Claim-splitting often occurs when one party brings successive actions against the same defendant. It is prohibited. “Claims that could have been raised by a prevailing party in the first action are merged into, and are thus barred by, the first judgment.” Chesterfield Village v. City of Chesterfield, 64 S.W.3d 315, 318 (Mo. 2002). The reason for…
Legal Articles
Acquiescence & Claim-Splitting
Courts generally prohibit “claim-splitting.” Claim splitting occurs when a single cause of action is “split and filed or tried piecemeal.” G.B. v. Crossroads Acad.-Cent. St., 618 S.W.3d 581, 591 (Mo. Ct. App. 2020). When more than one lawsuit is filed, and the first results in a judgment, claims that could have been raised by the prevailing…
Claim Splitting, Splitting a Cause of Action
Improper claim splitting or cause of action splitting occurs when a party sues on a claim which arises out of the same “act, contract or transaction” as previously litigated claims. Kesterson v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 242 S.W.3d 712, 716 (Mo. 2008). The purpose of the rule is to prevent a multiplicity of…