Pro-Pac, Inc. v. WOW Logistics Co.

Dist. Ct. erred in dismissing plaintiff-bankruptcy debtor’s adversary proceeding alleging that defendant had aided and abetted plaintiff’s employee to breach his fiduciary duty to plaintiff by diverting potential client from plaintiff to defendant, where Dist. Ct. held that plaintiff’s unjust enrichment theory of damages was raised too late in said proceeding. While plaintiff’s damages could not be based on unjust enrichment theory, plaintiff was nevertheless entitled to new damages hearing, where plaintiff could assert restitution theory of damages based on either profits that defendant obtained when employee steered potential client to defendant or on price defendant had been willing to pay plaintiff for employee’s services prior to employee’s breach. Moreover, Bankruptcy Ct. will be free on remand to consider propriety of plaintiff’s punitive damages. (Partial dissent filed.)