Taylor

MEMORANDUM **

Before commencing this action, Michael Taylor sued his former employer and business associate, Illinois Tool Works, Inc. (“ITW”), for breach of contract in a federal diversity jurisdiction case that went to final judgment. Although the contract on which Taylor sued had a provision giving a right to attorneys’ fees to the party prevailing in any future litigation, Taylor elected not to seek these special damages in part because he did not want to alert ITW to a possible theory of recovery if ITW, rather than Taylor, were to succeed on the merits. Taylor got his jury verdict, and prevailed in the initial litigation. He then filed a motion to recover attorneys’ fees in that action, which the magistrate judge denied as untimely. Taylor did not appeal this denial of attorneys’ fees, and such fees are not included in the final judgment Taylor previously received.

In the case before us on appeal, Taylor filed a second lawsuit in federal court, also based on diversity jurisdiction, seeking to recover attorneys’ fees from the first lawsuit. 1 His complaint asserts that ITW’s failure to pay Taylor’s attorneys’ fees on his demand after he prevailed in the prior litigation,…