In Johnson v. City of New York, the Second Department Appellate Division analyzed and applied the longstanding legal doctrine of res judicata to a personal injury case. This doctrine stands for the principle that once a matter has been adjudicated by a competent court it may not be pursued further by the same parties.

The plaintiff claimed he was physically injured by a security guard while at a cooperative board meeting in a housing complex in Queens, NY. He filed a lawsuit under the legal theories of assault and battery in Queens County Supreme Court. The Court dismissed the plaintiff’s case because the lawsuit was filed more than one year after the incident, violating the statute of limitations period.

In response, the plaintiff filed a new lawsuit claiming a negligence cause of action which has a three year statute of limitations. The defendants moved to dismiss this second lawsuit under the doctrine of res judicata. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the case. On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court’s decision, and explained that under the doctrine of res judicata under New York law, “once a claim is brought to a final conclusion, all other claims arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions are barred, even if based upon different theories or if seeking a different remedy.” The Court further explained that the negligence cause of action asserted in the plaintiff’s second action arose from the same operative facts in the first dismissed assault and battery claims, and could have been raised in the first action.

Thanks to George Parpas for his contribution to this post and please write to ">Mike Bono for more information.