What is res judicata?
Said “race” or “rez ju-duh-KAH-ta, ” the phrase means “a thing adjudged.” Once a matter has been decided, it cannot be relitigated. A person who has had a full opportunity to litigate an issue may not wait and raise the issue in a separate case, hoping that a second bite of the apple will taste better. To establish that a judgment on the merits of a case is res judicata in the present case, four criteria must be met: 1) both cases must involve the same parties, or persons “in privity” with parties to the earlier case — that is, persons standing in the same shoes; 2) the subject matter of the action must be the same; 3) the legal issues must be the same and relate to the same subject matter; and 4) the parties must have the same “capacity” or relationship to the subject matter and issues. In a recent Montana case, prisoner Brown joined other inmates in a case called Quigg, alleging that the state Department of Corrections (DOC) improperly transferred inmates to institutions that did no
Related Questions
- What liability findings are established as res judicata (this is a legal term that means these issues have already been decided) by the Engle decision?
- Did the district court err in applying res judicata to appellants claims of discrimination, unfair trade practices, and improper contract rescission?
- What general medical causation findings are established as res judicata (issues that do not need to be retried) by the Engle decision?
