Also known as: suit at common law · suits in common law · common law suits · common-law actions
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Civil actions seeking legal remedies such as money damages in which legal rights are ascertained and determined. The category triggers the Seventh Amendment guarantee of a jury trial when the amount in controversy exceeds twenty dollars and bars reexamination of jury facts except under common-law procedures.
Santiago Sanchez sued Sterling Manufacturing in federal court after a workplace injury and sought $450,000 in compensatory damages for lost wages and medical costs. Sterling demanded a bench trial. Sanchez timely requested a jury. The court must submit the factual disputes underlying the damages claim to a jury because the action seeks legal relief exceeding twenty dollars.
Scott Summers, a shareholder, filed a derivative suit against Sterling Dynamics alleging corporate mismanagement that caused financial losses. Summers sought recovery of those losses on the corporation's behalf. The court held that the corporation would have been entitled to a jury on the underlying legal claims if it had sued directly, so Summers receives a jury trial on those issues.
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Skylar Sullivan sued a state official in federal court for damages arising from an alleged constitutional violation. The state argued that its own rules allowed nonjury trials in similar matters. The federal court rejected the argument because the claim is a suit at common law seeking legal relief, so the Seventh Amendment controls the availability of a jury.
Sean Steele sued a federal official for damages after an alleged unconstitutional search. The official moved to dismiss on immunity grounds before any jury trial. The court noted that suits at common law for damages remain subject to the jury right once the immunity defense is resolved, preserving the constitutional guarantee for the factual issues.
Simon Stern brought an action against federal agents seeking money damages for an alleged Fourth Amendment violation during a search of his home. The agents argued no statutory cause of action existed. The court recognized an implied damages remedy, placing the claim within the category of suits at common law that carry a jury trial right.
Sydney Santos sued city police officers under federal law for damages after an alleged unlawful arrest and property damage. The officers moved to strike the jury demand. The court denied the motion because the action for money damages is the modern counterpart of a suit at common law, preserving the right to jury trial on the factual disputes.
A claim qualifies when it seeks legal relief such as money damages rather than purely equitable remedies like injunctions or rescission. Courts look to whether the action would have been tried in a court of law rather than equity in 1791. Mixed claims preserve the jury right on the legal issues and any common facts.
Supporting sources
Yes. Once a jury has tried the facts in a suit at common law, no federal court may reexamine those findings except according to established common-law procedures such as motions for new trial or judgment as a matter of law. Independent judicial reassessment of credibility or weight of evidence violates the reexamination clause.
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No. When legal and equitable claims arise from the same facts, the legal claim for damages preserves the jury right on common factual issues. The court must try the legal issues to a jury first and then address any remaining equitable matters.
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No constitutional jury right exists in suits against the sovereign because no such right existed at common law. A statutory provision may create a jury right, but the Seventh Amendment itself does not apply.
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…to litigants who properly invoke its jurisdiction. An essential characteristic of that system is the manner in which, in civil common-law actions, it distributes trial functions between judge and jury and, under the influence—if not the command—of the Seventh Amendment, assigns the decisions of disputed questions of fact to the jury.…