Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against defendant alleging that the defendant aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duty after defendant purchased a company that the plaintiff had invested in and had also made a competing offer to purchase. Plaintiff sought both legal relief in the form of compensatory and punitive damages as well as equitable relief in the form of disgorgement of the benefits from the sale. The district court denied the plaintiff’s jury demand by finding that its allegations were solely equitable in nature. The district court then found in favor of the defendant after a bench trial and plaintiff appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the district court erred in denying plaintiff’s jury demand where plaintiff had sought both legal and equitable relief, but that any error was harmless. (PRYOR and KOLAR, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Jury Trial