Breach of Contract – Damages

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: BankDirect Capital Finance, LLC, et al. v. Capital Premium Financing, Inc.

Case No.: 18-1054

Officials: LAUM, EASTERBROOK, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Breach of Contract – Damages

BankDirect Capital Finance and Capital Premium Financing both participate in the market for loans to finance insurance premiums. Insurers want to be paid up front for the full policy period, but many businesses prefer to pay by the month. A premium‐financing loan makes both things possible. The client makes a down payment toward the annual premium and borrows the rest. It repays the loan monthly.

Our initial question is whether we have appellate jurisdiction. In addition to holding that statements in an opinion are not an injunction, Gunn concludes that the absence of an injunction satisfying Rule 65(d) prevents a direct appeal from a three‐judge district court to the Supreme Court under 28 U.S.C. §1253 (1970 ed.). If that’s how §1253 works, maybe the same is true about §1292(a)(1), which BankDirect invokes. We requested and have received supplemental memoranda about that subject.

The injunction is vacated, and the case is remanded with instructions to award BankDirect damages for time the in‐ junction has extended past June 1, 2018, and to determine whether either side owes damages to the other for breach of contract. The mandate will issue today, so that the injunction terminates immediately.

Vacated and Remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.