Opinion ID: 901136
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Res Judicata and Claim Preclusion.

Text: [¶ 7.] In 1992, after signing the cancellation of contracts for deed and quitclaim deeds returning the property to Sohlers, Shape refused to vacate the premises. Sohlers then filed an action for forcible entry and detainer to evict Shape. Sohlers argued that the 1992 judgment evicting Shape precluded the present lawsuit under the doctrine of res judicata. The trial court held that the only issue addressed in 1992 was possession and that the alleged breach of contract was not raised and was not precluded. [¶ 8.] Res judicata precludes relitigation of issues that were litigated between the same parties in a prior action. Faulk v. Faulk, 2002 SD 51, ¶ 16, 644 N.W.2d 632, 635. Shape did not raise a claim for breach of contract in the forcible entry and detainer action even though the Sohlers had already failed to resell the property by the time the action for forcible entry and detainer was commenced (which was obvious since Sohlers were evicting Shape). Claim preclusion forecloses litigation of matters that could have been asserted in a prior action. Lee v. Rapid City Area School Dist., 526 N.W.2d 738, 740 (S.D.1995). [¶ 9.] To determine whether Shape could have asserted the claimed breach of contract in the forcible entry and detainer action, we turn first to SDCL 21-16-4, which provides: An action under the provisions of this chapter cannot be brought in connection with any other except for rents and profits or damages but the plaintiff may bring separate actions for the same if he so desire. Construing this provision, this Court has sometimes allowed additional equitable claims in actions for forcible entry and detainer. LPN Trust v. Farrar Outdoor Advertising, 1996 SD 97, ¶ 10, 552 N.W.2d 796, 798-99. However, this Court has also held that a vendor could not combine strict forfeiture of a contract for deed in an action for forcible entry and detainer. BankWest, N.A. v. Groseclose, 535 N.W.2d 860, 863-64 (S.D.1995). Forcible entry and detainer is a summary remedy for speedy possession of real estate. LPN Trust, 1996 SD 97 at ¶ 10, 552 N.W.2d at 798. However, courts should also hear other relevant matters to avoid a multiplicity of suits. Id. [¶ 10.] It does not matter whether Shape could have raised Sohlers' claimed failure to make adequate efforts to resell the property. Rindal was not a party to the forcible entry and detainer action. Therefore, Rindal is not foreclosed by res judicata or claim preclusion from litigating the claim that Sohlers breached the agreement for cancellation of contracts for deed. The issue of equitable adjustment under Beitelspacher is the same whether the plaintiffs are Rindal and Shape or only Rindal.