Seventh Circuit reverses and orders summary judgment for plaintiff in speech case

In Gazarkiewicz v. Town of Kingspot Heights, the Seventh Circuit not only reversed the district court's granting summary judgment in favor of the Town on the plaintiff's First Amendment retaliation claims, the Court ordered that summary judgment be granted to the plaintiff, a former Town employee who had held a low-ranking position as a laborer in the utility department.

I can't say that I've seen too many reversals of fortune like this one - it is surely a rare thing for a plaintiff to win on summary judgment in an illegal motive case, absent unimpeachable direct evidence.