Court Opinion

ID: 9586623
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:13:26.655974+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:32:45.833944
License: Public Domain

Pope, Judge,
concurring specially.
As discussed in the majority opinion, the award of damages in this case cannot be supported by either of the four alternative theories of recovery advocated by the appellees to sustain the award. More importantly, none of these four theories represents the proper method of measuring damages in a usurpation of corporate opportunity case. The remedy in such a case is to disgorge the tortfeasors of any and all benefits from their tortious acts. Clearly, appellees in this case are entitled to a monetary award for the profits earned to date in the usurped enterprise. This would include not only corporate profits but also compensation earned by the individual appellants minus the value of the reasonable compensation to which appellants were entitled for the efforts they expended in developing the usurped opportunity. See Graham v. Mimms, 111 Ill. App. 3d 751 (444 NE2d 549) (1982). To compensate appellees for the future value of the usurped opportunity, “[t]he traditional remedy ... is a constructive trust imposed for the benefit of the [plaintiff] corporation.” Morad v. Coupounas, 361 S2d 6, 10 (Ala. 1978). Accord In the Matter of Safety Intl., 774 F2d 660 (5th Cir. 1985). As I see it, in addition to an award for past profits a jury may, in equity, award appellees the beneficial ownership of the appellant corporations’ stock or may award monetary damages representing the value of the stock of the appellant corporations minus a set-off for expenditures made by the tortfeasors in acquiring the stock. See Borden v. Sinskey, 530 F2d 478, 496-499. See also Guth v. Loft, Inc., 5 A2d 503 (Del. 1939). In either case appellees would thus be compensated for future profits earned by the tortfeasors either by earning the profits themselves, as beneficial owners of the corporation, or by obtaining an award of the value of the appellant corporations, a figure which logically would be based in part on anticipated earnings and the value to appellants of the remaining term of the ten-year contract with Northwest Airlines.
The award of thirty million dollars was unsupported at the trial of the case by evidence of past profits plus the value of the appellant corporations. On retrial of the issue of damages these elements must *130be proven to sustain a monetary award.
Decided December 4, 1989
Rehearing denied December 20, 1989
Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint, David H. Flint, Alexander J. Simmons, Jr., Alston & Bird, G. Conley Ingram, Robert D. McCallum, Jr., for appellants.
William W. Gardner, Hishon & Ranney, Jonathan Moonves, for appellees.