Beacon Theatres v. Westover
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 10, 1958 Decided May 25, 1959
Full case name: Beacon Theatres, Incorporated v. Westover, United States District Judge, et al. Citations: 359 U.S. 500; 79 S. Ct. 948; 3 L. Ed. 2d 988; 1959 U.S. LEXIS 1934; 2 Fed. R. Serv. 2d (Callaghan) 650 Prior history: Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Holding
Court membership
Chief Justice: Earl Warren Associate Justices: Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, William O. Douglas, Tom C. Clark, John Marshall Harlan II, William J. Brennan, Charles Evans Whittaker, Potter Stewart
Case opinions
Majority by: Black Joined by: Warren, Douglas, Clark, Brennan Dissent by: Stewart Joined by: Harlan, Whittaker Frankfurter took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. VII

Beacon Theatres v. Westover, 359 U.S. 500 (1959), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States dealing with jury trials in civil matters. The court held that where legal and equitable claims are joined in the same action, the legal claims must be tried by a jury before the equitable claims can be resolved. Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and is the only part of the judicial branch of the United States federal government explicitly specified in the United States Constitution. ... Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was a California district attorney of Alameda County, the 30th Governor of California, and the 14th Chief Justice of the United States (from 1953 to 1969). ... Hugo Black Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1937 - 1971). ... Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 – January 19, 1980) was a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. ... Tom Campbell Clark (September 23, 1899 in Dallas, Texas –June 13, 1977) was United States Attorney General from 1945-1949 and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1949-1967). ... John Marshall Harlan II (May 20, 1899 – December 29, 1971) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... Charles Evans Whittaker (February 22, 1901 – November 26, 1973) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1957 to 1962. ... Justice Potter Stewart Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... Amendment VII (the Seventh Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, codifies the right to jury trial in certain civil trials. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and is the only part of the judicial branch of the United States federal government explicitly specified in the United States Constitution. ... For the 1980s television show, see Trial by Jury (TV). ...

The following explanation can be found at the Cornell Law Schoool - Legal Information Institute - United States Constitution site at http://www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/html/amdt7frag3_user.html

In Beacon Theatres v. Westover, the Court held that a district court erred in trying all issues itself in an action in which the plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment and an injunction barring the defendant from instituting an antitrust action against it, and the defendant had filed a counterclaim alleging violation of the antitrust laws and asking for treble damages. It did not matter, the Court ruled, that the equitable claims had been filed first and the law counterclaims involved allegations common to the equitable claims. Subsequent jury trial of these issues would probably be precluded by collateral estoppel, hence "only under the most imperative circumstances which in view of the flexible procedures of the Federal Rules we cannot now anticipate, can the right to a jury trial of legal issues be lost through prior determination of equitable claims." A declaratory judgment is a judgment of a court which declares what rights each party in a dispute should have, but does not order any action or result in any legal damages. ... Antitrust laws, or competition laws, are laws which prohibit anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. ... A Counterclaim is made by the defendant to a civil procedure, in a main actions against the plaintiff or against the plaintiff and other persons. ... Collateral estoppel, also sometimes known as issue preclusion, is a common law estoppel doctrine that prevents a person from relitigating an issue. ...

Reference

• Full text opinion from Findlaw.com