This court has diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1332. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has articulated a test for the application of the doctrine of res judicata. The movants first argue that the state court action and the present action involve different parties. The movants claim that because the general partnerships, not the individual partners, were parties in the state action, there is insufficient identity of parties for preclusion to apply. The law is otherwise.
General partners are in privity with the partnership for preclusive purposes.
Jacob and Judith Gabbay make a separate argument as to why they should not be bound by the state court judgment. They claim that they withdrew as partners of Jacob and Morris Gabbay prior to the filing of the state action. However, they were partners at the time of the transaction at issue. Continental Waste Sys. Allowing repeated litigation by general partners who are dissatisfied with earlier dispositions would unduly burden both the courts and defendants.