Record contained sufficient evidence to support jury’s $12.9 million in compensatory damages, as well as $5 million punitive damages award in plaintiff’s action alleging, among other things, that defendants tortiously interfered with settlement agreement that plaintiff had with third-party (insolvent) debtor calling for debtor to pay plaintiff $12.9 million from proceeds of sale of company that was purchased by defendants, where defendants, with full knowledge of settlement agreement, induced debtor to structure sale of company that gave debtor only small amount of purchase price in cash with vast amount of purchase price taking form of defendants’ cancellation of debts that debtor owed to defendants. Ct. rejected defendants’ argument that record failed to show that they were aware of terms of settlement agreement or of debtor’s obligation to pay plaintiff proceeds from sale of company. Defendants, though, were entitled to $524,000 offset from money plaintiff had received from debtor’s bankruptcy estate. Moreover, Dist. Ct. erred in vacating $12.9 in compensatory damages that jury had separately imposed on defendants’ owner in plaintiff's unjust enrichment claim, where record showed that owner had encouraged approval of terms of company sale in effort to defraud plaintiff out of cash proceeds from sale of company.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Tortious Interference with Contract