Also known as: suits at common law · common law suit
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A civil action seeking legal remedies such as compensatory damages for past wrongs, as opposed to equitable remedies such as injunctions or restitution. The distinction turns on the historical nature of the claim and the relief requested rather than the subject matter of the dispute.
Sapphire Holdings sued the City of Redstone after a zoning denial blocked construction of a new facility. The company sought $750,000 in compensation for sunk costs plus an injunction. Sapphire timely demanded a jury on the factual issues underlying the damages request. The court must submit those issues to the jury because the claim for monetary relief is legal in character.
Solomon Silver sued Parklane Hosiery on behalf of the corporation after an earlier SEC action had already resolved key factual questions against the company. Silver demanded a jury on the remaining issues. The court must allow the jury trial because the new action seeks legal relief and the prior findings do not eliminate the right to jury determination of unresolved facts.
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Sylvia Santos was charged by information with a serious felony rather than by grand jury indictment. She moved to dismiss, arguing that the prosecution violated constitutional protections. The court must deny the motion because the grand jury clause applies only to criminal prosecutions and does not affect civil suits at common law.
Santiago Sanchez obtained a jury verdict of $500,000 in a diversity negligence action. The defendant moved to reduce the award under a state statute capping noneconomic damages. The appellate court must apply the state cap while still respecting the jury's factual findings on liability and the amount of harm actually suffered.
Sophia Singh brought a shareholder derivative suit alleging corporate waste and seeking money damages. The corporation moved to strike the jury demand on the ground that derivative actions are equitable. The court must deny the motion because the underlying corporate claim for damages is legal and therefore triable to a jury.
Stella Shapiro sued Beacon Theatres for antitrust damages and also sought injunctive relief. Beacon moved to try the equitable claim first without a jury. The court must try the damages claim to a jury first because the legal issues control the order of trial and preserve the constitutional jury right.
A claim qualifies when it seeks legal remedies such as money damages for past injury rather than purely equitable relief. Courts examine the historical nature of the action and the remedy requested. Mixed claims require the jury to decide the legal issues first.
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No. When legal and equitable claims arise from the same facts, the jury right on the legal claim must be preserved. The legal issues are tried first to the jury, after which the court may decide any remaining equitable matters.
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No. Once a jury has resolved factual issues, a judge may not substitute new findings except through traditional common-law devices such as a motion for new trial or judgment as a matter of law. Independent reweighing of evidence or credibility violates the reexamination clause.
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No. The jury right turns on whether the remedy sought is legal, not on the substantive area of law. A claim for money damages exceeding twenty dollars remains triable to a jury even when the controversy involves land-use regulation or maritime issues.
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…Byrd ; it also controls the allocation of authority to review verdicts, the issue of concern here. The Amendment reads: "In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the…