Marshall v. Mayflower, Inc.

817 F. Supp. 922, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4789, 1993 WL 99740
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedMarch 31, 1993
DocketNo. 92-4093-RDR
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 817 F. Supp. 922 (Marshall v. Mayflower, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marshall v. Mayflower, Inc., 817 F. Supp. 922, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4789, 1993 WL 99740 (D. Kan. 1993).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ROGERS, District Judge.

The issue in this case is whether plaintiff is barred from bringing a lawsuit for personal injuries he received in a vehicular collision because, when he was a minor, he was joined as a plaintiff in a previous lawsuit to recover wrongful death damages stemming from the same collision. In other words, should this case be dismissed because plaintiff did not join any claim for personal injuries to the claim for wrongful death that was brought on his behalf in the prior lawsuit? Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss arguing that plaintiff should be barred from bringing this action. Plaintiff disputes this argument and has filed a motion for partial summary judgment asking that the percentage of fault findings from the prior action be controlling in this case.

The facts necessary to decide the pending motions are undisputed. Plaintiff and his father were injured in a vehicular accident which occurred on January 17, 1987. On February 18,1988, plaintiffs mother, as next friend for plaintiffs father, brought suit in state court against defendants and others for the injuries plaintiffs father suffered in the accident. The action was Case No. 88-C-644 in Wyandotte County District Court. Plaintiffs father died on July 12, 1988. Thereafter, an amended petition was filed in Case No. 88-C-644. Survival and wrongful death actions were added by plaintiffs mother, as the administrator of plaintiffs father’s estate and as the parent and natural guardian of plaintiff and two other minor children. Plaintiff was a named party in that action. Settlements were reached with some of the defendants in Case No. 88-C-644. The settlements with plaintiff included monies paid to reimburse plaintiff for personal injuries, although no claims for such injuries were made in the amended petition. Case No. 88-C-644 was tried against defendant Mayflower, Inc. On December 15,1989, a jury calculated that plaintiffs suffered damages in the amount of $2,914,087.27. Defendant Mayflower was found 30% at fault. One million dollars in pecuniary wrongful death damages, plus $720,000.00 in nonpecuniary wrongful death damages were found by the jury. The remaining part of the damage figure included more than $600,000.00 for plaintiffs father’s medical expenses and $500,000.00 for plaintiffs father’s pain and suffering. When applicable state laws were applied to the jury’s verdict, a final damage award in favor of plaintiffs and against defendant Mayflower was entered in the amount of $688,226.18. The verdict and entry of judgment were upheld on appeal by the Kansas Supreme Court [924]*924in 1991. On April 6, 1992, plaintiff filed this case against defendants Mayflower and National Union Fire Insurance Company (Mayflower’s insurer) for his own personal injuries arising from the same accident.

There is no dispute that Kansas law provides the basis for deciding defendants’ motion to dismiss.

Defendants contend that plaintiff should be barred from bringing this case by operation of res judicata, the Kansas “one-action rule,” or the rule against splitting causes of action. We agree with defendants and shall grant the motion to dismiss.

This case is barred under the doctrine of res judicata. “The Full Faith and Credit Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1738, requires that a federal court apply the law of the state which rendered [a prior] judgment for purposes of determining its preclusive effect.” Gates Learjet Corp. v. Duncan Aviation, 851 F.2d 303, 305 (10th Cir.1988). In Kansas, “courts have invoked the doctrine of claim preclusion [i.e., res judicata] when the following four conditions are satisfied: (1) identity in the things sued for; (2) identity of the cause of action; (3) identity of persons and parties to the action; and (4) identity in the quality of the persons for or against whom the claim is made.” Carter v. City of Emporia, 815 F.2d 617 (10th Cir.1987) citing Wells v. Ross, 204 Kan. 676, 678, 465 P.2d 966, 968 (1970). These conditions are satisfied here.

In this case, as in Case No. 88-C-644, plaintiff is seeking monetary damages from defendant Mayflower alleging that defendant was negligent on January 17, 1987. In other words, there is identity in .the thing sued for — monetary damages. There is also identity in the cause of action. In Wells v. Ross, supra, the Kansas Supreme Court restated the following “test” for identity of cause of action in 46 Am.Jur.2d, Judgments, § 406, p. 574:

“The term ‘cause of action’ is not easily defined, and the authorities have laid down no thoroughly satisfactory and all-embracing definition; it may mean one thing for one purpose and something different for another. A fundamental test applied for comparing causes of action, for the purpose of applying principles of res judicata, is whether the primary right and duty, and delict or wrong, are the same in each action. Under this test, there is but one cause of action where there is but one right in the plaintiff and one wrong on the part of the defendant involving that right. In general, it may be said that under the doctrine of res judicata, a judgment bars relitigation of the same controversy. Two actions have also been regarded as being based on the same cause of action where the issues in the first action were broad enough to comprehend all that was involved in the issues of the second action, or where the two actions have such a measure of identity that a different judgment in the second would destroy or impair rights or interests established by the judgment in the first.”

Looking at some of the factors listed in this test, as well as other pertinent authorities, we believe the instant ease and Case No. 88-C-644 share identical causes of action. This case and Case No. 88-C-644 arise from the same alleged wrong (defendant’s negligence) and assert the same alleged right — plaintiffs right to recover for such negligence. We acknowledge that the elements of damage are different. But, this does not foreclose the application of res judicata. See Pretz v. Lamont, 6 Kan.App.2d 31, 626 P.2d 806 (1981) (res judicata bars second action for personal injuries which was not brought with first action for property damage arising from the same accident); see also, 46 Am.Jur.2d Judgments, § 412 at p. 579 (“[T]he fact that a different form or measure of relief is asked does not preclude the application of the judgment to estop the maintenance of the second action; for application of the doctrine [of res judicata], it is not necessary that the two actions be identical with respect to the relief sought.”). Obviously, the first action brought on behalf of plaintiff was broad enough to comprehend a claim for plaintiffs personal injuries. This is undisputed. Indeed, the similarities are so striking that plaintiff seeks to bind defendant to the percentages of fault found in the first action.

[925]*925We acknowledge that the causes of action may have accrued at different times because plaintiffs father died more than a year after the collision.

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Bluebook (online)
817 F. Supp. 922, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4789, 1993 WL 99740, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marshall-v-mayflower-inc-ksd-1993.