Also known as: preclusion rule · preclusion · claim preclusion · issue preclusion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A body of doctrines that bar relitigation of claims or issues previously decided by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Parker Phillips stood trial for robbery and the jury acquitted him after finding that another person had committed the act. Prosecutors later obtained new witness statements and filed a second indictment charging the same robbery. The court dismissed the new case because the identity issue had already been resolved against the state.
The SEC obtained a final judgment that Platinum Partners knowingly misled investors about bond risks. Several pension funds then sued the same firm for civil fraud arising from the identical offering and moved to bar relitigation of the knowledge element. The court granted the motion because the prior litigation supplied a full and fair opportunity to contest the issue.
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Phoebe Park sued in state court for unpaid commissions but the action was dismissed solely because the statute of limitations had run. She refiled the identical claim in federal admiralty court. The federal court permitted the second suit to proceed because the state dismissal was not treated as an adjudication on the merits for claim-preclusion purposes.
Prosperity Investments financed and directed every strategic decision in an earlier suit brought by one of its subsidiaries against a port authority. After the subsidiary lost on the validity of a fee schedule, Prosperity filed its own refund action raising the same methodology issue. The court held Prosperity bound by the prior determination because it had exercised practical control over the first litigation.
Peter Park's estate sued a shipping line under general maritime law after a seaman's death in territorial waters. The defendant argued that an earlier Jones Act recovery by the same estate already resolved the underlying negligence issues. The court examined whether the prior judgment precluded the new unseaworthiness claim arising from the same incident.
Peak Performance sued a competitor for patent infringement. The competitor had previously lost an infringement suit brought by the same patent holder and now sought to assert invalidity. The court considered whether the earlier judgment estopped the competitor from relitigating validity questions it had a full opportunity to contest.
A later plaintiff may invoke issue preclusion offensively against a defendant that lost the identical issue in an earlier suit provided the defendant had a full and fair opportunity to litigate and the application remains fair under all circumstances.
Yes. When a court dismisses an action for failure to prosecute or to obey court orders and the order does not state otherwise, the dismissal operates as an adjudication on the merits and bars a subsequent suit on the same claim.
Collateral estoppel binds a nonparty that assumed control over prior litigation in which it held a direct financial or proprietary interest. Once an issue is actually and necessarily decided by a competent court the determination is conclusive in later suits.
…and Procedure § 2522, pp. 244-246 (2d ed. 1995). See also Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore , 439 U. S. 322, 335-337 (1979) (issue preclusion absent mutuality of parties does not violate Seventh Amendment, although common law as it existed in 1791 permitted issue preclusion only when there was mutuality). [^maj-21]: The…