Also known as: exceptio rei judicata · res judicata · rei judicatae
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A defendant's plea asserting that the claim or issue has already been finally adjudicated in a prior action between the parties or their privies. The plea invokes the principles of res judicata to bar relitigation of the same harm or subject matter.
Eduardo Enriquez sued Eastern Electric after a stage collapse and lost on negligence and causation after a full trial. He then sued StageCo Rentals and a volunteer planner for the same injuries. The defendants raised exceptio rei judicatae. The court applied res judicata principles and dismissed the second action because the prior judgment resolved the same harm.
Edith Eberhardt obtained a judgment against one corporate defendant for breach of a supply contract. She later sued a related entity for the same losses. The second defendant pleaded exceptio rei judicatae. The court examined whether the prior judgment bound the new party under res judicata rules.
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Elijah Edwards lost a patent suit against one laboratory. He filed a second action against a university foundation for the same technology. The foundation asserted exceptio rei judicatae. The court assessed whether the earlier merits judgment precluded relitigation of validity issues.
Enzo Eastwood sued one employer for discriminatory hiring and lost after trial. He filed a new action against related entities for the same conduct. The new defendants raised exceptio rei judicatae. The court determined the preclusive effect of the first judgment on the additional parties.
Emily Ellis obtained a French judgment ordering payment on a commercial debt. She sought enforcement in the United States. The debtor pleaded exceptio rei judicatae. The court considered whether the foreign judgment received conclusive effect under comity principles.
Ewan Eckhart represented a class of royalty owners in a suit against one energy company and obtained a final judgment. Absent class members later sued a different producer for the same underpayment. The producer raised exceptio rei judicatae. The court evaluated whether the prior class judgment bound the new claims.
No. The effect of a judgment for or against one of several tortfeasors is determined by the principles of res judicata rather than by any automatic rule.
Res judicata principles control. Claim preclusion requires the same parties or privies, while issue preclusion may bind a plaintiff on issues actually litigated and necessarily decided even against nonparties if nonmutual defensive issue preclusion applies.
It is a Roman and civil law plea by which a defendant admits the claim in principle but alleges that the matter has already been adjudicated, thereby negating the action in the present instance.
…her children pursued their own interests. When the Florida decree was entered the legatees unsuccessfully urged it as res judicata of the Delaware dispute. In a decree dated Jan. 13, 1956, the Delaware Chancellor ruled that the trust and power of appointment were valid under the applicable Delaware law, and that the…