Claim & Issue Preclusion

Applying the federal transaction test to a plea of claim preclusion on a CERCLA claim for contribution by a potentially responsible party, this decision holds that the later suit is not precluded because it is not on the same cause of action.  The prior action was by the then-current owner of Property 1 for contribution to the cost of remediating… Read More

The district court correctly dismissed this suit on claim preclusion grounds.  A different environmental advocacy group had earlier brought suit in Oregon challenging the same Fish & Wildlife plan for bull trout.  The Oregon district court dismissed the complaint with leave to amend.  The plaintiff elected not to amend, instead appealing unsuccessfully.  Then the current plaintiff sued to challenge the… Read More

Neither claim nor issue preclusion applies when the prior judgment was obtained against a person acting in a different capacity than the capacity in which he brings the second suit, at least so long as the second suit is also brought on a different right.  Here, the court applies that principle to hold that an arbitration award and judgment against… Read More

A judgment is not one "on the merits" entitled to claim or issue preclusive effect if the appeal from the judgment is dismissed solely on the ground that the appeal is moot due to post-judgment events--such as, in this case, completion of the development project that allegedly violated zoning of CEQA requirements.  See also Coalition for a Sustainable Future in… Read More

Plaintiff sued insurer #1, claiming it owed a duty to defend him against a suit by a conservation land trust that he had violated the trust's conservation easement over his land by various development activities he undertook on the property.  That suit resulted in a judgment for the insurer, affirmed on appeal, denying coverage on the ground that the suit… Read More

A statement of decision entered in earlier litigation brought against the plaintiff in this suit was a sufficiently final determination to be accorded claim preclusive effect even though the parties thereafter settled and obtained a stipulated order from a different judge vacating key portions of the statement of decision.  The opinion contains a lengthy discussion of authorities on the point… Read More

Distinguishing Law v. Siegel (2014) 134 S.Ct. 1188, this decision holds that a bankruptcy court may apply claim and issue preclusion doctrines to bar later assertion of exemptions it has already denied.  Here, Albert claimed two exemptions when she originally filed her Chapter 13 petition.  A creditor objected, and the bankruptcy court denied the exemptions.  Albert failed to appeal.  Later,… Read More

Applying Semtek Internat. Inc. v. Lockheed Martin Corp. (2001) 531 U.S. 497, this decision holds that a federal district court's dismissal of a 42 USC 1983 claim on the ground it was precluded by the res judicata effect of a state administrative decision denying her claim is not a final judgment entitled to claim preclusive effect under federal common law. … Read More

The prior federal judgment did not bar plaintiff's refiled state law claims because they had been dismissed only because the Eleventh Amendment barred a federal court from awarding damages against a state entity—not because of the actual merits of those claims. Read More

In a criminal prosecution for theft from an elder, defendant stipulated to a restitution amount of $700,000, so she was estopped from denying that damage amount in a later action for double damages under the Probate Code. Read More

In a criminal prosecution for theft from an elder, defendant stipulated to a restitution amount of $700,000, so she was estopped from denying that damage amount in a later action for double damages under the Probate Code. Read More

For res judicata purposes, a person seeking mandate review of a city’s approval of a Walmart store expansion is in privity with an earlier petitioner for similar relief as both sought to represent the public interest. Read More

Class action settlement and judgment in a case brought under the California Labor Code had res judicata effect on a subsequent class action involving same employees and same employer based on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Read More

When an appeals court affirms a trial court’s ruling on only one ground, that is only the ground that can be given claim preclusive or issue preclusive effect in subsequent litigation.  Read More

Warning labels required for most alcoholic beverages under Proposition 65 do not need to provide a detailed list of all the harmful chemicals found in the product. Read More

A second class action is entitled to American Pipe tolling of the statute of limitations during the pendency of a first class action on the same claim if the first action is dismissed for lack of an adequate class representative and a new named plaintiff is promptly added. Read More

Judgment in earlier wage & hour class action that employees filed against their staffing company employer barred later suit on the same claims by same employees against the firm where they worked since that firm was the staffing company’s agent with respect to payroll matters. Read More

An unlawful detainer judgment does not bar the landlord’s civil action to collect past-due rent since the landlord can collect only limited amounts of rent in an unlawful detainer proceeding. Read More

The National Labor Relations Board did not abuse its discretion in applying only prospectively its new standard according less deference to arbitrators’ findings in determining unfair labor practice charges; parties had detrimentally relied on the prior decades-old standard in litigating pending cases. Read More

An administrative law judge’s determination denying plaintiff worker compensation benefits for psychiatric injuries allegedly caused by employment discrimination or harassment precludes a later civil suit under the Fair Employment and Housing Act for the same alleged acts of employment discrimination or harassment. Read More