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Later in 1972, the price of USI's stock fell, and the
Leesburg Bank issued margin calls to petitioner. When petitioner
did not respond, the bank began selling his stock. Petitioner
then demanded that USI pay the dividends to the Leesburg Bank,
but USI refused. Subsequently, the Leesburg Bank liquidated
petitioner’s stock because the loans had become under-
collateralized.
In 1972, petitioner filed suit in Florida against USI.
Petitioner's lawsuit against USI lasted several years and
included a jury trial that ended in a mistrial, a second jury
trial that was appealed, reversed in part, and remanded (Gregg v.
U.S. Indus., Inc., 715 F.2d 1522 (11th Cir. 1983), modified 721
F.2d 345 (11th Cir. 1983)), and a third jury trial that was
affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Gregg
v. U.S. Indus., Inc., 887 F.2d 1462 (11th Cir. 1989)). USI paid
petitioner on the judgment in 1990.
The claims on which petitioner prevailed that are relevant
to this case are: (1) Common-law fraud; and (2) interference
with a business relationship.
The Common-Law Fraud Claim
The crux of petitioner's common-law fraud claim was
fraudulent inducement. Petitioner alleged that USI fraudulently
promised to provide petitioner's former businesses with capital
required for their successful operation, when in fact USI's
established financial policies severely limited the cash that it
could make available to them for additional working capital.
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