complaint.

Affirmed.

Decided 07/18/24

Full Text