In Barr Holdings, LLC v. The Black Point Beach Club Association KNL-CV22-6059616-S, (“Barr Holdings II”), the client Black Point Beach Club Association (“BPBCA”), a beach association and quasi-municipal corporation with taxing and regulatory powers over a community off Niantic Bay, was sued for the second time by residents who claimed the BPBCA was responsible for maintaining and repairing a scour wall in the bay. The first time the same plaintiffs sued under theories of negligence and nuisance in 2020, BPBCA won summary judgment in 2023 based on governmental immunity from negligence claims. Barr Holdings, LLC v. The Black Point Beach Club Association KNL-CV20-6048857-S (“Barr Holdings I”). While summary judgment was still pending in Barr Holdings I, the same plaintiffs sued our client again, this time on the grounds that the BPBCA owed a duty to maintain and repair the scour wall, only now based on theories of contract and quasi-contract. Once judgment was entered in Barr Holdings I, Halloran Sage moved for summary judgment on BPBCA’s behalf in Barr Holdings II, invoking the doctrine of res judicata, which bars a lawsuit if there is a former judgment on the same claim. The doctrine applies not only to claims actually made and litigated but, also to claims a plaintiff could have made in the first action. In Barr Holdings II the Court found that because the second suit arose from the same set of facts and circumstances as Barr Holdings I, featured the same parties, and there had been a final judgment on the merits, judgment should enter without trial because there was no reason plaintiffs could not have brought the “new” contract claims in Barr Holdings I, where the only difference was the label on the legal theories at issue. Res judicata prevents cases suffering from “déjà vu” from clogging up the dockets, and the court cited judicial economy as a policy ground for applying the doctrine here.
This case demonstrated Halloran Sage’s multi-disciplinary capabilities in defending its clients in complex matters. The litigation team was comprised of Tort Trial Lawyer, Kevin M. Roche; Appellate Attorney Thomas A. Plotkin, and Land Use and Municipal Attorney, Mark K. Branse.