WS Chronicle

Detroit, MI (BlackNews.com) – On Sept. 15, 2020, a civil rights lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court of Illinois for the Southern District, against the international law firm Seyfarth Shaw, LLP. and five co-defendants including Carrier Global Corporation, Kidde, and two North Carolina United States District Court judges.

The plaintiff, Jonathan Burrs, alleges in the lawsuit that Seyfarth Shaw worked in concert with United States District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles and United States District Court Magistrate Judge Lawrence P. Auld, both of Greensboro, N.C., to deprive Mr. Burrs of, and interfere with, his protected rights under the United States Constitution in three previous civil actions filed in the United States District Court of North Carolina, Middle District, against Seyfarth client and co-defendant Kidde Safety of Mebane, N.C., a subsidiary of co-defendant Carrier Global Corporation of Florida.

The complaint alleges the defendants participated in proceedings with predetermined outcomes, thereby denying Mr. Burrs due process rights and the right to full and fair opportunity to litigate. The complaint alleges the defendants went through great lengths to deny and interfere with Mr. Burrs’ right to litigate, including but not limited to perjury, mail theft, and a multitude of other federal felonies, with the direct involvement of U.S. Judge Catherine Eagles.

Burrs, a veteran civil rights advocate for more than 25 years, had this to say. “This lawsuit demonstrates ongoing disparate treatment people of color continue to experience in the United States judicial system. Even when we present irrefutable evidence in court proceedings, white judges rule as if the United States Constitution is some arbitrary document that isn’t applicable to people who don’t look like them. The evidence in this case unambiguously demonstrates that these white judges will break the law and jeopardize their own futures on the federal bench, denying people of color equal protection under the law, if they believe they can get away with such behaviors.”

In an unprecedented action, the District Court in Illinois improperly transferred the case to North Carolina to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District, the work location of defendant Eagles and defendant Auld. In a Nov. 19, 2020 motion, defendants Eagles and Auld admit to defaulting in filing a response to the lawsuit. Evidence filed by Mr. Burrs confirms that none of the named defendants had complied with the federal rules requiring the defendants to submit a response to his complaint within 21 days.

On or about Nov. 24, 2020, the district court in North Carolina granted fellow colleagues and co-defendants Eagles and Auld an extension to respond to Mr. Burrs’ lawsuit, while denying the plaintiff the opportunity to participate in the process, which is an additional due process violation under the United States Constitution.

The plaintiff has filed a motion to have the case transferred to the U.S. District Court of Florida. Mr. Burrs has two years to invoke civil litigation for the most recent civil rights violations committed by the federal court in North Carolina.