Weltzin v. Nail

Shareholders (plaintiffs) of a cooperative brought a derivative action against a former manager and other officers and directors (defendants), alleging negligent breach of fiduciary duty and fraud, seeking compensatory and punitive damages and demanding a jury trial. The defendants moved to strike the jury demand as improper in an equitable derivative suit; the plaintiffs argued their legal claims and the legal defenses raised by the defendants entitled them to a jury, but the trial court struck the demand, and the plaintiffs appealed.

Whether, under state law, a plaintiff has a right to a jury trial in a shareholder derivative lawsuit.