Res Judicata and Collateral Estoppel Flashcards
whether a judgment or decree entered in Case 1 precludes the parties from litigating anything in Case 2?
It might do so in 1 of 2 ways:
(1) claim preclusion (res judicata) or
(2) issue preclusion (collateral estoppel)
how does a court determine whether res judicata or collateral estoppel apply?
the court in Case 2 applies the PRECLUSION LAW of the judicial system that decided Case 1
when does preclusion apply?
when there is a FINAL JUDGMENT ON THE MERITS:
i.e.:
Case 1: A sues B in Virginia state court. Case 2: B sues A about the same event in federal court. Both cases are pending at the same time. Is there any role for preclusion?
No. There is no final judgment in either case.
can a federal court “abstain” (dismiss or stay the case) to avoid overlapping litigation?
very rarely!
how many times can a party sue on a a cause of action (or claim)?
a party only gets to sue on a cause of action (or claim) once – and thus party must seek ALL relief available under that cause of actin in a SINGLE case - or else they waive the right to go after it later
what are the elements to satisfy res judicata and thus bar the claim from being brought up again in a second case?
3 elements:
(1) Case 1 and Case 2 were brought by the SAME CLAIMANT against the SAME DEFENDANT. (Same as under federal law.)
(I.E. SAME PLAINTIFF VS. SAME DEFENDANT)
(2) Case 1 ended in a VALID FINAL JUDGMENT/DECREE ON THE MERITS. Any judgment is on the merits unless it was based on jurisdiction, venue, or indispensable parties.
(3) Case 1 and Case 2 involved ASSERTION OF THE SAME CAUSE OF ACTION (This part can get tough because of different possible definitions of cause of action.)
what judgments are not on the merits?
Any judgment is on the merits unless it was based on jurisdiction, venue, or indispensable parties.
what are the terms for whether claimed won or lost case 1?
If the claimant won Case 1, claim preclusion (res judicata) is called MERGER
If the claimant lost Case 1, it’s called BARRED
what does collateral estoppel bar?
it is narrower than res judicata/claim preclusion. It precludes relitigation of an ISSUE that was litigated and determined in Case 1.
because it is narrower than res judicata - on exam - start with res judicata!
what is the effect if an issue is deemed bar through collateral estoppel?
The effect is that the issue is deemed established in Case 2.
what are the elements of collateral estoppel in order to bar relitigation of the same issue in case 2?
(1) Case 1 ended in a VALID FINAL JUDGMENT ON THE MERITS (Same as federal law)
(2) An issue presented in Case 2 was ACTUALLY LITIGATED AND DETERMINED in Case 1. (Same as federal law.)
(3) That issue was ESSENTIAL to the judgment in Case 1. (Same as federal law.)
(4) Against whom? Issue preclusion may be asserted only against one who was a PARTY to Case 1 (or represented by that party). (Same as federal law.)
(5) By whom? It is always OK for someone who was a party to Case 1 to use issue preclusion in Case 2 (if the other requirements are met).
—- Under federal law, we saw that sometimes “nonmutual” issue preclusion was OK. That meant that federal law would allow a nonparty to Case 1 to assert preclusion in Case 2.
Has the Virginia Supreme Court ever allowed nonmutual issue preclusion (collateral estoppel)? No.
does VA Supreme Court allow for non-mutual issue preclusion?
(i.e. allowing a non party to Case 1 to assert preclusion in case 2?) No!!!
what if judgment in Case 2 has been appealed (or the time for appealing has not yet expired) - is that judgment entitled to claim or issue preclusion?
no! not in VA - not entitled to preclusive effect
in Federal court -yes would be
causes of action (part 3 of res judicata/claim preclusion test)
federal - same transaction or occurrence = same cause of action
VA = same test (same transaction or occurrence = same cause of action)
BUT with exception:
exception – personal injury AND property damages from same transaction or occurrence are DIFFERENT CAUSES of action
