Anderson v. Werner Continental, Inc.

363 N.W.2d 332, 1985 Minn. App. LEXIS 3887
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 26, 1985
DocketC4-84-1659
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 363 N.W.2d 332 (Anderson v. Werner Continental, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Werner Continental, Inc., 363 N.W.2d 332, 1985 Minn. App. LEXIS 3887 (Mich. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

SEDGWICK, Judge.

This appeal is from a June 13, 1984, judgment dismissing with prejudice appellants’ state court case on grounds of res judicata. Affirmed.

FACTS

Ten years ago appellants commenced an action in the federal district court against the same defendants named herein; the complaint alleged that they had violated federal securities laws and regulations in the course of negotiating the purchase of stock from another company.

At the same time, appellants commenced this action in Hennepin County alleging common law fraud, and violations of fiduciary duties and state securities laws. Although this action is based on the same set of facts as the federal action, and the named respondents in both actions are the same, appellants made no attempt to join the state claim to the pending federal court action.

Respondents moved immediately to dismiss or stay the state court action, arguing that appellants could seek pendent jurisdiction over their state claims in the federal action.

Three years later the state court issued an order granting respondents’ motion to stay the action. During this time appellants did nothing to pursue the state court action.

Meanwhile, the federal court denied appellants’ motion for class action certification. The federal court also dismissed 30 of the 120 named appellants for failure to state a claim. Ultimately, the federal court judge dismissed all claims of 84 of the remaining appellants for willful failure to make discovery and to comply with court orders.

When the state court issued its order staying state proceedings, appellants moved to stay the federal proceedings so the matter could be tried first in state court. The federal court denied the motion.

Several years later the remaining 7 appellants requested the federal court to dismiss the action without prejudice “so that there is no collateral estoppel or res judica-ta claim by the defense in future proceedings in Hennepin County District Court.” The federal court judge denied appellants’ motion and dismissed with prejudice. The court said,

“Plaintiffs chose to bring this action in federal court and cannot, at this late date, seek to avoid the consequences of adverse rulings by a mere change of forum.”

More than a year later appellants moved for an order lifting the stay of their state action, certifying a class and setting a trial date. Respondents moved to dismiss the action on grounds of res judicata. The state court found that res judicata barred further prosecution of appellants’ state law action and ordered it dismissed.

ISSUE

Did the trial court err in dismissing appellants’ state action on res judicata grounds?

*334 ANALYSIS

The trial court relied heavily on Rennie v. Freeway Transport, 294 Or. 319, 656 P.2d 919 (1982), in dismissing appellants’ state action. In that case, the plaintiff had filed a federal action charging federal securities violations. He then filed a similar state common law fraud action. Upon the motion of the defendants and over the objection of the plaintiffs, the trial court stayed the state court action. Plaintiff lost in the federal court, having never asserted his state claims in that forum. Defendants then moved to dismiss the state action on res judicata grounds. The court held that the action was barred because plaintiff could have asserted his state claims in federal court. The court said:

We are convinced that the better rule, the one more consonant with the policies behind res judicata, is that a plaintiff must attempt to have all claims against a defendant arising out of one transaction adjudicated in one court in one proceeding, at least insofar as possible, despite the fact that the various claims may be based on different sources of law.

Appellants try to distinguish this case by arguing that the plaintiffs in Rennie had their day in court, whereas here the case was dismissed without a full hearing on the merits. Therefore, res judicata cannot apply-

This argument is without merit because the federal court action was dismissed on the merits. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 41(b) provides:

Unless the court in its order for dismissal otherwise specifies, a dismissal under this subdivision and any dismissal not provided for in this rule, other than a dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, for improper venue, or for failure to join a party under Rule 19, operates as an adjudication upon the merits.

Since this case does not fall within the enumerated exceptions, it was dismissed on the merits.

Appellants also argue that in Rennie there was no statute of limitations problem, as there is here. They contend the statute of limitation is the “substantial justification” the Rennie court envisioned as justifying failure to join state claims to federal actions, citing the following language.

Since plaintiff has failed to advance any substantial justification for having neglected to attempt joinder of the present claim in the prior federal court action, where it could have been finally adjudicated, we hold that the judgment there bars this action under res judicata.

Id. at 927.

This language is not persuasive in light of several other passages in the opinion. Rennie also held:

To the extent that a given state of facts is susceptible to alternative interpretation and analysis, plaintiff must seek and exhaust all alternative grounds or theories for recovery in one action.

Id. at 921.

The court explained “claim preclusion” as broader than traditional notions of res judicata in that it bars prosecution of claims which have never been litigated between the parties. Id. at 921. Restatement (Second) of Judgments §§ 17, 24-25 (1982) notes that claim preclusion is based upon, and limited by, the ability of plaintiff under modern liberalized joinder-of-claims rules to present all of his or her claims in one proceeding. Therefore, the court held that judgment precluded plaintiff from seeking other remedies based on the same facts. Id. at 922.

Here, appellants’ filing of their state claim within a one year statute of limitations in no way prohibited them from requesting the federal court to invoke pendent jurisdiction. Therefore, claim preclusion or res judicata is not limited by appellants’ statute of limitations argument.

This conclusion recognizes that under the broad joinder provisions of our modern rules of procedure appellants have a convenient vehicle for presenting the federal courts with their several theories of relief. It also is consistent with public policy favoring judicial economy through the adjudi *335

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Joy Trueblood, M.D. v. MMIC Insurance, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Iowa, 2024
SMA Services, Inc. v. Weaver
632 N.W.2d 770 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2001)
Paulos v. Johnson
597 N.W.2d 316 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1999)
Occhino v. Lannon
150 F.R.D. 613 (D. Minnesota, 1993)
Gilles v. Ware
615 A.2d 533 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1992)
Glass v. IDS Financial Services, Inc.
798 F. Supp. 1411 (D. Minnesota, 1992)
Buchanan v. Dain Bosworth Inc.
469 N.W.2d 508 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1991)
Myers Through Myers v. Price
463 N.W.2d 773 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1990)
Surf and Sand, Inc. v. Gardebring
457 N.W.2d 782 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1990)
Nitz v. Nitz
456 N.W.2d 450 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1990)
Dennis v. Fiscal Court of Bullitt County
784 S.W.2d 608 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1990)
Beutz v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc.
431 N.W.2d 528 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1988)
Sunrise Electric, Inc. v. Zachman Homes, Inc.
425 N.W.2d 848 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1988)
Wessling v. Johnson
424 N.W.2d 795 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1988)
Sundberg v. Abbott
423 N.W.2d 686 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1988)
Beutz v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc.
416 N.W.2d 482 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1988)
Roberts v. Flanagan
410 N.W.2d 884 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1987)
Duhaime v. American Reserve Life Insurance
511 A.2d 333 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1986)
Johansen v. Production Credit Ass'n of Marshall-Ivanhoe
378 N.W.2d 59 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
363 N.W.2d 332, 1985 Minn. App. LEXIS 3887, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-werner-continental-inc-minnctapp-1985.