Oesterlin v. Cook County Sheriff's Department, 1:14-cv-07473

Wayne Oesterlin, a former Cook County Deputy Sheriff, was terminated after an OPR investigation concluded he misused the LEADS system; the Merit Board voted to discharge him effective December 27, 2010.
Oesterlin appealed through Illinois courts; Circuit Court and Appellate Court proceedings occurred, and the case was remanded and reaffirmed before returning to federal court.
He sued in federal court asserting (only in the operative Second Amended Complaint) a §1983 claim alleging equal protection violation under a "class of one" theory and a Monell claim that a county policy motivated the termination.
Discovery completed; Taylor v. Dart (Illinois App. Ct.) held Merit Board decisions made while the Board was improperly constituted were void, but appellate authority split later (Lopez) applying the de facto officer doctrine.
The court considered but declined to reach or allow unpled First Amendment or due process claims based on facts raised only in summary judgment papers (e.g., a 2008 media complaint).
The court granted defendants’ summary judgment and denied Oesterlin’s: it held "class of one" equal protection does not apply in public employment; therefore Monell liability also fails; Merit Board-constitution challenges must be pursued in state proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Equal Protection ("class of one") supports retaliation claim	Oesterlin: he was singled out for discipline in retaliation for internal complaints	Defendants: "class of one" theory does not apply to public employment decisions	Court: Grants summary judgment for defendants; Engquist bars class-of-one in public employment
Whether Monell liability exists	Oesterlin: Dart/County had policy/custom motivating constitutional deprivation	Defendants: No underlying constitutional violation, so no municipal liability	Court: Denies plaintiff; Monell fails because no triable constitutional violation established
Whether First Amendment retaliation claim is before court	Oesterlin (in briefs): alleged he went to media in 2008 about gambling and was retaliated against	Defendants: No such claim pled; internal complaints predominate; timing undermines causation	Court: Refuses to consider unpled First Amendment claim and finds record fails to show causation even if pled
Validity/effect of Merit Board actions after Taylor decision	Oesterlin: Board was improperly constituted; prior termination is void; seeks reinstatement and backpay	Defendants: Board actions are not void or plaintiff missed state deadlines; relief belongs to state forum	Court: Declines to decide federal collateral attack; denies reinstatement/backpay here and directs challenge to state process

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (summary judgment standard)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242 (genuine issue for trial standard)
Engquist v. Oregon Dept. of Agr., 553 U.S. 591 (class-of-one unequal protection inapplicable to public employment)
Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (municipal liability under §1983)
Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562 (class-of-one doctrine articulated)
Lauderdale v. Illinois Dep't of Human Servs., 876 F.3d 904 (Seventh Circuit summary of intentional arbitrary discrimination)