Pace v. Timmermann's Ranch & Saddle Shop, Inc., No. 14-1940 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseTimmermann’s sued its former employee, Pace, for conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and unjust enrichment, claiming that Pace had stolen merchandise and money from the company. Pace filed her answer and a counterclaim, then filed a separate action against Timmermann’s and individual employees, alleging that they had conspired to facilitate Pace’s false arrest and that, as a result, she had suffered severe and extreme emotional distress. Pace later moved to consolidate the actions. The court granted the motion with respect to discovery, but denied the motion with respect to trial and instructed Pace that she should request consolidation for trial after the close of discovery. During discovery, the court dismissed Pace’s action, concluding that her claims were actually compulsory counterclaims that should have been filed with her answer to the company’s complaint. The Seventh Circuit reversed in part, holding that Pace’s claims against parties other than Timmermann’s were not compulsory counterclaims because FRCP 13 and 20, in combination, do not compel a litigant to join additional parties to bring what would otherwise be a compulsory counterclaim. Because Pace’s claim for abuse of process against Timmermann’s arose before the filing of her counterclaim, it was a mandatory counterclaim.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 24, 2015.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.