Collateral estoppel is a “court-made doctrine,” precluding re-litigation of an issue previously decided. Sexton v. Jenkins & Associates, Inc., 152 S.W.3d 270, 273 (Mo. 2004). To be “final” for collateral estoppel purposes, a judgment need only be “sufficiently firm to be accorded conclusive effect.” Ogle v. Guardsman Ins. Co., 701 S.W.2d 469, 471 (Mo. App….
Legal Articles
Two Defendants, Claim Splitting
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…
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…
Voluntary Dismissals with Prejudice
A dismissal without prejudice usually means that a lawsuit or claim may be filed. A dismissal with prejudice, in contrast, typically means that the lawsuit or claim has been fully resolved and cannot be refiled. Voluntary dismissals with prejudice are, as a matter of practice, often executed by a plaintiff when the parties reach an…
Will Contest, Multiple Wills, Res Judicata
If a will contest is successful, then the legal effect is that the will is invalid and void. Section 473.083.7 (A will contest determines “intestacy or testacy or which writing or writings constitute the decedent’s will.”). Accordingly, assuming there is no prior will, the Court finds that the person died intestate/without a will in the…
Law of the Case Doctrine, Re-litigation
There are numerous legal theories and arguments which prohibit the re-litigation of certain issues that were previously decided (e.g, collateral estoppel, res judicata). One such theory — the “law-of-the-case doctrine” — dictates that a previous holding or finding in a case constitutes the law of the case and precludes re-litigation of the issue on remand…
Res Judicata — Claim Preclusion
Collateral estoppel — issue preclusion — prohibits the re-litigation of certain issues. Similarly, res judicata — claim preclusion — prohibits the re-litigation of claims. In order for a claim to be barred by res judicata, the following factors must be met: 1) identity of the thing sued for; 2) identity of the cause of action; 3) identity of the persons…