Evergreen West Business Center, LLC v. Emmert

In this action for breach of fiduciary duty, plaintiff alleged two alternative forms of relief: damages as compensation for the breach, or imposition of a constructive trust whereby property obtained by virtue of the breach would be sold and the proceeds distributed to plaintiff’s creditors and its members. With respect to the damages remedy, the jury returned a verdict in plaintiff’s favor for $1 in economic damages and $600,000 in punitive damages. However, the trial court reduced the punitive damages award to $4 (based on a four-to-one ratio of punitive to economic damages), at which point…