August 8, 2025 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chicago, IL — Today, the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute filed a notice of appeal of an August 7 district court order dismissing its class action complaint and issuing sanctions against its attorneys. HLLI had brought suit on behalf of a class of drivers trapped in their vehicles for hours by an illegal road blockade of the highway into O’Hare Airport on April 15, 2024, organized by anti-Israel activists and NGOs. Defendants gloatingly posted pictures of the resulting traffic jam to social media, and bragged to the press contemporaneously that they had disrupted “business as usual,” but the court held that drivers could not recover for these wrongs.
“The decision and the sanctions are based on the premise that it’s legal in Illinois for drivers to abandon their car on the highway outside O’Hare Airport for up to seven days, and thus victims weren’t truly trapped. This is a regrettable misreading of the precedent and the applicable statutes, and we are confident in our chances on appeal,” said Ted Frank, HLLI’s Director of Litigation.
“The court found the attorneys acted for an improper purpose because our complaint expressed outrage against what we continue to believe was intentionally outrageous wrongful behavior that merits punishment by the criminal and civil justice system. We will continue to seek the redress that the law allows for these victims,” Frank continued.
The case is Manhart v. National Students for Justice in Palestine, No. 24-cv-8209 (N.D. Ill.). It has not yet been docketed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
For more information about this case, please see our case page or contact the attorney below:
Ted Frank, Director of Litigation, Senior Attorney, (703) 203-3848, ted.frank@hlli.org.
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Every day, there are attempts to encroach upon Americans’ constitutionally protected rights. Our legal work is dedicated to countering these efforts.
The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a public interest law firm dedicated to:
- Dismantling the progressive left’s attacks on civil society
- Countering government overreach
- Fighting class action abuse
- Combating NGOs engaging in civil terrorism
As a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, HLLI relies on support from individuals and foundations that share a commitment to individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited government. To learn more, visit http://www.hlli.org.