William S. Lund v. Donald H. Albrecht

This diversity action concerns the dissolution of a partnership and the alleged breach of fiduciary duties by each of the two partners to the other. Lund’s claim is that the partners reached a general format for dissolution of the partnership that was memorialized in an April 6 letter, but that the partnership was not dissolved until the formal agreement of dissolution was executed by the parties on June 4. Between those dates, Albrecht received offers on a parcel of real property for amounts considerably greater than the value placed on the parcel in their negotiations. He did not reveal this to Lund. The district court entered a summary judgment, concluding that the partnership was not dissolved until June 4 and that Albrecht breached his fiduciary duty as a partner in not revealing the offers. A jury found Lund entitled to $1.8 million in damages. The district court imposed a constructive trust on one-half of the proceeds of a later sale of the property by Albrecht, making the total judgment approximately $2.2 million.

Albrecht’s counterclaim alleged a breach of fiduciary duty by Lund in his failing to reveal his interest in a piece of real property competing with the…