Lucas v. U.S. Bank, N.A.
Indiana Supreme Court
953 N.E.2d 457 (2011)
After U.S. Bank, N.A. (plaintiff) acquired the mortgagor's interest in the Lucases' (defendants') home loan and sued to foreclose, the Lucases raised several legal affirmative defenses and counterclaims (including ineffective note assignment, lending-statute violations, civil conversion, and breach of good faith and fair dealing) against the bank and third-party claims against the loan servicer, and demanded a jury trial on their legal claims; the trial court granted the bank's motion to strike the jury demand, the court of appeals reversed, and the bank appealed.
Whether, if legal and equitable claims are joined, the court must determine whether a lawsuit is essentially equitable before drawing any legal claims into equity at the expense of the defendant's right to a jury trial on those claims.