Kollman v. Cell Tech International, Inc.

Claims for monetary damages are tried at law before a jury. A stockholder, asserting a breach of fiduciary duty, who suffered harm individually and will receive the benefit of the recovery, is entitled to a direct claim.

Plaintiff Kollman, a shareholder of Cell Tech International Inc. (Cell Tech), brought suit against Carpenter, the CEO of Cell Tech, and Hateley, the chairman of the board of directors at Cell Tech, for breach of their fiduciary duties. The trial court found for Kollman and Carpenter appealed. Carpenter argued that the trial court erred in denying her motion to have the claim heard in equity as opposed to tried before a jury and also erred by not finding that Kollman's claims were exclusively derivative. The Court of Appeals held that the the relief sought was monetary and therefore correctly tried at law before a jury and that Kollman suffered the harm individually, therefore supporting an action for a direct claim. Because the trial court ruled correctly on the direct claim, a judgment on the derivative claim was not necessary. Affirmed.