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Collateral Estoppel

The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.

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JPV I L.P. v. Koetting, No. A163491, 2023 Cal. App. LEXIS 89 (Ct. App. Feb. 7, 2023)

Vandenberg v. Superior Court (1999) 21 Cal.4th 815 nixes only nonmutual collateral estoppel from an arbitration award.  Here, the same parties to the arbitration award, or individuals in privity with them, raised the same issues that the arbitrator had adjudicated, in court in connection with a post-confirmation (and post appeal from the confirmation) motion to amend the judgment to add… Read More

Tukes v. Richard, Nos. B307242, B308337, B312086, 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 604 (Ct. App. July 12, 2022)

Recognizing a divergence of opinions on this point, this decision follows Rice v. Crow (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 725 and Le Parc Community Assn. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 1161 in holding that the bare voluntary pre-trial dismissal of a lawsuit (pursant to settlement with less than all defendants) with prejudice does not result in the “actual litigation”… Read More

Bullock v. City of Antioch, No. A161029, 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 394 (Ct. App. May 6, 2022)

One union representing some of Antioch's employees brought an administrative grievance making the same claim as the retired employee plaintiff brought in this later suit--that the City was stinting them on contributions for their benefit to CalPers,  This decision holds that the due process limits on collateral estoppel keep it from operating to bar the current suit based on the… Read More

Struiksma v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, No. G059223, 2021 Cal. App. LEXIS 574 (Ct. App. July 14, 2021

The res judicata/collateral estoppel effect of a post-foreclosure unlawful detainer judgment extends only to proper conduct of the trustee's sale, not to claims of earlier wrongs committed by the lender that purportedly led eventually to the foreclosure.  Thus, here, the unlawful detainer judgment against the borrowers did not preclude them from later suing on a claim that the lender had… Read More

Shuler v. City of Los Angeles (2021)

Plaintiff sued City in federal court, alleging both federal and state law claims arising from her arrest and strip search by City police officers.  The federal jury rendered a verdict in the City's favor on the federal law claims.  The federal court dismissed the state law negligence claims without prejudice.  Plaintiff refiled those claims in state court.  Following Hernandez v.… Read More