Richard Posner, the legal world’s once-reigning intellectual heavyweight and retired federal appeals judge, has sidestepped a $170,000 wage claim filed by a man who helped him build a now-defunct legal aid center.
Brian Vukadinovich — a former high school shop teacher turned self-represented legal crusader — claimed he was owed the money after working as co-executive director of Posner’s ambitious but short-lived “Posner Center of Justice for Pro Se’s.” The initiative aimed to help people navigate the courts without lawyers — something both men had experience with, albeit from very different angles of the courtroom.
But on Monday, a federal judge in Indiana shut the case down. U.S. District Judge Theresa Springmann ruled that the alleged deal — an oral promise of $120,000 per year, personally backed by Posner — couldn’t hold water under Indiana law. Because the payment was supposed to come in a lump sum after a year, it didn’t qualify as a valid oral contract. And Vukadinovich’s attempt to sue for unjust enrichment? Too late. The statute of limitations had already lapsed by the time he filed suit in 2022.
“I will definitely appeal this corrupt ruling,” Vukadinovich declared after the decision, demanding a venue outside the 7th Circuit, where Posner once sat in judgment. He insisted the court’s ties to its former colleague created an impossible conflict of interest.
Posner, appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, stunned the legal establishment with his sudden retirement in 2017 — citing frustration with how poorly the courts treated people without legal representation. The move came just before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, something his lawyers have since cited as a factor in disputing the validity of any alleged agreements.
Vukadinovich said he met Posner after representing himself in a successful employment case, walking away with a six-figure judgment. Their shared interest in reforming the system seemed to blossom into a working relationship. But when the paychecks never came, Vukadinovich turned to the same legal system the two had once hoped to improve.
Now, with the court siding firmly in Posner’s favor, the question remains whether Vukadinovich will manage to keep his fight alive on appeal — and if any court will be willing to touch it.
