Plaintiff was Defendant's mentor at Chicago Board of Trade, and later parties were long-time business partners who had invested in multiple businesses together until Plaintiff discovered that Defendant had allegedly been engaged in self-dealing and other breaches of fiduciary duty. After 7-day bench trial, court found in Plaintiff's favor on all but 1 count, with judgment of $7.72 million, which included $2.66 million as punitive damages. Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's request, after judgment was entered, for leave to amend his pleadings to add affirmative defenses based on statute of limitations and laches. Court's findings as to the fraud count and its findings as to breach of fiduciary duty counts were not inconsistent. Diligence is not an element of a breach of fiduciary duty claim, so a finding that Plaintiff was not diligent in monitoring his accounts does not preclude the fiduciary duty claim. (LAMPKIN and REYES, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Punitive Damages